Goodbye Arequipa! Walking the tarmac to our plane at the tiny airport

Our fourth out of five times in the Lima airport, we finally actually made it to Lima! Although it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing since we were pretty hungover. When we arrived at the waiting area at the Arequipa airport for our delayed flight, I definitely knocked out in a seat, not too gracefully.

Regardless, we arrived in Lima and took a cab to our hotel in Miraflores. Our hotel, The Bayview Hotel, was really nice and just two block from the ocean. After checking in and finally showering, we headed to downtown Lima – in our own chauffeured car that was always available outside the hotel. Classy!

I had heard nothing especially great about Lima from others before the trip, but I really liked it! I love big cities, and Lima is humongous. I feel like that is a city where I could actually live. Downtown Lima is modern but historic. Stores and offices line up along old churches. The Plaza de Armas totally reminds me of southern Spain.

The Plaza de Armas in Lima

Francisco Pizarro's tomb

We went to the main Cathedral, which is probably best known for holding the remains of Francisco Pizarro. As we stood outside debating what to do next, some Peruvian said I looked like Brittney Spears. Uhm….

Afterwards, we walked around and stopped by El Cordano, an apparently famous cafe near the presidential palace. Actually, we just went in because it looked really old school and cool, but then I looked it up in my guide book and the 100+ year-old bar has quite a history.

Bar Cordano, right across the street from the Presidential Palace in Lima

Inside Bar Cordano

After snacking, on the way to see another church, we got sidetracked by a row of souvenir shops. I found a beautiful mirror and snatched it up. Logically, I should have waited until after the church tour to buy it so I wouldn’t have to carry around a huge package the entire time. Oh well, lesson learned!

The church we went to see was actually the Monasterio de San Francisco. The monastery was beautiful. It was very Spanish and even had some Moor/arabic influences, which was interesting. The underground area held catacombs filled with bones, but my favorite part was the ancient library filled with old books.

After the monastery, we called our driver (that never gets old) to pick us up and did some more shopping while we waited for him. I also found some really nice glasses with engraved golden hummingbirds, which totally reminded me of our hike.

Houses on a hill as we walk through downtown Lima

Once we got back to the hotel, we took a nap before dinner. Way too many hours later, we woke up and it was nearly 11 pm! I felt lazy and tempted to stay in bed, but we only had two days in Lima so I dragged everyone out of bed and we walked over to the nearby shopping center overlooking the ocean. We ate at Mambo Cafe, right over the beach, and then went by some random bar where there was some serious dancing happening by a group of slightly geeky guys who looked like they were letting loose after a boring business convention.

We got up bright and early to get picked up for our bus ride to Colca Canyon. It was quite cold, but the benefits of waking up at 3 am are that you get to enjoy the expansive night sky filled with stars in silence of early, early morning. Not to mention, because of our early wake up call, we spent the night prior just laying in bed watching ridiculous music videos.

Our bus finally came and picked us up for the several-hour drive to the canyon. I dozed off to the sounds of horrible 80s music. From now on, “Take On Me” will always remind me of Peru.

When we finally got to the canyon, it was prime time for condor-watching. For about an hour, we hung out just watching condors swoop by. But even without the birds, the views were amazing. It was all just so natural – the deep canyon, the surrounding cliffs, and the huge, snow-capped mountains in the background. Visually, it was just incredible. The far away mountains didn’t even look real. It all looked like a living postcard.

Condor flying overhead

Seriously, look at those mountains

After the canyon, we piled back into the bus and stopped at a couple sites. One was a viewing point for “hanging” tombs up in the mountainside. Another was a view of the never-ending terraces carved into the terrain. And of course, a tourist stop at a small town where the main attraction was taking a photo with a llama and a hawk. Instead of spending money on that, I snapped some shots of a couple little lambs just chilling by a bathroom behind one of the vendor stalls.

