Arequipa, Peru – Days 11-12 | BEN PIPE PHOTOGRAPHY

After a morning at Machu Picchu we caught the train back to Ollantaytambo, collected our bags (Peru Rail limits passengers to one bag) and negotiated a taxi to Cusco, from where we to catch a night bus to Arequipa. The big draw here is a choice of top restaurants – Zingaro on Calle San Francsico was top notch, £7 for a salad, 330g steak, dessert and glass of red wine.

The colonial architecture in Arequipa is another reason to visit, and it is more picturesque than Lima, still some way to go compared to some of the cities I visited in Central Mexico last year though. Most of the shots in this post were taken at the Santa Catalina Convent which is a few blocks away from the Plaza de Armas. I happened to be there whilst a documentary was being made, so got the chance to photograph a few of the nuns.

My only regret from my time here is that after all the super early dawn hikes at Machu Picchu and the night travel I fell a bit ill and missed a couple of meals which probably would have been the best in Peru.