We had an early start so that we could explore Arequipa. We walked around the old town and got in the bulk of the sights that are achievable in a morning but the stand out sight must have been the Santa Catalina monastery where wayward woman from the early days were sent to repent their sins.
The Arequipa church in the daylight.
Traditional Peruvian woman weaving blankets..
The following images are all inside the Santa Catalina Monastery….
And, the changing face of Arequipa. The modern meets the old..
We left Arequipa at around 12:30 to head for Puno and although we were expecting “some” rain on route nothing could have prepared us for the weather we encountered. About 50km out of Arequipa the temperature rapidly dropped to around 7C as we climbed over 3000m and the the rain started in buckets. As we climbed higher the rain became hail and by the time we peaked at about 4500m we were riding through snow and below 2C! It was a nightmare!
Our days ride.
The ride was a short 300km but it took us 4.5 hours due to the mountainous roads and weather conditions. We got into Puno just after sunset and if the riding conditions of the day hadn’t been challenging enough already, we couldn’t get to our hotel because the road was closed due to road works. This resulted in endless frustration in the wet and cold and homicide became a real consideration when some plonker parked us into a dead end road!
One of the views on route to Puno when the clouds cleared for a moment!
After we had got to our hotel, parked the bike and checked in we headed straight for a skanky little bar for a drink and a pizza to warm up. After that it was an early night. Tomorrow we rest up in Puno for the day to see Lake Titicaca and the sights of the town.
Roberto Román L.
February 28, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Hi Rui and Jacqui: glad you visited Santa Catalina. Truly worth it. And even though your ride to Puno was much better than my friend’s around 30 years ago, I see its still very challenging!
When you get to Cusco, there’s a café that you shouldn’t miss (if memory serves, it’s called Varayoc), and also a “Peña” on the second floor of a 400 year old building right by the Plaza: Catuchay (think that’s how its spelled). There you can pick up some local color!
Will keep following you guys!
Have a nice and safe ride!
Cristy and Roberto