Destination: ____________?
 Arequipa: Fuerza de chicas!! Breakfast was on the roof overlooking Arequipa. This morning, I sat at the same picnic table with canopy but instead of being surrounded by men a crew of females joined me: 2 Brazilians (one was Sandra) and 2 Germans (one was Denise). We chatted away in typical female fashion. One female, sat alone at another table, she looked sad so I invited her over to the girl power table. She is from London and had been living in Bolivia for 3 months until her time ran out. Like my poor friend Alex, Bolivia was not good to her body. Somehow, she had acquired an ameoba within the first few days and then got really sick. The doctors miss diagnosed her and gave her a slew of antibiotics that wiped that did not do the job exempt for complicating other matters. She was supposed to volunteer with an organization but spent most of her time in bed and in hospitals. She also feel in love with a local. Being out of San Francisco for such a long stretch, I asked her about the guy. She corrected me, GIRL. Doh, my bad. Sadly, her love can’t leave Bolivia and due to Visa restrictions she can’t return. So no only did Bolivia break her body, it also broke her poor heart. Pobre chica! Once again, everyone left to explore Arequipa leaving me a large sunny room to practice yoga. I enjoyed a nice long practice and nice long hot shower. By the time I got out of dear Home Sweet Home, it was already noon. Much like Cartegena, it had it’s charms but it was tainted with annoying touts. My mood had not shifted from the day before. I was not eager to explore a bunch of crumbling churches, other Historic buildings or even the market. All I wanted was a bus ticket to Puno, a city on Lake Titicaca, and a mani/pedi. I continued my search along the streets for a salon. Passing through the Plaza de Armas, a lady was selling choclo con queso (corn on the cob with a small piece of cheese) for S.1 (~$0.40). There was a massive crowd gathered at the southern end of the square waiting to catch a glimpse of some famous Peruvian singer. The police were lined up with riot gear. I watched for a while eating my choclo. Did I see anything? Nada! There were several tour agencies along the square. The bus station was a few kilometers out of town. My desire to keep things simple overrided my desire to keep things cheap. Knowing I would be paying more, I bought a ticket from a friendly man named Oscar and paid S.39 for my 7 hour ride to Puno. Even though I might be paying S.10 (roughly $3.84) more it was worth it to score my front seat and the earliest DAY bus. I dropped by Home Sweet Home to leave a note for my friend Denise to notify her of the time and cost of the ticket. There were no salons to be found along the calles but there was a commercial center like a small mall. Since malls are a place of worship for some women, I figured there had to be several salons offering a manicure and pedicure. BINGO! I hit the mother load. Most were closed but I did find one with 2 sisters finishing up their lunch. Espara 10 minutos. Sweet, I whipped out my Kindle to delve deeper into the second Fifty Shades of Grey book. This series has me hooked. I might need an intervention. The sisters intervened by telling me they were ready. Both were going to work on me. One took my hands the other took my feet. I told the one with my hands she had the facil job. The other sister laughed and made fun of my feet. I told them the story as to why they look so bad: my travels and being a runner. They asked about my life and sweetly helped me learn a few new words and corrected any grammatical mistakes. We gossiped of course about men. I showed them my photo album. They swooned over my previous boytoy and laughed that I use our photo to ward off men unsuccessfully. I told them my new interest was mas guapo. They said I was afortunada! Then I was able to turn the tables and ask them about themselves. I found out about their family, their hopes and their dreams. People may call me superficial for opting a salon over a museum but this, I feel, is more of a cultural exchange. I left with new insight into Peruvian life and a new set of hands and feet. On the way back to Home Sweet Home, I stopped for a sweet drink. I wanted a fruit juice but the only beverage they had on offer was a quinoa drink. It was Pretty. Damn. Good. Back at the hostel, I continued planning, planning, scheming and some more planning. It made me want a siesta. Two German chicas entered the room and interrupted my slumber. They were wiped out from a long journey from Lima but still were quite animated. A few minutes later, Denise returned to the room. She had found a veg restaurant for dinner. Denise is a vegan and the other 2, Muriel and Tamara, are also vegetarian. Tonight, instead of being the honorary Canadian or Australian, I was now an honorary German. The first restaurant was too expensive. We looked for another option and spotted a place Gopal, a nice Indian name meaning: Wahoo! they will have vegetarian food. Indeed, they had meals that are typical Peruvian substituted with tofu. I enjoyed a veg version of Lomo Saltado: strips of tofu con veggies y papas y plantanos al lado. Um UMMMM! Once we were back at dorm, it was like a slumber party. We were in our PJ’s chatting about all sorts of things both intellectual and girly: travel, world issues and boys boys boys! For the guys reading, perhaps a pillow fight but I will not confirm or deny. It was funny to see how others view Americans. Muriel and Tamara made fun of me with all my gadgets: Blackberry, MacAir, Kindle, electric toothbrush and pink accessories. They said I was the American cliche. It got worse once they found out I was a former Catholic schoolgirl, cheerleader and pharmaceutical representative. I loved the energy of my new chicas and enjoyed them giving me shit. We were all exhausted. I ceremoniously put on my pink poka-dotted eye mask as I wished my chicas locas good night.
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Diary Photos
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Chicas! Denise, Kerena, Muriel y Tamara! |
 Arequipa |
 Calle San Francisco, Arequipa |
 Plaza de Armas |
 Arequipa |
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