a typical day in Arequipa

If you were to spend a day with us in Arequipa, here are a few of the sights you would typically see.

The watchiman. It seems most blocks (at least in our neighborhood) have one of these guys. Yes, it looks like he is napping, but do not worry. He is surely keeping diligent watch. In a few minutes he’ll be up blowing his whistle to prove it.

The watchiman's security booth.

A great arrangement for indecisive people like me. A lot of restaurants have a "menu" each day at lunchtime. It's a fixed price for a limited menu. It's usually a soup or salad, a choice of 1-3 main dishes, a dessert and a juice. We've tried it at a few different places, ranging from a whole-in-the-wall joint for around $2 each to a nice seafood place for around $8 each.

A typical intersection: no stop sign, no yield sign, no traffic light. Just mass confusion, horns and every vehicle for itself.

You have to keep a close eye on the ground while walking because the sidewalk is full of unannounced holes.

People drive around on carts collecting junk (a.k.a. treasures). Notice the loudspeaker mounted on the front. This one is more loaded down than most.

Dogs on the rooftops.

Dogs on the sidewalk.

Dogs everywhere! Fortunately they're not aggressive.

Blue sky. Every day. All the time. (Sorry, I'm not rubbing it in. I'm just telling the truth.)

Little stores (tiendas) tucked in walls, between houses, on street corners, all over the place. They sell a bit of everything, from ice cream to toilet paper.

El Misti. The famous 19,000-foot volcano of Arequipa. You can see it from just about everywhere in the city. I like how it changes colors depending on the location of the sun.

Many people are very concerned about the run-off election on June 5. They say their choices are between AIDS and cancer. Keiko is the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who is in prison now on charges of human rights violations. The other candidate, Ollanta Humala, has been compared to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Most of the people we've asked are reluctantly voting for Keiko because they're afraid Humala will ruin the country with socialist policies. Voting is mandatory here in Peru. Here's a short summary from the BBC if anyone is interested.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of a typical day in Arequipa. Anyone is most welcome to come down for a real visit and a real tour!