Arequipa, Peru: Deja Vu rooftop bar
I just finished a full day of sightseeing in central Arequipa. Went on two different museum tours: One of a huge monestary/convent (Santa Catalina), and the other, a privately guided tour through an Inka museum, complete with its own Mummy, "the beautiful Juanita." I know Peruvian girls are no where near as cute as Argentinian ones, but if this is their standard for hot (well, she did have nice long hair), all you men in San Jose can feel a little bit better about whats available at Toons and Mission Male House.
The private museum tour was great, but the funny thing was that I wasnt allowed alone in the museum. So this whirlwind tour by the guide was all I got, but I had this massive rush of seratonin radiating off the back of my head for 20 minutes... I guess because I really love personalized service and also this Indiana Jones shit. Seriously, the only time that I´ve felt like this, well sober anyway, is the first time I drove my car alone to the gas station for a fillup and the guy washed my windows too (Self-service is illegal in Oregon, along with U-turns).
So I had an incredible lunch at a top-notch Turkish resturant here. Of course, I had diarrhea, but it was worth it. I eat any kind of exotic food I can find while I´m on vacation because I´m dying without spicy food in Argentina (More likely, I´m dying because of all the beef I´m eating, but that´s a different story).
The city is beautiful and clean. Reminds me of Mendoza, Argentina...except for that thing about 500 year old women being held as a local standard of beauty. I realized I love colonial architecture: bold and simple colors, set against stark white, often amazingly carved, stone buildings with black wrought-iron fixures, contrasted by a bright blue sky above. I hope my pictures can capture the feel. The insides of some of these churches are spectacular with tons of gaudy statues, huge domed cielings, and gold-painted wood carvings that are 30ft wide and 100ft tall, with inset statues...kind of like a life-size Christmas advent calendar.
The city is beautiful and clean. Reminds me of Mendoza, Argentina...except for that thing about 500 year old women being held as a local standard of beauty. I realized I love colonial architecture: bold and simple colors, set against stark white, often amazingly carved, stone buildings with black wrought-iron fixures, contrasted by a bright blue sky above. I hope my pictures can capture the feel. The insides of some of these churches are spectacular with tons of gaudy statues, huge domed cielings, and gold-painted wood carvings that are 30ft wide and 100ft tall, with inset statues...kind of like a life-size Christmas advent calendar.
The main square is really nice, but suffers from an overpopulation of pushy shoeshine-boys who, every one of them, insist that they can shine the tan suede Timberlands I´m wearing. I replied with 10 firm "No quiero"´s because, while my Spanish is certainly improving, I don´t really know how to explain that the shoes are not really suede and that I´ve just sprayed them with a special chemical compound designed to be water-resistant. Some spoke some broken English to me....but I didnt fall for that shit, just kept on using my broken Spanish. I need to learn a few lines of Finnish or Greek, just to see if I can stump them. Just because I´m pale, sunburned, and over 5´7" shouldnt mean that I automatically speak English.
