Monday 29th July
Thinking there'd be some kind of celebration in the main square to mark Peru's independence day, we went out in the morning to check it out. Turned out there was nothing but the raising of a giant Peruvian and Arequipenian flag, which we missed. So, we went for lunch, then sat in our regular café and worked.
Tuesday 30th July
Back to our usual routine of breakfast, work then lunch at home followed by a café (for more work) and dinner out.
Wednesday 31st July
A little work in the morning before going out to join the Arequipa Free Walking Tour, which took us to some places in the centre of town we had never been before, despite having been here for almost four weeks. We then went for a very late lunch before coming home where a friend met us and watched a film with Zab while I worked. Later, we all had dinner.
Thursday 1st August
Work, lunch, café, work. In the evening we met Jair in town for dinner, then came home and watched Bad Education.
Friday 2nd August
We hurried out after breakfast to finally visit the Contemporary Art Museum, which we had all to ourselves, and turned out to be well worth it. We then had lunch in town before coming home to rest, which was disrupted by the unbelievably loud music coming from next door. We went out again soon after to escape, and sat in our usual café.
Saturday 3rd August
After breakfast, I worked a little while Zab did his weekly clean of the apartment, then I went out to meet Jair in town while Zab took a turn working. After Jair and I had had lunch, Zab met us at the Monasterio de Santa Catalina and wondered through the beautiful labyrinthine courtyards for a while before settling in Cusco Coffee again. We then all went for dinner before going to a club to have a farewell dance session.
Sunday 4th August
A lazy morning at home during which the neighbours were thankfully surprisingly quiet was followed by a final outing to a few of our favourite places in the city. Later, we met Jair for a quick dinner and to say goodbye, then came home and got ready to leave Arequipa the next day.
