Arequipa.
March 2011.
On the road to Arequipa, we cross incredible scenery.
Upon stopping to take somes pictures, we are joined by a group of Peruvians who are doing a trip "men only" on board of 4x4.
They are very surprised by the fact that we travel as a family.
They ask us a thousand questions about our trip and take lots of pictures: fortunately our Spanish is getting much better !
Crossing a small town, we are stopped by a policeman, who accuses us of having crossed when the light was red.
The fine will be huge, but there are ways to find a deal...
After long talks we take out a bank note from our wallet, and give it to him.
But at this time Charlotte, who does not endorse this kind of practice, prononces the word:
"Es corrupción".
The corrupted policeman got afraid, gives us the money back and runs away ...
The center of Arequipa, built from white lava stone is beautiful.
But the most amazing building is the Santa Catalina monastery, a real city inside the city.
It was the latest, to the heirs of the great Spanish families to enter their as nuns.
But these ladies being accustomed to certain luxuries, they each had their private house, with a few servants.
The convent is a series of residential neighborhoods and cloisters, with very few common parts.
It is a marvel.
The boys are very intrigued by the filtrating stone, the ancestor of Katadyn filters.
Behind the convent, the children play with huge jugs cut in half that were used for the laundry.
We are not the only one taking pictures of our kids !
In the kitchen of the convent, the children are intrigued by the shinning coins at the bottom of the well.
But the monastery is huge and at the end of the visit we are happy to rest,
whether in the confessional, on a stair or on a bench!
On leaving, we rush towards a popular canteen to enjoy a good roast chicken.
The main square lined with a double row of arches, is beautiful.
We laugh when seeing a garbage truck with written: "el tiempo perdido Recuperando"
It is true that there is a lot of work to recover the lost time: It took us half an hour to find a good spot around the city, looking for a place to camp that is not a dump!
Visiting a city is a little tiring and we end the day at McDonalds with a good ice cream.
