At the suggestion of a good friend, we decided to use a few open days we had to take a quick trip to Arequipa, a beautiful town south of Cusco. We jumped on a night bus on Wednesday night and experienced a crazy night of speeding around sharp corners and racing across gravel roads towards our destination. Unfortunately, our bus had some minor issues along the way and finally called it quits just outside of Arequipa so we sat on the hot, smelly bus waiting for someone to tell us what was happening in a language we could understand. Eventually, another bus showed up and took us down the hill to our destination. Always an adventure!
We spent the morning touring the amazing Monasterio De Santa Catalina, which is an old Spanish Monastery that takes up an entire city block and is truly the most picturesque place we´ve ever been. We loved the spanish architecture with old wood window panes, beautiful murals and bright colors on every wall. The monastery was only opened to the public in 1970 after hundreds of years of isolation. The nuns inside were not allowed access to the outside world and, therefore, no one was allowed in. We wandered through the small rooms for a few hours and enjoyed a cup of tea in the beautiful little cafe before heading back to our hostal for a nap. Those overnight bus rides really take it out of you.
Last night, we used our trusty Lonely Planet book to find a restaurant for some Peruvian food and traditional music. It was a great way to spend our only night in Arequipa. And tonight, we get back on a night bus for Cusco so we can meet up with Papa Biedel, who will be flying in tomorrow morning. We are very excited to show him around town and start our spanish classes on Monday (Dave´s 30th Birthday!). And on Sunday, we will move into our local homestay where we´ll be spending a week with a single woman and here two college-aged daughters while taking classes in town. By this time next week, we´ll be able to speak Spanish like 8-year olds! And check out our new Peruvian hats made of baby Alpaca wool. Love ém. Hasta luego.
We spent the morning touring the amazing Monasterio De Santa Catalina, which is an old Spanish Monastery that takes up an entire city block and is truly the most picturesque place we´ve ever been. We loved the spanish architecture with old wood window panes, beautiful murals and bright colors on every wall. The monastery was only opened to the public in 1970 after hundreds of years of isolation. The nuns inside were not allowed access to the outside world and, therefore, no one was allowed in. We wandered through the small rooms for a few hours and enjoyed a cup of tea in the beautiful little cafe before heading back to our hostal for a nap. Those overnight bus rides really take it out of you.
Last night, we used our trusty Lonely Planet book to find a restaurant for some Peruvian food and traditional music. It was a great way to spend our only night in Arequipa. And tonight, we get back on a night bus for Cusco so we can meet up with Papa Biedel, who will be flying in tomorrow morning. We are very excited to show him around town and start our spanish classes on Monday (Dave´s 30th Birthday!). And on Sunday, we will move into our local homestay where we´ll be spending a week with a single woman and here two college-aged daughters while taking classes in town. By this time next week, we´ll be able to speak Spanish like 8-year olds! And check out our new Peruvian hats made of baby Alpaca wool. Love ém. Hasta luego.
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