Never-ending terraces

Little lambs

Our almost-last stop was at a hot springs pool where we had some time to bathe and relax. Even though it was a bit chilly outside, the hot water was wonderful. Then, we went to eat lunch at the same spot where we ate breakfast – a small restaurant that played William Luna music videos in a non-stop loop.

Outside our breakfast & lunch spot

Our final stop before the four-hour drive back to Arequipa was another viewing platform. To be quite honest, like for most of the stops during the day, I wasn’t exactly sure what the significance was because our guide’s English was pretty horrible and I was also having trouble completely understanding his Spanish. But, I did finally buy a couple toy alpacas complete with real baby alpaca fur.

The ride back, I drifted in and out of sleep as the 80s tunes and random Andean music rolled on.

By the time we got back it was pretty much evening, so there really wasn’t much time for sightseeing. We met up with a friend for dinner and rounds of pisco sours. That was followed by hitting a couple clubs not too far from Plaza de Armas where we drank and danced and….ran into our Colca Canyon guide! Random!

There was nothing like returning from a long day of sightseeing, bus riding, drinking and dancing, to our quiet hotel courtyard where we could lay on the lawn chairs and look up at those awesome stars. At 4 am. When we had an early flight to catch the next morning. Oops…

Our first full day in Arequipa, we finally did some actual sightseeing. We started at the Monasterio de Santa Catalina.

Wow. It totally lived up to the hype – it was absolutely gorgeous. It’s like a city within a city, and the peaceful, quiet atmosphere is so serene. Truly “a photographer’s dream,” with vivid blue and orange walls, simple nuns’ quarters and blooming flowers. I wish we had gone to see the monastery at night, too, when they give tours by candlelight, but unfortunately we didn’t have time.

Inside the monastery

A nun's room

Inside the monastery

One of the many courtyards within the monastery

Awesome blue walls lining the quiet halls of the monastery

After the monastery, we got lunch at Crepissimo, where the food was super rich. While there, we met a newlywed couple from L.A. that decided to travel the world for a year in place of a honeymoon. What a cool idea!

As we headed back towards the Plaza de Armas, we stopped in this super cool antique shop right next to the cafe. It was filled with old clocks, household items, and yes, of course, antique irons. No worries, I already had mine.

Plaza de Armas at dusk

Our last stop was the humongous cathedral at the Plaza. It was nice, but not the most memorable church we’ve seen in Peru. However, there was another church just off the plaza, Iglesia de la Compania, that had this beautifully carved stone exterior that incorporated the tropical foods, plants and imagery of the region.

La Catedral

Beautiful carvings on the Iglesia de la Compania

It wasn’t until we came to Arequipa that I realized how relatively small and un-city-like Cusco is. And I didn’t know that Arequipa is actually the second-largest city in Peru with Cusco coming in fourth. But I wasn’t that crazy about Arequipa. Maybe my expectations of a “White City” were a little too high. There are definitely some super-nice historical parts of the city, and some super-modern areas as well, but everything else just seems somewhere in between. And what’s with all the casinos every two steps? It’s an interesting city with its malls, monasteries, surrounding volcanos, casinos, nightclubs and everything in between!

Then, at the Lima airport, I set off the scanner again and once again had my bag searched because apparently I also left my manicure set in my carry on. Goodbye, scissors and nail file. I guess that’s what happens when you half-ass pack!

At least landing in Arequipa was pretty smooth. The airport was tiny, so we literally walked off the plane onto the tarmac and were surrounded by mountains and volcanoes.

We finally got to our hostel in Arequipa, and then promptly walked across the street to reserve an actual hotel room at Casa de Avila. We are too old for this backpacker hostel shit! And I ended up loving Casa de Avila. I didn’t realize it at first, but it was actually listed in my Lonely Planet book.

Casa de Avila

Our room and bathroom were fine, cable TV and breakfast were included, and my favorite part was the huge lawn courtyard in the middle complete with lawn chairs and even a pet turtle! It was the perfect setting for some midday sunbathing or midnight star-gazing.

