23.10.10 Arrival in Arequipa

I took the overnight bus with the company CIAL from Cusco and arrived on Saturday, 23.10.10 at around 7am in Arequipa. Everybody told me that I have to go to Arequipa as it is supposedly one of the nicest cities in Peru.

Arequipa is Peru's second biggest city with approx. more than 1 Million inhabitants. Three huge volcanoes are located very close to Arequipa. The perfect cone-shaped volcano El Misti (5.822m) which is apparently due to erupt in this century and only 20km from the city. Uuhh…how scary! Chachani (6075m) approx. 30km and PichuPichu (5571m) which is located a bit further.

I booked myself into the Hostel "Wayna River". First I was a bit shocked as the quality was not as good as in Cusco…..but as only a few people stayed at the hostel and Alexandra the owner was so nice, I decided to stay. From the first moment I loved Arequipa. Probably because of the nice weather but I also fell in love with the main Plaza de Armas and for sure the friendly Peruvian people.

On the first day I went to the Museo Sanctuarios Andinos where you can find the frozen Inca maiden who was sacrificed on the summit of Ampato (6288m) over 500 years ago. At the museum I met Thomas from Cologne/Germany. After chatting to him for a few minutes he suggested to go for a coffee at the Cusco Coffee company……mmhh, good choice! After a long chat we exchanged mobile numbers and I went back to my hostel.

On Sunday, 24.10.10 Thomas and his Swiss friends decided to visit the "Monastrio Santa Catalina" and asked me if I would like to join them. I am glad I agreed as this monastery shouldn't be missed in Arequipa. It was the most beautiful monastery I have ever seen and I took millions of photos.Check out my photo album!

As I loved the nice and warm weather in Arequipa I decided to stay here for a while. So I signed up with the Swiss-Peruvian School for a two week Spanish Course. My original plan was to register for a Spanish Course in Bolivia as it is supposedly cheaper over there……but Max, the Suisse owner offered me a good deal. I also agreed with Max to register for a 1-2-1 course for 4 hours a day!!! Puh…I am gonna be exhausted after the four hours!!!

On Monday, 25.10.10 I had my first Spanish lessons with my two different teachers Joaquin and Rosa…..each of them for two hours. Even though that they are bombarding me with loads of homework….but I really like both of them!

Two days later I asked Max if it would be possible to stay with a family and how much more it would cost than staying at a hostel. Max definitely recommended to do a "homestay" and could offer me a family straight away and not too far away from the school. As I was very keen to learn as much Spanish as possible in these two weeks I accepted his offer. The night before I moved to the family I couldn't sleep at all as I was quite nervous. I was constantly thinking about the family…. Who are they and will I be able to understand them with my little Spanish????