We exited the rear of the airplane, which I had never done before and we were slammed with the crisp air in Arequipa. It was a drastic change from Lima. My feet quickly got cold with flip flops and I couldn't wait to put on my hiking boots.
When we got inside the terminal we quickly got our bags and headed out. We had arranged to have someone pick us up and transport us to our hostel, but the only sign we saw was for Charles. We asked a non airport taxi driver to take us, settled on a fair rate, and loaded up inside his car. Right when we shut the doors and backed out of the parking spot, a man came over frantically tapping on the window. Our driver kept backing up. Tommy then asked our driver to stop. When we rolled down the window, he stated that he was looking for Garner, Katherine, and Thomas. This was our guy. He introduced himself as Carlos from the tour company and made things straight with the taxi driver. We loaded our stuff into the new car and headed to the hostel.
Carlos took us on a brief tour of the city in the dark pointing out cool places of interest and good restuarants. The roads were tight and all the cars, mostly taxis, were jockeying for position. Horns honked incessantly and bumpers and doors were constantly within inches of each other. We saw people gathered around a fire and Carlos told us there was a celebration going on for Saint Marta. The streets were packed with people in the town center enjoying Saturday night. After the tour he took us to the hostel, and after checking in went straight to bed. Tired is an understatement.
Hostal Santa Marta
We woke up and had a small breakfast in the Hostel Santa Marta (same saint from the previous evening's celebration) cafeteria, which was included with the room rate. We were served bread with butter and jam and a small bowl of scrambled eggs. Fresh squeezed orange juice, tea, and coffee were also included. We were now fueled up for our morning walk through the city.
Tommy chooses the sunny side of the street.
In the Plaza de Armas we noticed the anti-mining protesters. Many of the locals do not want gold mines in the mountains close to town. Understandable.
In the early morning we heard a trumpet player warming up. It was a nice wake up call, but we had no idea for what. When we got to the plaza it was full of military and city representatives for a ceremony. There was an announcer broadcasting over the PA system the different presentations. The band above was the top city military band and they played for the different dignitaries. Following the announcements a little parade ensued. This was an interesting event to stumble upon for sure! We were told the ceremony happens every Sunday.
Our view from lunch. We found a tiny restaurant with a wonderful patio. The plaza was very similar to Lisbon, Barcelona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
A view from the plaza looking towards the volcanoes. 19,101 ft
During the morning celebration we kept noticing these nicely dressed police women. They looked VERY different from the male police. I was wondering why of course. We will be hiking down into Colca Canyon tomorrow, so we met with Carlos, the Colca Canyon tour owner and guide. He not only briefed us on our hike, but filled us in on the mysterious police women. Until 4 years ago, women were not allowed to join the police force in Peru. Now they have a special group of elite women that are hired to keep an eye around the tourist areas. Carlos said they are known as the Black Hawks. They sure looked like they were taking their jobs seriously. This will require some more research. 
Carlito's Tours
Here is Carlos talking about what will be happening on the trek over the next few days. He met us at the hostel and afterwards took us to the bus station. It was nice to secure our tickets to Puno. I don't want to even think about that since Arequipa is so nice and we don't want to leave so soon.
Carlos rocks! He wanted to be sure the tickets were exact and all our needs were met. After getting the tickets he took us through the black market area of town and showed us the "teeth park." Let's just say, this is not a place you want to stroll through at night.
Being Sunday, we were having trouble finding restaurants that were open to eat dinner. We found an Italian place close to the hostel and had a chance to watch part of the Copa Cup, which is the South American Cup. Brazil won against Peru 2-1 at the very end of the match. It was pretty intense in the restaurant as there was a table of Brazilians getting crazy.
After our early dinner we headed back to the hotel. Our departure for Colca Canyon is at 3:30am, so it will be an early night.
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