Day 2 - Lima to Arequipa
The day started early and our BT smarttalk paid off with a call to our bank to get our Priority Passes sorted out, having been told by Priority Pass that it was all their fault. Anyway they came through really well and have even agreed to repay our Gatwick spend.
The breakfast buffet was excellent and we were soon back at the airport with another really good meet and greeter who got us through the hubbub and showed us which ATM to use. More of that later. The airport lounge was probably the worst we've ever used after all the fuss with the Priority Pass!
The LATAM aircraft had also seen better days but it was a very short flight and the compensation was great views of the Andes below. Once at Arequipa, the airport photos were of big diggers and other equipment so we knew we were in mining country. The meet and greet was excellent and we were soon on our way to the hotel.
Arequipa is surrounded by 3 volcanoes, one of which Misti is still active, and is very prone to earthquakes, they'd had one only days ago, so it is all low rise. It is also a shock, as none of the buildings ever get finished, to save taxes, so it looks very like Cairo until you reach the centre which is beautiful colonial Spanish.
As our room wasn't ready we headed off to find more cash machines and after another message to tell us we'd had our one withdrawal this month on the network recommended to us in Lima and another wanting 5% commission we finally found Caja Arequipa which doesn't charge commission and got lots of cash to keep us going. Then we went back to the hotel to check in. It was lovely and warm, so we were a bit overdressed.
After changing and slapping on sun cream, our next mission into town was to find the 'potato' restaurant we had found in Lonely Planet but it was shut, so next we walked round and round in circles looking at lovely buildings and churches and finally found our source of water, snacks and coco products (to help with the altitudes we will be going to in the next few days) and took them back to the hotel.
After a mid afternoon coca tea, we set off again and this time managed to go inside some of the churches while looking for a place to have dinner. Not so simple if you don't eat cheese! Eventually we found a tiny café with a 2 course meal for around £3 each! Lovely soup, then herby chicken, rice and salad with a local drink, made from purple corn, which was much nicer than it sounds.
Then it was back to the hotel for a rest, sadly we had 2 couples next door having a very loud chat. Fortunately they headed of for dinner and we had a lazy evening and a really good sleep.
The breakfast buffet was excellent and we were soon back at the airport with another really good meet and greeter who got us through the hubbub and showed us which ATM to use. More of that later. The airport lounge was probably the worst we've ever used after all the fuss with the Priority Pass!
The LATAM aircraft had also seen better days but it was a very short flight and the compensation was great views of the Andes below. Once at Arequipa, the airport photos were of big diggers and other equipment so we knew we were in mining country. The meet and greet was excellent and we were soon on our way to the hotel.
Arequipa is surrounded by 3 volcanoes, one of which Misti is still active, and is very prone to earthquakes, they'd had one only days ago, so it is all low rise. It is also a shock, as none of the buildings ever get finished, to save taxes, so it looks very like Cairo until you reach the centre which is beautiful colonial Spanish.
As our room wasn't ready we headed off to find more cash machines and after another message to tell us we'd had our one withdrawal this month on the network recommended to us in Lima and another wanting 5% commission we finally found Caja Arequipa which doesn't charge commission and got lots of cash to keep us going. Then we went back to the hotel to check in. It was lovely and warm, so we were a bit overdressed.
After changing and slapping on sun cream, our next mission into town was to find the 'potato' restaurant we had found in Lonely Planet but it was shut, so next we walked round and round in circles looking at lovely buildings and churches and finally found our source of water, snacks and coco products (to help with the altitudes we will be going to in the next few days) and took them back to the hotel.
After a mid afternoon coca tea, we set off again and this time managed to go inside some of the churches while looking for a place to have dinner. Not so simple if you don't eat cheese! Eventually we found a tiny café with a 2 course meal for around £3 each! Lovely soup, then herby chicken, rice and salad with a local drink, made from purple corn, which was much nicer than it sounds.
Then it was back to the hotel for a rest, sadly we had 2 couples next door having a very loud chat. Fortunately they headed of for dinner and we had a lazy evening and a really good sleep.
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