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Travelling overnight always seems to involve a bit of pot luck, but I think we did pretty well this time with the top deck of a public service complete with reclining seats leg rests and in-journey entertainment. For the most part the only real downside was that once the leg rest is deployed it is virtually impossible to move at all without first shifting absolutely everything around you out of the way first, and the fact that travelling at night means you can't enjoy the scenery. Come 5:00 am and this changes, and the primary problem becomes that of the stewardess (yes, on a bus) enthusiastically shaking each passenger by the shoulder and explaining to every one of those dazed and frankly unwillingly awakened individuals that it is time to wake up (on what basis?) before foisting a not particularly spectacular breakfast in your lap (would happily go without it in return for some sleep) and requesting that seats be returned to the upright position to enable the person behind to put their similarly excessively early meal on the table (presumably for safekeeping while they do the sensible thing and go back to sleep). When all the passengers are in a suitably drowsy state of awareness, they put on a movie (in this case, Horrible Bosses). Afterwards, they put pop music on at top volume and bring round another breakfast, just in case the one you had ninety minutes ago wasn't enough.
Upon arrival at Arequipa, we were wisked across town to the hotel and, after successfully resisting the urge to go to bed for some real sleep, went out to explore the town (starting, obviously, with finding a breakfast that tasted better than the box it came in). Arequipa is 2325m above sea level, and the whole town is surrounded by mountains including the El Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu volcanoes (a lot of the town is made from volcanic rock). The main cultural attraction attraction is the Convent of Santa Catalina, set up by the Spanish imperial power for the daughters of wealthy families to live as nuns (enduring the vicissitudes of that calling with only a handful of servants). Most people take a guided tour, which is inexpensive (I think it was around £2 each) and very informative, not to mention amusing when the guide invites you take pictures and proceeds to stand precisely in the middle of the picture. Whilst a lot of the original fittings are no longer present, it is still possible to get a good idea of how the convent worked and how its inhabitants would have lived, including the influence of evolving Papal doctrine as to nuns' living arrangements. The upper levels also offer excellent views of the city and of the surrounding countryside.
The city's cenral plaza is pretty enough, and is surrounded by cafes, shops and markets in the side streets. The dominant feature is the cathedral at one end of the square. Despite the surprisingly limited opening hours we did manage to get inside the building for a look around. The interior is refreshingly clear, rather than being daubed from head to toe in gold and silver. It possibly takes away from the imposition of power that buildings like this are often aimed at achieving, but there is probably an argument that the brighter, more uplifting atmosphere makes for a more enjoyable experience of worship for its congregation and might thereby encourage people to go (providing it is actually open when they arrive).
We hadn't really been out much in the evenings as a group yet, but this evening we found a nice bar to enjoy a couple of pisco sours, play some pool and relax a bit with the locals. Taking careful note of the advice to limit alcohol consumption at altitude, particularly in the first few days, we made our way to a local club and eventually rolled in somewhere between 3 and 4 in the morning.
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