After stopping in Juliaca for a quick breakfast – lamb soup for Nando and bread and jam for the less adventurous among us – we got on the highway towards Arequipa. The first sign read “Santa Lucia 53 km.” so we knew we were on the right road. The road to Arequipa from Juliaca is well-maintained, and, for the first 100 kilometers, the route is flat and straight, meaning you can travel at 100 km/hr. However, once you are close to the beautiful lagoon called Lagunillas, the road begins to twist and turn, and you have to slow down. The scenery includes golden hills dotted with boulders, clear blue skies, and the occasional lagoon.
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| Mucho of the trip is alongside the railway lines |
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| Lots of golden fields and hills |
We stopped at the overlook for Lagunillas, where there were two alpacas and a llama grazing, in addition to several people selling handicrafts. We purchased a colorful alpaca blanket that I think will look nice in our living room. Just after that lagoon, we saw a smaller lagoon filled with flamingos. Kind of crazy to see flamingos at over 4000 meters above sea level. The indicators on the side of the road told us we were about 200 kilometers from Arequipa. As it was 11:15 am, it was clear we wouldn’t make it to Arequipa in time for lunch.
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| Alto Lagunillas and a llama |
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| Alto Lagunilla |
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| 4413 meters above sea level |
The road continued to twist and turn, and go up and down mountains, bordered by snow-capped peaks in the distance. We saw lots of llamas and alpacas, the occasional vicuna, but few people or houses. There were some villages where the alpaca and llama herders live, but not many. At 4528 meters above sea level, and Kilometer 190, for example, we came across the town of Crucero Alto. We were still on the altiplano, with no sign of going down the mountain. In Peru, at about 5000 meters above sea level, you are in nevado territory – where ice and snow persist year-round. We weren’t quite there, but it was clear from the ice on the side of the road that it dips below freezing at night. During the day, however, the sun warms everything up and I could get out of the car without my fleece jacket.
Shortly after passing the town Imata, at Kilometer 148, we saw a sign that said “Mirador” next to huge rock formations. We turned off the road and went to check them out. The rock formations were amazing. We couldn’t figure out how the rock formations developed, especially since, in some cases, larger rocks sat on top of smaller ones. There wasn’t a name that indicated what the place was called, but a few kilometers after the rocks, we saw a small village called Pillones.
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| Huge rock formations in the middle of the high desert |
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| A valley of boulders |
We continued our way across the altiplano, wondering when we would begin our descent towards Arequipa. Around Kilometer 125, we found our answer, and began to go down the mountain towards Arequipa. Around the same time, we also caught a glimpse of Misti – a huge volcano close to Arequipa. It was past noon, and we were getting hungry, but there were no restaurants in sight, just mountains and more mountains.
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| A Volcano - we must be close to Arequipa! |
We came upon a toll booth about 100 kilometers outside of Arequipa, but the only thing they had for lunch there was chicharron de alpaca – fried alpaca. We decided to keep going and the kids were content with some jello cups we were able to buy on the side of the road.
When we made it to Arequipa, it was 2:30pm, which means that most places no longer serve lunch. We decided to go to a shopping mall, as I figured they would have a food court. They did, and we were able to get a meal. Nando and the kids had Chinese food, but I went for pollo a la brasa, as I try to eat only Peruvian food while in Peru, since Peruvian food is so good.
We made it to our hotel – Hotel el Peral – and were pleased to find that the hotel is clean, sunny, and pleasant. I had made the booking online so wasn’t sure how nice it would be. Nando and I left the kids in the hotel room, as they wanted to hang out there, and went to walk around the Plaza before nightfall. Arequipa is a beautiful city, with a massive cathedral, a gorgeous plaza, and several historic buildings. Unlike Cusco, the Spanish influence is much more evident than the Incan influence. Nevertheless, the city is quite beautiful.
We had dinner at a small restaurant near the hotel serving cena for 4 soles, and it was tasty. As Arequipa is a nice city and we need to do laundry, we will hang out here in the morning before continuing our journey towards Lima. We are not sure where we will spend the night, as Camana is too close at 2 and a half hours away, and Ica is too far at 7 hours away. If we don’t find anything between Camana and Ica, we will spend the night in Nazca, which is about 5 and a half hours from Arequipa.
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