Arequipa - 2 weeks of Spanish School

After about 7 months in Latin America our Spanish is nowhere near where it really should be so we decided to do another 2 weeks of Spanish School. Our School was Swiss run (which they made a big point about - as far as I could tell this just meant a lot of paper work), similar to a lot of local businesses. The Swiss have really taken to Arequipa. 

We rented an apartment for our stay outside the city center which meant it was about a 35 minutes walk each way. Between this, 4 hours of Spanish School and then study our days weren't packed with activities but we really enjoyed having our own space (and not having to share a kitchen!). After being on the road for so long the small things really do make you happy. 

Our first day in the city we did a free walking tour around the city. This involved nice neighbourhoods, caged monkeys, potatoes and of course - llamas and alpacas. 

There's a children's park that you need to pay to get into and is only open on the weekends. In a lot of Latin American countries there are problems with people capturing wild animals and trying to sell them as pets. When authorities find these animals they put them in these cages in this park for "rehabilitation" before releasing them back in the wild. 

I still get excited by llamas....or alpacas....I still have trouble telling the difference sometimes. 

Piles of llama and aplaca wool destined to be turned into tourist jumpers

The Andes is the home of the potato (not Ireland). There are a ridiculous variety of potatoes available here, about 400.  

Our weekend between school weeks we spent studying, relaxing and walking about the city.

Picchu Picchu in the background. Picchu means peak in Quechua (the language of the Andes) and when you double up a word it means many. Therefore Picchu Picchu means Many Peaks. 

This local Picantaria comes highly recommended by locals. It's a local hang out that gets extremely busy. They serve big helpings of traditional food and drink. 

During our time in Arequipa the hot topic was the new mine the government was trying to start just outside of town. The president had promised there would be no mine to please locals in the area (they are worried about pollution as the site is right next to a river). However the president broke his promise when he let a Mexican company start operation without letting anyone know (everyone is pretty sure he's getting paid nicely for this). People form the village just across the river noticed activity on the site and they've been protesting every since. The president has said it's the company's issue and they need to come up with a solution, much to the dissatisfaction of the people. Apparently the company has a bad reputation in Peru already. 

During the strongest protest just before we got to Arequipa people were pulling bricks out of the roads to block traffic, tires were being burned, there were explosions and 5 people died. There was a protest that lasted two days while we were there but it was a lot calmer this time. I was told their leader who had encouraged a lot of the violence was locked up during this protest. 

Protesters

The police were ready for them

Arequipa is a pretty colonial town and I enjoyed walking around its pleasant streets.

On instruction from his teacher Alex made Tequenos, I like to call Peruvian Spring rolls. There's cheese and ham inside. Traditionally I think there is just cheese. 

Alex and his two Spanish teachers.

The main square in town - Plaza de Armas

One of a series of three courtyards next to the La Compania church. Monks used to hang out here

This is the local market. We were told it's pretty touristy now so the prices are sometimes even more expensive than the grocery store. Apparently the building was designed by Gustave Eiffel. Based on his wiki page he's had many projects in Peru. 

The potato section of Markets in the Andes is always huge!

I felt like during school my Spanish improved a lot. But after Spanish School we always get really busy and end up hanging out with other English speakers and my Spanish rapidly depletes again. Practice every day really is the key. I hope I get back on the wagon soon!