First thing to notice in Arequipa is the totally chaotic and crazy traffic. Cars just drive where ever they want without thinking which would be a good way or who should go first. I bet there are hundreds of car crashes every day. We also had some "that was close" situations while we took taxi three times in the city.

One funny coincidence again was the second time we end up in a place with public holidays. Last time it was Argentina's Independence Day, now Peru's national days. And yes, not just one day but two days. The whole city was full of red decorations and writings to announce the joy of the day. Luckily almost all the shops and sights stayed open and they sold us bus tickets.

Arequipa is a city that I visited already during my last visit in Peru. Right away I recognized places and got déjà vu's. Our hostel was really close to the main plaza, Plaza de Armas which was surrounded by cafés and churches. The hostel itself was a bit weird. We had our own room, but other than that it was strange. They didn't provide us any toilet paper, the kitchen was smaller than my cleaning closet in Finland and the showers were in the corridor without any separation between showers for men and women. Oh well, we didn't expect much more when we pay 5,5€ a night and even the breakfast is included.

The weather in Arequipa was amazing with the sun shining all the time. Walking outside was really nice and we did that a lot. Arequipa was also full of handicraft shops with very colorful scarfs, hats, shoes and everything. I wish there would be more money in my bank account and more space in my backpack. We also visited a museum that I actually visited also the previous time in Arequipa. The museum was telling about the people in the Andes and telling a story about children that had been sacrificed to the sun. The most famous one of them is Juanita, a frozen Inca princess whose mummy we were able to see in the museum. The museum is one of my favorite ones for being so well organized and informative in an interesting way. They always provide people a guide who is actually a history student.

Food in Peru seemed to be really cheap, especially during lunch time. Three course meal was only 7 soles, which is about 2,3€. Some local specialties were often included in the meals like chichi, some kind of berry juice that everyone drinks. It reminds Finnish people of glögi.

One thing that was a bit new thing in Peru comparing to other countries in South America is everyone taking photos of us. Not just a few people but tens of people. Some of them come to ask for permission, most of them wont. The most annoying time was when about a ten year old boy came to shake hands with us and after that the boy's father asked that can he take a photo. We said no but he took it anyway encouraging the boy to come to stand behind us. Not many seconds later there was a whole children football team with everyone's parents taking photos and pushing their children next to us. That was really weird, especially the behavior of the parents.

First stop in Peru is now done - Next heading to a totally different surroundings. Huacachina, here we come!