Christmas in Arequipa
Yeah, it has been a while since the last post. Suffice it to say, we are alive and well in Arequipa.
For those not familiar with it, Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, with a population of about 850,000 people. It is located about 90 km (2.5 hours driving) from the coast, and is a highland desert with pretty much the perfect temperatures year round (average highs of 22 C, average lows of about 10 C, and even in the midst of the rainy season no more than about 5 days / year of rain).
We are living in Cayma neighbourhood, one of the more modern districts. Our AirBnB is on the 7th floor of a newly constructed apartment building. The kids are ecstatic that our front door opens directly into the elevator door, and that you need a an RFID keychain to even get to our floor.
Anyway, this being Christmas, we have tried to keep some of the feeling for the kids. We bought a 2 foot tall Christmas tree from a street vendor, complete with fake snow, and the kids have created decorations for it. Terran was so enamoured with the double decker bus that took us to Arequipa that he made a Cruz de Sur bus-shaped ornament, which you can see prominently displayed on the tree:
On Christmas Eve we attended Misa del Gallo (Mass of the Rooster, essentially midnight mass) at the cathedral a 10 minute walk from our place. Most of the cathedrals (in fact most of the old buildings in Arequipa) are made from a beautiful white volcanic rock, and this one is no exception:
All cathedrals we have seen in Peru have amazingly ornate altarpieces (this may not be the correct term, I am just trying to find on Wikipedia what it would be called and this seems to be the closest term I can find. If anyone knows what it is actually called, please let me know in the comments). What I am talking about are the huge structures (probably 60 - 70 feet in height in some of the larger ones) at the front of the cathedrals, almost always gold (I presume it is carved wood with gold paint, but I am not sure), with various statues of saints and angels in alcoves:
I didn't understand much of the sermon (who am I kidding - I understood nothing), but Monica later explained that the priest was speaking out against the commercialization of Christmas, which I wholeheartedly agree with.
At the end of the mass, everyone was given a sparkler (the ones you would put on a birthday cake), and a statue of the baby Jesus was walked out of the cathedral while people held their sparklers up. It was a neat experience.
By this time the kids were completely wiped out - Terran had passed out before mass had even started, and Maija required regular pokes in her side to keep her from collapsing too.
We walked home, had a small slice of Panetone (a traditional Peruvian bread eaten at Christmas, originally from Italy), and the kids were asleep within minutes. After putting out the presents, we started heading to bed when we started hearing explosions outside. There had been a few fireworks visible from our balcony most evenings for the past week, and even more this evening. However, once the clock struck midnight (more like 11:55...), looking out now, the entire city skyline was alive with fireworks. Nowhere have I seen this many fireworks at once, not even at 4th of July celebrations:
The second video is zoomed in a bit more, but is also more jerky (due to the extra zoom)... not sure which conveys the sense of what is happening better.
(For both of these, be sure to open the video fullscreen to actually see the fireworks...)
The fireworks went on at this level of activity for at least 20 - 25 minutes before they started to slow down. There must have been hundreds of thousands of fireworks set off in the city in that half hour span. Talking to the kids the next morning, they had heard nothing. (On a side note, speaking to Monica's mom, apparently fireworks are illegal here. Go figure.)
Santa was a bit stingy this year, as we have to carry everything we buy in our four backpacks. The kids therefore got mostly art supplies - pencil crayons, paints, paper, a ruler, etc....the scotch tape was a big hit!
For those not familiar with it, Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, with a population of about 850,000 people. It is located about 90 km (2.5 hours driving) from the coast, and is a highland desert with pretty much the perfect temperatures year round (average highs of 22 C, average lows of about 10 C, and even in the midst of the rainy season no more than about 5 days / year of rain).
We are living in Cayma neighbourhood, one of the more modern districts. Our AirBnB is on the 7th floor of a newly constructed apartment building. The kids are ecstatic that our front door opens directly into the elevator door, and that you need a an RFID keychain to even get to our floor.
Anyway, this being Christmas, we have tried to keep some of the feeling for the kids. We bought a 2 foot tall Christmas tree from a street vendor, complete with fake snow, and the kids have created decorations for it. Terran was so enamoured with the double decker bus that took us to Arequipa that he made a Cruz de Sur bus-shaped ornament, which you can see prominently displayed on the tree:
On Christmas Eve we attended Misa del Gallo (Mass of the Rooster, essentially midnight mass) at the cathedral a 10 minute walk from our place. Most of the cathedrals (in fact most of the old buildings in Arequipa) are made from a beautiful white volcanic rock, and this one is no exception:
 |
| This picture was from a few days ago when we saw a wedding while walking by. It shows the white stone very nicely though. |
 |
| This is how the cathedral was lit on Christmas Eve. iPhone pictures don't do it justice - it was far more beautiful than can be seen here. |
All cathedrals we have seen in Peru have amazingly ornate altarpieces (this may not be the correct term, I am just trying to find on Wikipedia what it would be called and this seems to be the closest term I can find. If anyone knows what it is actually called, please let me know in the comments). What I am talking about are the huge structures (probably 60 - 70 feet in height in some of the larger ones) at the front of the cathedrals, almost always gold (I presume it is carved wood with gold paint, but I am not sure), with various statues of saints and angels in alcoves:
I didn't understand much of the sermon (who am I kidding - I understood nothing), but Monica later explained that the priest was speaking out against the commercialization of Christmas, which I wholeheartedly agree with.
At the end of the mass, everyone was given a sparkler (the ones you would put on a birthday cake), and a statue of the baby Jesus was walked out of the cathedral while people held their sparklers up. It was a neat experience.
By this time the kids were completely wiped out - Terran had passed out before mass had even started, and Maija required regular pokes in her side to keep her from collapsing too.
We walked home, had a small slice of Panetone (a traditional Peruvian bread eaten at Christmas, originally from Italy), and the kids were asleep within minutes. After putting out the presents, we started heading to bed when we started hearing explosions outside. There had been a few fireworks visible from our balcony most evenings for the past week, and even more this evening. However, once the clock struck midnight (more like 11:55...), looking out now, the entire city skyline was alive with fireworks. Nowhere have I seen this many fireworks at once, not even at 4th of July celebrations:
The second video is zoomed in a bit more, but is also more jerky (due to the extra zoom)... not sure which conveys the sense of what is happening better.
The fireworks went on at this level of activity for at least 20 - 25 minutes before they started to slow down. There must have been hundreds of thousands of fireworks set off in the city in that half hour span. Talking to the kids the next morning, they had heard nothing. (On a side note, speaking to Monica's mom, apparently fireworks are illegal here. Go figure.)
Santa was a bit stingy this year, as we have to carry everything we buy in our four backpacks. The kids therefore got mostly art supplies - pencil crayons, paints, paper, a ruler, etc....the scotch tape was a big hit!
Sounds like a very Merry Christmas indeed!!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas and Happy New Year to you All! We miss you but Love what you are doing and how you are doing it!
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