Detour to Arequipa

 

Beatriz, an Arequipa waitress, has a future in tourism.

From Aríca I had intended to to cruise down the Peruano coast, staying in little beach towns along the way, when I again encountered the standard operating procedure for South American bus travel -- the long wait -- and my plans dramatically changed.

I met Beatriz, who lives in Arequipa, Peru, and who was headed home. We were both stuck waiting and got to talking. Wound up going out for a bite and some chit-chat. Her enthusiasm for Arequipa persauded me to visit instead of crusing the coast. Wasn't hard to do. Wound up spending five days in Arequipa.

 

Volcán Misti, 19,098 feet tall, serves as the focal point for the view from my hostale's rooftop, where they serve breakfast.

Beatriz, who doesn't speak a word of English, works as a waitress in a touristy place a couple blocks off the Plaza de Armas. I would stop by the restaurant in the early afternoon, have a couple-three cervezas and go back to the hostale for a siesta. Then I'd have dinner at the restaurant and wander around till she got off. Then, a little comida, some wine, even a little dancing. (I can hear y'all laughing.)

One of the customs for the restaurant biz down here is too approach potential patrons who are wandering by, and try to steer them into your place. During my first afternoon cerveza session, Beatriz was chatting when I saw a couple of old gringos, and whispered loudly "Pez.¡Pez!" Pez is Spanish for fish. She didn't get it, and the old folks slipped by. I had to explain that Beatriz "es un pescador y necesita captura de los peces." Which means, she's a fisherman and needs to catch the fish. The next day she and the other waiter were standing outside the joint motioning like fishermen using a reel after people passed them up.

 

Pichu Pichu, 18,537 ft., and Nevado Chachani, the 27th biggest in Peru at 19,997 feet, lie to the west of Volcán Misti.

The rest of the time, I wandered the city. Also very hot, despite being 7,550 feet above sea level.

A cathedral, what else? -- dominates the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa.

 

There were literally hundreds of houses all through South America where the dogs were kept on the roof.

 

A flat tire on the Pan American Highway, in Peru, south of Lima. The drivers, they take turns behind the wheel and resting, have to do the work themselves.