The flight from Madrid to Lima took twelve hours on quite an old plane so there wasn't the "at seat" TVs to distract us. But we landed in Lima on time and, amazingly, with bags. As we had a five hour wait for our flight on to Arequipa, we ate breakfast in the food court. It was a wheat pancake with cheese, basil and tomato.
Breakfast at Lima
Our hotel
After freshening up we went on a recce of the city centre. Many of the buildings are made of white volcanic sillar, a feature Arequipa is famed for.
Palace of Justice
Iglesia y claustros de la compania
Sucre Street
The heart of the city is the Plaza de Armas, dominated by the cathedral.
The square was buzzing with people, and we were bemused to see so many apparent families sat on benches holding old typewriters. None of the guide books tell you about this.
Daewoo cab
Also a distinctive feature not mentioned is the huge number of yellow taxi cabs - all the same make - Daewoo - and in different states of repair. They were like bees round a hive, buzzing in and out and narrowly missing each other. The road junctions were chaotic, with no apparent give way. A bit like Rome! We adopted the method of crossing where locals crossed.
Shops
Around the Plaza there were many streets,narrow and filled with shops. In one area there must have been over ten opticians all next to one another. They were all small without windows and cave like inside. Other shops sold chaotic piles of books, and a myriad of strange things, like a specialist spring shop.
Everywhere that you walked there were delicious smells. Fruit shops piled high with some of the biggest pineapples and papayas that we have ever seen could be smelt doors away. In the restaurant streets, there was a mouthwatering perfume of spices and herbs. (Hopefully not the local delicacy of roasted guinea pig on a stick.)
On every street, vendors hawked their wares - sweets, Andean art, a lady pushing the skeleton of a child's pushchair selling cigarettes. There were stands selling local food. And, as we said, there were the strange groups with typewriters!
Being vegetarian always poses a challenge when traveling, but in Arequipa there seemed to be plenty of restaurants offering meat-free fayre. Crepes, risotto, pasta, pizza, curries, goulash. We stopped in a passageway at the rear of the Cathedral, and Kevin was delighted to find that Old Speckled Hen was on the menu. We could not resist! 
Joan had the national drink - a Pisco Sour, made with Pisco, lime, egg white, sugar and nutmeg. Divine!
Pisco Sour
After a short rest back at the hotel, we ate out early. The locals don't begin to eat until way after nine, but our body clocks were telling us it was midnight at 7 in the evening. We ate more crepes, filled with spinach,brocolli and cheese with papas fritas (chips to you). It was in a small courtyard with umbrellas. The evening was cooler but still warm enough to sit out with a cardigan.
About 9.30 we walked back through the still busy streets to our hotel. Below is a video of the Plaza de Armas.
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