A photo walk in Arequipa, Peru.

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I am making this post one with minimal words, and leaving the photos to do most of the talking. All the photos were taken on one day when I walked the 5 kilometers into town and back.

Each place I have lived has something that stands out. Here in Arequipa, it is small chapels everywhere.

Above: Blocks from the main road, the street gives way to empty land and grazing sheep.

Above: Here in Arequipa, if there is a hole in the sidewalk, someone does something about it, well before the city workers respond.

Above: I thought the whole area was a chapel, but on my return I was on that side of the road, and found that from the open door left, was a recreation area. It didn’t seem to me that it had anything to do with the chapel.

Pocket parks have been everywhere I walked so far. Above: I think the gold paint takes away from the man’s gravitas.

The photo above was of one park, with a fountain in the middle. The three photos above it were of a small park with a statue in the middle. Both parks had those large amphoras in them.

Above: This is a very busy street. I had to wait a while to take the photo between cars. It would be very hard to get out to that chapel. I wonder if it was erected to commemorate a traffic accident victim?

Above: As I approached the wet spot in the sidewalk, I thought it was just runoff from someone watering a garden. When I got closer I saw that there was a channel cut in the sidewalk, so this must be part of a drainage system. The water flow was constant.

Above: A walkway over the busy road, which had the chapel.

Above: When I first spotted this rest area, I thought it was viewpoint for the river. The river was down there, but foliage keeps you from seeing it. It was a good spot to look at the mountain.

Above: In the local dialect, “Bike Lane” must mean, “Convent Parking Area.” This was one of about forty cars I saw parked in the bike lanes in a six block area of town.

The goal of my walk, Mercado San Camilo.

Above: The charming gentleman gave me a Spanish lesson as we spoke about fish.

Above: It wasn’t until I was processing the photos, that I noted that the girl had a cat under her arm.

After being overwhelmed by the market and buying nothing. I promised myself to walk down some day and take a taxi back with my groceries. My next stop was the Plaza de Armas de Arequipa.

Above: The portico of Iglesia de la Compañía. Below a detail of the portico.

Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa

I wonder why anchor chain is used so often in parks? Maybe chains that don’t past quality tests are sold for ornaments?

Above: Maybe this child is dreaming of going to sea? And yes, I did ask his mother before taking his photo.

Above: The two old photographers in conversation, seemed very charming to me. I wonder how in this age of camera phones, they can make a living taking tourists photos. Below: A little old local lady, shielding herself from the sun, watches the tourists walk by.

Above: I was working with Pixelmator to take the out the converging vertical effect. Just for fun I exaggerated the effect to the max, and found I preferred how the photo looked.

The upper levels of the buildings around the Plaza house many restaurants. Since there is no noticeable street level presence of these restaurants, men roam around the plaza with menus to entice people to come up. I was approached four of five times. When I told them that I was having lunch at my apartment, in Spanish, each of the men wanted to ask me the same questions. What country are you from. How long are you living her for? How do you like our country?

As I was leaving the plaza, I had to dash off to avoid the women and children dressed in traditional garb, carrying baby llamas. They charge for tourist to take their photos. I have seen very few traditionally dressed people here, unlike in Cuenca, where they were everywhere. Here besides the folks dressed up for tourists photo ops, the only traditionally dressed people have been older women, like the ones I saw in the park. Their clothes were more functional than picturesque.

Above and Below: Crossing back over the river, by a different road than I cam in on.

Above: An interesting juxtaposition of the new and the old. Below: A guitarist hurries down the street.

Above: I wonder who thought putting the Coke logo on a dumpster was a good idea. Below: I was very surprised to find a big Mormon church here.

Above and Below: I was entertained by the name of this hotel. The sign was very far away. I was fascinated when I began to process the photos that the level zooming made it look so cartoonish. I tweaked it a bit to make it look more like a cartoon, but I think the photo before the tweaking (above), looked more like a cartoon.

Above: This sign has to be installed upside down.

I hope you enjoyed talking a walk with me. Now you can have that second slice of cake.