So after two weeks in Arequipa it was time to move on.. yes I said I was tired of being on the move, but after two weeks I really think I saw everything of Arequipa, plus I learned all enought Spanish :) But before I tell you how great Cusco is let me tell you a bit more about my two weeks in Arequipa.

In my first week I spend a lot of time learning all these spanish grammer stuff.. which I still don’t really understand :) Well I know what they mean but trying to speak it.. So in the morning I got up at half past seven and had a great breakfast on the roof terrace with a view on Misti. Than at 9 my classes started until 13. After 4 hours of spanish I couldn’t do much than having a cheap lunch (mostly around 6-8 SOL for a soup, main dish and desert) and than I went sight seeing or just walking around. After I had enougth I went back to the hostel and sat again on the roof terrace to do my homework and try to learn everything I learned that morning. In the evening I didn’t do much; I went out for diner and watched a movie in the hostel.

On friday I went out with some people I met on the spanish school. We went to this great place called ‘Deja Vu’! DJ’s play all the famous music (both english as spanish) and locals and travelers dance all night long. It’s a great mix! I was here already last week with Irina, a german girl I met on the Colca Canon. And now again I had a great time dancing until 5 in the morning. So saturday was my big hangover day :) At the end of the evening I met up with David, an english guy I travelled with for a month in Argentina. It was great seeing him again!

We went out again on saturday and I showed him and his friend Camaron around in Arequipa.

The second week I had my spanish classes again, every day from 9 till 13. Afterwards I met up with David and Camaron to have lunch and to do some sightseeing. At night we also went out for diner and went playing pool, or went to the cinema to see some great movies. We’ve seen ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘Terminator 3′. We also watched an classicer from Alfred Hitchcok called ‘Life Boat’ in the cultur centrum.

So Arequipa wasn’t boring at all! So here are some tips what to do in Arequipa:

1. stay at Hostel Posada del Cacique. It’s a small hostel, but good value for your money. I paid 20 SOL for a night. You have free internet, TV room, great roof terrace, always hot water, and the staff is really friendly and helps you with everything. Also they really like talking spanish with you. If you want a party place.. go to Hostel Bothy.

2. if you want to learn spanish here go to EDEAQ, great spanish school. It gets you out of your hostel and is located in the center of the city, 1 minute from plaza de armas. 6 US dollars an hour for private lessons.

3. take the city tour bus! We took it (the yellow one, not the red one) costs 35 SOL and you see all the tourist placed of Arequipa. I like the miradors, you get a great view over Arequipa. The tour is in spanish but also in english. The tour takes about 4 hours and is not rushed. If you want more time at one place you can always go back by taxi.

4. if you want to see a movie you have to options, there are free movies at some university places (I got my informtion from EDEAQ), or go to Cineplanet.com.pe. It’s located in Cayma. For about 10 SOL you see the latest movies, and a super sized popcorm (which you can’t finish!!) costs only 10 SOL.

5. visit Monasterio de la Recoleta. Costs only 5 SOL to get in, and I found it more interesting than Monastery of Santa Catalina. Visit it in the morning so you have more time to see everything.

6. Monastery of Santa Catalina, of course you have to see this place. Its far to overpriced with its 30 SOL entrance, but if you take your time it’s a nice place to walk through.

7. Juanita! Don’t miss Juanita!

8. Colca Canyon! Yes go here!! Don’t do a 2 day trip.. do at least 3 days and really go into the bottom of the canon. I booked at Land Adventures, good value again for what you get. You stay 1 night at a local family and 1 night in Copanaconde. You can also do it on your own. Just buy a good map, find out which route to take and take the local bus.

9. walk around in Arequipa! You will see so many nice buildings and places. It’s amazing!

10. go out on friday and saturday! Live music at some places, and go dancing at Deja Vu!

11. for eating I recommend this Mexican restaurant, great borritos and tacos! Also check out Turku and some pizza places (sorry can’t remember the names)

Okay, can’t come up with more tips for you but when I do I will post them. So Arequipa was really nice, I enjoyed every day. If you come to Peru don’t miss this place!