Bought a bus ticket for tonight, I leave here at 10pm and get into Arequipa at 7am. I have booked a hostel there for tomorrow night.
Not having any definite plans and this place being short on galleries or museums you can just wander into, I popped into a tour office and asked if they had any half day tours today. They had a few but they were all private, so it would cost a lot if I went on my own. (Plus, personally, I would feel awkward having no one else there.) I said I didn't really mind which tour I did as long as I could go with someone else.
Much phoning around later, the woman bundled me out into the street, locked up the shop, hailed a cab and we both went off somewhere. I sort of realised, although nothing was said, that we were on our way to meet an existing group and add me to it. So about five minutes later I joined a German woman and an Italian bloke in a car on its way to god knows where, owing 30 sols for the privilege.
We actually went to the Cementario de Chauchilla. This was slightly interesting. Basically you walk around about 10-15 open tombs containing skeletons/mummies and various bits of cloth. The stuff is all genuine, apparently. The guide talked to us over the first 3 tombs, then left us to do the rest on our own. Maybe I lack culture but after about the fifth it was only a sense that I should make the most of things that stopped me zooming round with an 'oh, look, another mummy and some more skulls' attitude.
After that we went to a ceramic workshop where they make replicas of old pottery (not sure what culture's pottery it was). They had some allegedly 2000 year old genuine pieces in there from some museum (for restoration, if memory serves?!) and one was passed around. This was freakily cool but of course I was terribly nervous and got rid of the item ASAP before I could drop it. Obviously we were encouraged to buy some replica stuff but we didn't.
We then went to some place where they extract gold from ore, were given a brief demonstration (I got a bit lost with the Spanish towards the end) and once again were encouraged to buy some gold jewellery.
To be honest it wasn't great for 30 sols, especially as I am sure you could walk in off the street to the ceramic and gold places (there were big signs outside) if you wanted and knew where they were, and they were in town. The cemetry was slightly cool and it's one of those box-ticking things, but not fantastic. (Oh, and it was another 5 sols to get in there.) Still, it was cool to hold the 2000 year old ceramic thing in a way, and I would never have walked into those places off the street myself.
I was the last to be dropped off and the driver asked if I wanted to see the acqueducts that afternoon, but I declined, partly as I wanted to go for lunch without complications about meeting later and partly as I suspected it would be just me. They are another box-ticking thing and might have been cool but I wasn't that desperate.
I vaguely tried to get a cab over to the Maria Reiche museum (she did a lot of research about the lines, there is a statue of her which I stumbled across this afternoon) which according to the guide book is 5km north of the centre. The one cab driver I asked wanted 60 sols to take me, so I decided to sod it and spent the afternoon wandering round.
I saw a map somewhere which made out the museum was further than the lookout over some of the lines on the Panamericana, which my guide book says is 20km north. Inconsistent. About 6pm I saw a sign saying 'visit the Maria Reiche centre, 2 blocks from some bus terminal'. So I have no idea where the place is, but I wasn't that desperate and I didn't go.
Bit of a slow afternoon to be honest, and it's of course still hot as hell. At least I can say I have walked the streets and soaked in the local atmosphere a bit. I feel I've had enough time here, it would be vaguely nice to have seen the acqueducts and maybe gone to the lookout(s) and that Maria Reiche place but I don't consider any of them a must do. Besides, if I'm ever here again at least I will have some stuff to do.
Oh, there is somewhere vaguely near where you can do sandboarding - the American family I did the flight had done it yesterday morning, and I saw signs subsequently. But I just couldn't face asking about it today, what with the heat and that "I have to leave at 10pm tonight" atmosphere. Maybe this is just an excuse. I'd still like to do it but not in these rushed circumstances.
Having a beer or two before going back to the hostel to pick my bags up at 9pm. I made sure I know where the bus goes from - although it should be simpler than in Arequipa - and I will be there in plenty of time just in case.
Oh, while looking in my wallet, I find that yesterday I actually went to the Museo Arqueologico Antonino. I think I incorrectly referred to it as the anthropological museum.
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