A view of the main plaza in Arequipa with the Cathedral lit up at night.
Romina and I flew to Arequipa in the Southern Highlands of Peru on Friday in order to meet with Dr. Josefina Medina, a cardiologist and the principal investigator on the PREVENCION study. We departed the plane with a view of the full moon rising over the picturesque and dormant volcano, Misti. Dr. Medina is the sweetest Arequipenan woman that I have ever met and was very excited to show me all the technology that she has in her cardiology office. Thank goodness for Romina, my friend and translator, as my Spanish is improving but not sufficient to understand scientific meeting by myself. I was very impressed by Dr. Medina’s computer skills and by the wide array of cardiovascular prevention techniques that she uses in her clinic, including echocardiography, arterial pulse wave, sphygmography, and others.
La Punta
After our meeting we took a taxi on a winding mountain road with sheer cliffs down past Mollendo to La Punta, a small town on the beach where Romina’s family is from. We stayed at the Punta del Sur, the largest building in town besides the church. It didn’t take long for the gringos to become the talk of the town. Her uncle is a very prominent figure in the town and owns a lot of farm land and recently built the very nice hotel with solar panels for hot water which was a big bonus.
He drove us around in the back of his Toyota pickup truck up to the giant “Jesus Blanco” for a panoramic view of the beach and fertile green valley. It was a stark contrast to the desert and dry brown mountains that we drove along.
Then, he took us along the beach and through his never-ending farms where he employs over 70 women to pick crops. Rice is his biggest crop and a close second are artichokes (photo below) since the value of sugar cane has dropped recently and export demands for artichokes have soared in the past few years. Next time you eat an artichoke heart, look at where it came from.
Next we went to the chicken coop where he keeps his prized roosters for cock fights.
There was even a cock ring where he trains these beautiful birds.
Photo of Josh and Tio (uncle) with the beautiful roosters.
Then he drove us through the valley to his prized possession – his bull. At nearly one ton it is an impressive animal and surprisingly friendly. He gave us kisses and let us rub his nose.
Later we went to lunch at this delicious restaurant with great views of the valley and river running though it where they catch fresh fish and crawfish. It was delicious until all of the gringos got sick the next day in which case I can only assume it was lunch.
Back to Arequipa
We returned to Arequipa and toured the city during the day. Since it is 7,800ft (2300m) above sea level, we undoubtedly felt a little altitude sickness upon our return and didn’t sleep much.
The city is nestled in the valley between towering, snow-capped mountains and it’s beautiful! The sky is always blue, the sun is always shining, the roof dogs are always barking, and the neighbor’s roosters are waking you up at sunrise. It’s weather and topography are similar to Arizona and nearby are the two deepest canyons in the world - Colca and Cotahuasi – that I will hike by the end of this year.
This colonial city is build of white volcanic rock, called sillar, and has largely withheld the test of time and numerous earthquakes. The Catedral de Arequipa is the largest building in town and forms one side of the popular Plaza de Armas. It was built in the 1544 and was reconstructed in 1844 after suffering much damage from fires and earthquakes. Recently, in 2001, a cathedral tower fell after a earthquake but has been restored. The streets are narrow and many are for pedestrians only and are lined with small tiendas (stores), cafes, and restaurants, while other restaurants have balconies that overlook the Catedral, Plaza and its central fountain.
Nearby is the Monastario de Santa Catalina (St. Catherine‘s Convent) that was established in 1580 shortly after the Spanish conquest. My proper name is Catherine Ann, after my great grandmother Catherine Youngquist and I believe she was named after this saint. I might start telling people my name is Catalina since when I say “Katie” everyone says “Que?” since it’s not a common name here.
At its peak, over 200 nuns and their servants lived in this city and since the nuns took vows of isolation it because a city-within-a-city. Currently 20 nuns still reside in a private part of the convent and the rest has been open to the public for 40 years. The narrow streets are beautifully painted with reds, blues, and whites, and flowers and fruit trees line the courtyards and streets. The nuns are famous for their baking and I enjoyed a delicious alfadore in the café after wandering this tranquil little city for over an hour.
I met my friends for another delicious meal at Tradicion – rocotta rellena (stuffed red peppers) and queso helado (yummy fresh ice cream) while a very talented band played traditional Peruvian music. 
On our last night there were fireworks on this large bamboo structure in the main plaza but before the lit the big structure a man holding a bamboo toy on a stick with fireworks was in the street. My friend Jenni got caught on fire from sparks flying.
Romina and I about to board the plane back to Lima after a wonderful long weekend. I miss it already!
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