A quiet stroll around Plaza de Armas (the central plaza in Arequipa, Peru, hnear the Cathedral) quickly turns into a workers demonstration. Riot police in full regalia have blocked off the streets leading into the Plaza and are busy corralling the demonstrators, around 500 or so, many in their regulation orange overalls and blue hard hats. Many are carrying planks of wood and what look like rough hewn pilgrim staffs. A car equipped with megaphones on its roof leads the demonstrators in their chanting. The demonstration is noisy rather than violent, there are at least 200 riot police marching alongside them to keep the protestors from spilling into the shady archways of Plaza de Armas.
It all takes a good natured turn when a tourist who has climbed on to the foundations of the fence of the Cathedral attracts the attention of the passing protestors, and is subject to some happy cat calls, thumbs up and requests for photos. She has the sense to smile and wave at the protestors and they are corralled down a side street and the demonstration seems to rapidly disperse.
I try to go for lunch at Zig Zag, a well known Arequipa restaurant.
It is closed for lunch, so I end up at Chi Cha, owned by Gaston Acurio, of Astrid & Gaston fame. This restaurant is in a courtyard within a courtyard, and is really set up for groups of 4, 6 or 8. The food is good – Torrejas Chicas, fried vegetable patties, and Rocoto Relleno, the traditional Peruvian dish of stuffed red pepper and potato gratin. That’s another traditional dish that I should have tried that can be crossed off the list; I just wish the guide had told me there was enough chilli in it to peel the skin off the roof of my mouth. Two courses set me back the grand total of S43, or about $US15.
The afternoon is spent with a guide touring the Santa Catalina Convent, one of the largest in the world. It is an impressive series of buildings that once housed up to 200 nuns, and now is home to 20 cloistered nuns. The older sections of the convent are now run by a private company who maintain the buildings and employ some very knowledgeable and hard-working guides.