Lounging in the courtyard at Casa de Avila

Anyways, by the time we were done dicking around, it was evening so we headed to the Plaza de Armas for dinner. The plaza is really nice – Arequipa is known as the White City, so all the buildings are made of white volcanic stone, including the huge, plaza-wide cathedral. I really like the plaza, it has a very European, southern Spain feel with its white buildings, palm trees and just overall tropical feel. Although, I must admit, I had higher expectations for Arequipa’s reputation as the White City – but the plaza was great.

We ended up just eating on a rooftop behind the cathedral, and then strolled around for a bit.

Cathedral at Plaza de Armas

Apparently, Siete Ventanas is a newer hotel not too far from the San Blas neighborhood and a five-minute walk from the Plaza de Armas. Overall, I really liked the hotel. The building is relatively new and clean, with a nice courtyard-style lobby. Our room, although it had a slightly dysfunctional toilet, was spacious and had a great view of Cusco. And it had cable TV.

And even though there was kind of a construction site down the street, we didn’t have to suffer through any crazy construction racket like we did in Paris last year.

Not to mention, we got a pretty good deal on the room rate thanks to Adrian’s negotiating skills. So I would definitely recommend giving Siete Ventanas a try!

Cusco was our first stop on the trip, so even though there was SOOOO much I wanted to buy, I figured I should save a little money & room in my luggage for our stops in Arequipa and Lima. Well, I think I’d recommend doing most of your souvenir shopping in Cusco after all. Especially if you’re looking for some cool Inca-inspired or indigenous Andean artifacts.

That being said, here are my top 5 souvenirs from Cusco:

1. My 20-lb antique iron
2. A tapestry featuring various animals (similar to some of the ones hanging above)
3. A toy alpaca, complete with real baby alpaca fur
4. Alpaca hat & gloves (and leg warmers) – I LOVE these
5. My llama duffel bag

I'm loco for llamas

Standing by the famous 12-sided stone....at least I think this is the one...

Our first tourist stop on Monday was the Museo Inka. As promised, the museum itself is nothing fancy but there was some good info about the various indigenous cultures of Peru. It was cool to learn about all the cultures that came before the Inca even:

• The Paraca tribe made beautiful woven funeral cloths
• The Pukara would include feline faces on their pottery and art
• The Mochika had 11 different colors they used in painting pottery
• The Nazca, while famous for their lines, also made really beautiful pottery with many colors and in lots of animal forms, even mythical creatures
• The Wari tribe, which took over Cusco for awhile, also included feline faces in their art, complete with colorful eyes
• Of course the highlight for me was seeing the Inca mummies, still very well intact

It was interesting to finally see cats represented. Most ancient cultures seem to have recognized something spiritual or significant in felines, but I hadn’t heard or seen too much of that in Peru until now. There are definitely a lot of dogs around town, but barely any cats.

After lunch, we went up by the San Blas neighborhood to see the Iglesia de San Blas. It was a very simple church, but known for its intricately carved wooden pulpit, complete with human skull! We also took advantage of San Blas’ unique shops and galleries to do some shopping. Continuing our souvenir shopping closer to Plaza de Armas, I officially topped myself in buying the most ridiculous souvenir ever by spending too much money on an antique iron that weighs probably 20 lbs. I also finally got a photo with a little lamb!

Antique plancha from Cusco

Me and a baby lamb

That night, we had dinner at Chicha, a restaurant of famed chef Gaston Acurio. Considering all the hype, the rest of the group was disappointed in the food. I felt it was simple but good. The tamales appetizer and pumpkin ravioli I ordered were pretty much what I expected so overall I was happy with the dinner, although it didn’t necessarily blow my mind. I’ll admit that the ambiance definitely didn’t compare to Fallen Angel.

View of Cusco from our new hotel, Siete Ventanas

Now back in Cusco, we attempted to actually see the sights. We got off to a slow start though, because our first stop, the Inca Museum, was closed. So we walked around town and ended up at the Chocolate Museum. Which is really a coffee shop with some info about cacao in Peru and a few souvenirs. But admission is free, so it wasn’t a bad stop. I did actually learn a little about cocoa production and history. I also learned that Poland is one of the biggest consumers of chocolate (of course not compared to the US). And of course we bought some souvenirs. There was a complimentary cup of really cool tea they gave us that tasted like chocolate even though it was tea, so I bought a bag of that.

