La Ciudad Blanca

viernes, 9 julio - domingo, 11 julio

destino - Arequipa

cañón del Colca

Located in the town of Chivay, in departamento de Arequipa, el cañón del Colca is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The canyon is formed by the Río Colca, which starts in the Andes Mountains and ends in the Pacific Ocean. At one of the miradoras, the Andean Condor can be seen. Obviously a popular tourist spot in the park, many people were crowed around as six condors flew overhead and down in the canyon.

La Ciudad Blanca

Arequipa's nickname is la ciudad blanca (the white city), due to the white stone that many of the building are uniquely constructed from. There are three volcanoes in the city of Arequipa: Misti (active), Pichu-Picchu, and Chachani. Arequipa's weather (sunny, warm, and dry) is much different than that of Lima, and was a much appreciated change. In the desert, surrounding the volcanoes and mountains, roam vicuñas, which are the rarest species of the alpaca.

The Plaza de Armas is the center of the city, as it is in basically every peruvian city. Located a couple blocks away is the Monasterio D Santa Catalina. The convent was a great place to see the different types of Arequipeñan architecture, as well as Spanish/Peruvian fusion artwork. We made it back from the convent to catch the overtime of el Mundial, and watched España kick the willing goal!

Total Transit Time - 10 horas

Rating - 4 llamas

Arequipa Facebook Photos

Películas Peruanas

In addition to our Spanish course at la Universidad del Pacífico, we have weekly reinforcement classes, which have been incredibly helpful in the understanding of Peruvian culture and history. In two of such classes, we have viewed Peruvian Films (a complete list of Peruvian Films here):

La teta asustada (The Milk of Sorrow)

clasificación - 5/5 llamas

In 2010, this movie was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Picture. I highly recommend this movie, as it gives much needed attention Manchay, which is located in to the one of Lima's districtos, Pachacámac. In ESPP 10 this past semester, I wrote my term paper on the complication of water in Manchay (many of the residents aren't connected to any water or sewerage, and must rely on aguateros, water trucks, for their water supply...), so the location was particularly interesting for me. This movie follows Magaly, the protagonist who suffers many terrors, which are results from the political violence in Perú. This movie is beautifully shot, and craftily intertwines a current lifestyle of many Peruvians and the after-effects of the Shining Path.

Paloma de papel (Paper Dove)

clasificación - 4/5 llamas

Paloma del papel vividly portraits Juan's childhood in Huaraz (sound familiar?). Juan is kidnapped by a group of Marxist soldiers. This movie is great for an understanding of the Shining Path and the affects of the terrorism on the lives of some Peruvians.