Rafting og razzia i Arequipa

A little late, we rolled into Arequipa at 8:30 in the morning. It's nice to be transported at night while you sleep. This city is slightly elevated (2350 m), but not enough to start feeling anything. This city has a great variety of activities such as rafting, horseback riding, trekking, mountain climbing etc. We first went rafting on Rio Chili, which has falls in categories 2, 3 and 4. It's enough to make it fun to rush down the river without the risk of falling over. It cost 21 usd per person. We were given wetsuits, helmets and life jackets so we could "safely" fall into the water. Along the way we stopped at a rock from which you could jump 3 meters into the river if you were brave enough. A student took pictures of us as we rushed through the falls. Afterwards you could buy the CD for 20 S. Rio Majes also offers a relatively calm river, while Rio Cotahuasi and Rio Colca are for those who can't get wild enough. Plaza de Armas is beautifully decorated with fountains, benches, trees and flowers. The buildings are from colonial times and beautifully preserved. The surrounding streets are filled with bars, restaurants, shops and travel agencies all eager to sell you a tour. It's a battle for tourists. We have eaten a lot locally, so we decided to eat at an upscale restaurant, Chicha, which has been highly recommended in Lonely Planet. The food was super good and deliciously presented. The dishes were Peruvian and there was attention to detail. Starter, main course, a bottle of wine, water and coke cost 179 S. It's super expensive in this country, but compared to Danish prices at a fine restaurant, it's nothing. We hopped on to bars where there was happy hour all evening. 2 x Pisco Sour, 2 x Caprihina, 2 x Mojitos etc. cost only 12 S. We got talking to several locals who could only speak Spanish, so our vocabulary was put to the test and expanded that evening. The locals often remind us that safety is not to be taken lightly. So far we haven't experienced anything that made us uneasy, but suddenly our peaceful salsa bar was stormed by 25-30 police officers. The lights were turned on and the music stopped. For 15 minutes. the police walked around questioning and checking people. We were in the company of a man from Lima who had never experienced such a raid before. The street was packed with police officers standing and observing. We had about 750 meters back to our hostel, where we passed 100-150 police officers who were just on that stretch. They were everywhere. The police said we couldn't walk the 750 meters home. During the day the area is fine, but at night it's too unsafe to walk around. They stopped a taxi for us, checked the driver's license and ID. We had only gone 10 meters down the road when the police stopped the car again. The driver had to get out, ID was checked again and he had to blow into a breathalyzer before we were allowed to continue. It looked like a war zone with all those police officers and police cars. If the city is so peaceful, you don't need so many police in one place...