Santa Clara church...closed

Then we walked past the church and convent of Santa Clara, which sounds really cool with mirrors covering the interior, but it’s barely ever open and indeed was closed now.

So we did what we do best – shopping – at the Mercado San Pedro. And I finally got to eat choclo!

Mercado San Pedro

Choclo & cheese!

After the market, we walked back down Calle Nueva to Avenida del Sol and visited the Qorikancha, billed as the most important Inca site in Cusco. That’s because it was the richest temple in the empire and center of Inca civilization – until the Spaniards came and looted it and built a church on top of it. All that’s left from the temple are the remains of those super-fitted stone Inca walls.

A couple cool new things I learned at Qorikancha:

• Killa means moon in Quechua
• When the Inca looked at the Milky Way, they didn’t focus on the stars but rather on the colored spaces between those stars. So they saw a snake, a fox, a llama and its baby in that constellation.
• The sacred wakas extended out from Qorikancha throughout Cusco, marking sacred sites.

That being said, I would actually recommend shelling out a few extra soles for the tour at Qoricancha. There isn’t that much left from the Inca days, so it would have been really helpful to get some more of that history from a guide. I just relied on the few paragraphs in my guide book to get me through the site, which wasn’t ideal.

Convent connected to the former Qorikancha

La Catedral

Next, we walked back towards the Plaza de Armas to visit La Catedral. It’s so interesting to see all the mirrors in Peruvian churches. Apparently, the Catholic Church used them to attract the locals, both for their novelty as well as for their symbolism. And it’s an interesting concept overall that to be comfortable with your reflection, you should be a good person. Some of the other highlights of the cathedral included the famous Last Supper painting featuring a cuy (guinea pig) as the center dish, and the black Jesus statue. One of the most impressive sights here was the first-ever cross brought to South America and used to convert the locals, which lives at the cathedral. It’s simplicity is impressive.

At that point, we decided to rest before heading out to the highly-recommended Fallen Angel for dinner. Kitsch is definitely the way to describe it. The restaurant has bathtubs converted into aquariums with live fish converted to tables with beds as seats. And paper mache flying pigs. And a huge metal angel. Also, an eclectic collection of local art for sale on the walls. The food was quite good, if not a bit heavy. But overall, it was a nice dinner out, full of food, wine and random conversation.

Fallen Angel

As we were on the excruciatingly long train ride back to Cusco (the train stopped several times on the way for some technical difficulties – I think we even started going backwards at one point!), I actually felt sad that our hiking adventure was over. In a way, I felt like our vacation was over. What would tomorrow morning be like when we didn’t have to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn, in a cold tent, baby-wipe shower before a breakfast feast  prepared by Jorge in preparation for hours of walking?

So in the end, I really enjoyed the hiking experience. It was challenging and exhausting and fun and unforgettable. Our group fought, laughed and made it through together in the end.

I would also recommend Q’ente to prospective Machu Picchu hikers. The price was right, we had a cool guide, an awesome cook & crew, and it was nice to be hiking in a smaller group instead of some of the massive crowds of tourists we saw a couple times. Even though we didn’t get to take the “official” Inca Trail, I enjoyed the route we took. It had glaciers (you don’t want to miss Salkantay), snow, mountains, jungle, tropical flowers and everything in between.

Looking back on the trip, I want to go again! I want to check out the Inca Trail tours, I want to see more of the ruins in those mysterious mountains, I want to revisit Machu Picchu and spend more time there now that I kind of know it. Also, I recently read this awesome book, Turn Right at Machu Picchu, that really reignited my desire to return to the mountains. What you hear is true – the mountains and the people who live there, are just different.

Hasta luego, Machu Picchu!