Lauriver's Travels: Arequipa

After Machu Picchu, our next step was to trade in ruins and highland mountains for colonial architecture and canyon country by heading to the city of Arequipa. Dominated by the snow-capped volcano El Misti, "The White City" is peppered with dazzling colonial buildings made from sillar, a reflective white volcanic stone. With it´s mild climate, languid plazas, and delicious food, it´s easy to see why the name "Arequipa" is derived from Quechuan for "Yes, stay." While we didn´t stay as long as we wanted to, we quickly realized that this was our type of city. Although it´s the second largest in Peru, Arequipa had a real small-town feel to it which was intensified by it´s fiercely independent citizens. As one guy put it, "I´m not from Peru, I´m from Arequipa." Maybe we were feeling homesick but, combined with the vibrant art scene and delicious food, it reminded us of a Peruvian Portland. The city does have a dark side, however. It has a very big problem with "express kidnappings". Basically, shady taxi drivers will pick you up, hold you at gunpoint, force you to clean out your bank account at numerous ATMs and drop you off in the boonies, if you´re lucky. Criminals actually rent taxis for this purpose. While we generally dislike taxis anyways, this was one more reason to hoof it or take the bus. Fortunately, the city is fighting back, warning tourists everywhere to take radio taxis, not just ones off the street. But even despite this tarnish on an otherwise great city, we both decided that if we lived in Peru, we would live in Arequipa.
One of our unforgettable experiences was a visit to the Museo Santuarios Andinos to pay our respects to Juanita, an Inca princess sacrificed atop a volcano and preserved for over 500 years in ice. Discovered in 1995 atop Mount Ampato, she is one of the best preserved mummies in the world. On display were many statues, textiles, and pottery pieces offered up in sacrifice and similarly well preserved. As if peering back in time, they looked like they could have been made days, not centuries, before. After seeing so many ancient ruins in the Sacred Valley, it was Juanita and the offerings she was sacrificed with, that really brought us face to face with the Incas.
We didn´t spend all our time hanging around such morbid sights, however. Arequipa is a top gastronomic destination of South America, and we just had to indulge ourselves. "We can´t eat chicken and rice all the time," we rationalized. Plus we wanted to see how it stacked up to it´s rival, Lima. So, after a little searching, we put our trust, hopes, and palettes into the very competent hands of ZigZag, a culinary fusion restaurant specializing in Alpandino dishes. Excited, but worried because we didn´t have reservations, we timidly asked if they could squeeze us in. Instead of merely showing us to the bar, we got the best seats in the house, up an iron staircase designed by the French architect Gustave Eiffel, and overlooking the beautiful Plaza San Francisco. The view would not be the only delight of the senses, however. For an aperitif, we shared a trio of Pisco sours: coca, elderberry, and dried fruit, followed by an appetizer of ostrich carpaccio. But the real star was the main course: alpaca (a new favorite), beef, and pork steaks served on sizzling volcanic stone. Having a chunk of sizzling volcanic rock cook our food while wearing bibs to protect our clothes from spraying meat juice was a new experience for us, but the flavor was also amazing. We washed it all down with a huge cocktail for two served in a frozen ostrich egg. Needless to say, we strolled back to our hostel full, buzzed, and with the night lights of Arequipa reflecting off the pearly white stone and our happy faces.