Day 430 – Nazca to Arequipa

Exploring the White City of Arequipa

Today we woke up pretty early on our Civa night bus from Nazca. We arrived at Arequipa just before 8am. The Arequipa Bus Terminal was busy with lots of buses. After picking up our backpacks we attempted to get an Uber to our hotel, which is close to the historic centre. However, no drivers accepted the fare.

As we were wondering what to do, we saw that there are fixed prices for various destinations from the terminal by taxi. The ride to the historic centre only cost us 8 PEN ($3.83 AUD). 

We were dropped off right near the Plaza de Armas de Arequipa as there was a large crowd gathering, blocking some of the road. We walked to our hostel, Holidays Backpackers Hostel and dropped off our backpacks. The road outside the hostel was under construction, so only pedestrians could use it. 

We walked around town, looking for breakfast. Around the Plaza de Armas, a restaurant staff member showed us a menu which was reasonable since we were so hungry. The restaurant was upstairs with an amazing view of the plaza.

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After eating we attempted to join a free walking tour. However, it wasn’t running today. Probably due to being a Sunday. Therefore, we kept walking towards the Santa Catalina Monastery.

Santa Catalina Monastery

Entrance into the former monastery is 40 PEN ($19.12 AUD) per person (p/p). We actually spent a few hours walking around the monastery, which felt like walking around a small European city. The monastery was founded in 1579 by the Dominican Christian Order and is built of sillar volcanic stone from the region.

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The monastery has beautiful gardens and corridors full of artworks. There is lots of sign age in multiple languages including English. It was interesting that most of the living quarters had their own small kitchens. 

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There is also a massive church, which can be climbed for nice views of the surrounding mountain ranges.

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Rest of the day

After the monastery, we had some lunch from a restaurant close by to the Plaza de Armas. Then we were able to return to the hostel and check in. We had a nice room, which was small. The hostel offered a tour called Ruta del Sillar for 50 PEN ($23.82 AUD) p/p which would take us to the quarry of the sillar volcanic rocks. We booked it for tomorrow. 

Then we went to the supermarket, El Super which was a few blocks away to buy some supplies. As I was walking around, I suddenly felt dizzy and had to throw up. I ran outside to look for a rubbish bin but couldn’t find one and threw up on the street. I felt horrible.

My wife walked me back to the hostel where I had a shower and got into bed. During this time, my wife had talked to the hostel and they had arranged a doctor to come visit. The service was called MedicTour, which was pricey but the doctor arrived within the hour and spoke perfect English.

We concluded that it must be food poisoning that had lingered from Paracas! However, he wanted me to give some samples and come to the clinic tomorrow so that he could run tests to see what was going on.  

My amazing wife went to a different supermarket to complete our grocery shopping and she bought back various medicines for me. All in all, not the way I expected the day to end!