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So after Colca Canyon, Zoe, Derek & I spent a few days in Arequipa - the White City - named because of its beautiful white buildings and the snow-capped volcanoes that form a ring around it. Our hotel had a roof top deck with views of the mountains that we enjoyed each morning over breakfast. Our meal was often accompanied by music - at first we thought a band was marching by or a local fiesta was starting - but it turns out that the garbage trucks in Arequipa play music, much more varied than the jingles from ice cream trucks, as the go about their work.
Zoe continued to be sick so we finally found a doctor and after a number of tests determined that she had a bacterial infection (flu-like) and no parasites (thank goodness!) Antibiotics did the trick but unfortunately the medical saga dominated much of our time in this lovely city. We did visit a cool convent which takes up several city blocks and where a few nuns still live as well as a museum with Princess Juanita, a frozen 500 year old body. Zoe was a bit horrified with the Inca sacrifice ritual that resulted in 12 year old Juanita's death, but seeing intact hair, skin, etc. from so long ago was very interesting.
Then it was off to Lima to meet Zoe's grandfather, Jack, at the Suisse Hotel, which had the best showers of our entire trip. We went on a city tour with him, exploring the different neighborhoods, and later Derek and I returned to Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood with many cafes, public art, and ocean views. We also ate in some amazing restaurants and kept imagining how beautiful the city would be if it wasn't foggy and gray every single day. It is like this 8 months of the year people said, and we decided to never complain about San Francisco fog again! The highlight of Lima was definitely getting to spend time with Grandpa and plan our next adventures to the jungle.
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