Joe's World Backpacking Trip Stories and pics from my travels.

I´ve been in Arequipa for almost a week now.  I´ve decided to stop here for a few weeks and do a Spanish course.  I made a good choice because this is a beautiful town.  There are squares in most Latin American cities and towns, but this has to be the most beautiful one I´ve seen so far.  The Plaza De Armas is cornered on all sides by 15th and 16th century architecture.  Beautifully ornate churches and municipal buildings.  Inside the square is a fountain surrounded by gardens, trees and palms.  What makes these squares even more enjoyable besides the beauty is the fact that they are used and appreciated by the locals.  There´s always a crowd in the square regardless of the time of day.  The churches are all free to enter and are even more ornate on the inside than the edifices on the outside.  One that I went to had 15th century paintings hanging up on all the walls.  There is also a convent here, also dating back to the 15th century.  The inside is brightly painted red or blue and you have to navigate a labryinth of cobbblestoned corridors and high, brightly painted arches to get through.  "Juanita" the Incan mummy recovered from a nearby peak is housed in a museaum here in town.  I remember that there was an National Geographic documentary on the Incan society, and what was left behind for anthropologists to piece together.  Juanita and the other children recovered from various peaks in the Incan empire communicate as much to us about their culture as their architecture.  They didn´t leave a written language.  Since the children were frozen almost immediately after sacrifice on the tops of these peaks they have been perfectly preserved, along with their clothing, jewelry and offerings buried with them.  Arequipa also has a place called "Mercederes" which is a long pedestrian pathway with shops on both sides.  I like this place because it looks excactly like Europe.  You could forget you are in Peru and think you´re in a marktplatz in Germany.  I think I´ll enjoy the next few weeks here practicing Spanish, there´s plenty to do, not to mention the two climbable 19000 foot peaks outside of town.  If I do do them, I think I´ll wait a little while because I still get out of breath walking up the stairs here.