Breakfast at the hotel then time for a walk so
we went down through town to the Inca market to see all of the touristy nick
necks and trinkets, took a few photos of the central park area and church on
the way back to the hotel which had us back to the hotel a bit later than
planned. Back at the hotel we packed and checked out which took a bit longer
than anticipated then we had underestimated traffic on Saturday morning with
regard to time required, hence we were a bit late for the airport. We found the
line that we thought we should be in and patiently were waiting our turn when I
noticed the group on LAN representatives checking peoples ticket at the start
of the queue that we had rushed past in order to get into line ASAP. I
mentioned to Hax perhaps we should ask them if we are in the right queue. The
LAN lady looked at Hax's ticket and did a series of hand gestures that I think
meant “you are very late sir, please follow me” (with Latin American passion of
course, and a slight look of scorn). She pulled us out of the line and rushed
us to the counter and said something to the check in guy that made him laugh,
this is no time for jokes lady, don’t you know we are in a hurry, I thought.
The check in guy quickly dispatched the person he was dealing with and then put
our gear and tickets through. We thanked the helpful LAN lady, she managed to
smile and scorn at the same time, now that’s talent. We sped through security as much as one can
speed through security and found our gate in time to relax before boarding.
Initially we couldn’t see Harry there which was strange because we had planned
to meet here, but on closer inspection one of the people in the crowd was
holding a Shoei helmet in front of there face, hiding, ah yes that would be
him. The flight to Arequipa went well I thought “it is a barren wasteland out
there” as I viewed the terrain out the window from 35000 feet, then realized
the shade was down, opened the shade but the view hardly changed! As we
approached Arequipa a progressive series of old shacks in the sand were
visible, becoming more and more densely spaced, from the lifestyle blocks of
sand to the suburban section of sand, until on outskirts of Arequipa they
blended in to the city, which was very dense housing. Hax and I were the first
off the plane which is just one of the advantages of turning up late, you get
to sit in the front seats. Met Geert our guide for the trip who ran us to the
Peru-motors hotel. On arrival at the hotel we met our bikes, brand new Kawasaki
KLR650s, Geert also pointed out that he had a new truck for this trip, so all
bodes well for the reliability of this journey.
Had our initial briefing with beer in hand in the garden (setting the
tone). After Geert left to spend time with his significant other, we walked to
town for a look and a feed. The architecture was interesting Spanish influence
buildings made with the white volcanic rock from the area. Impressive central
square, with two stories of arched stone balconies all the way around a
gardened square with a central fountain, very Spanish feel to it. We found a
restaurant that promised on their brochure to give us a view of the volcano El
Misty that towers over Arequipa, and we hoped would be lit by the full moon, as
it was now dark. As a bonus the restaurant claimed to serve pre Inca cuisine,
now that’s culture. We all ordered the same thing - roast lama on a hot volcanic
stone. Sadly from our seats on the first floor balcony we could only admire and
wonder a the driving of the locals as they circumnavigated the square with
little regard for each other, no regard for the road markings and an apparent
maleficence for the pedestrians both young and old (Harry and Hax watched a
mother and a small child get stuck in the traffic flow as they crossed the
street and the cars all tooted and swerved but not one of them stopped to let
them get off the road!). This young child was playing dodgems with the cars
while I was on the roof of the building trying to get a photo of El Misty, as
this was the only view of the mountain from the restaurant. I was a bit nervous
when the owner of the restaurant noticing me taking photos and invited me to
come with him to his stairway to heaven, I said “no no no you have it all
wrong, your Gaydar needs recalibrating hombre!” but he assured me it was the
best place to get photos of El Misty, so up I went, and sure enough I could
just make out the mountain from up there weakly lit by the full moon and
difficult to make out due to the light from the square. I refused the offered
Pisco Sour, a local cocktail, as I was already stumbling due to the effect of
the second large beer at the restaurant in combination with sleep deprivation.
Walked back, then had no trouble getting to sleep at all but curses, woke again
at 3 at that was me up!
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