"What do we want?! - LUNCH!" "When do we want it?! - NOW!"

During our morning classes we heard chanting and megaphones in the streets outside. On our lunchbreak, we went for a walk and discovered the source. The teachers of Arequipa were marching down the main street of Ejercito and across the bridge into the downtown. They are apparently upset with their wages and were demonstrating to attract attention for better pay. We were told that they have been on strike for 27 days. They were happy to see the gringo with his camera documenting their struggle, hoping I was a credible source in the world of photojournalism there to amplify their voice.

Two protestors with the cut out faces of the Peruvian President and his wife.

Traffic police have the best uniforms. 

Lunch spot menu on Calle Misti with Chachani in the distance

Afterwards we went to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant full of construction workers and painters. I had a rice and chicken dish and Alex had a minestrone soup with potatoes, pasta and stewed beef. They served us juice that was like a sketchy version of lemonade in a massive pitcher. I drank enough of it not to be rude. The picture above shows the menu which didn't have prices shown (and there was no menu inside) so we were excited to hear that the delicious food only cost us $2 total. The lunch specials in this town make it silly to go through the trouble of making your own lunch to bring to class/work. Alex and I are already developing a reputation amongst the locals we've met as having adventurous if not risky choices of lunch spots. So far so good!

You can often see the nearby volcanoes from the street and this spot was no exception. In this case the volcano in the background is Chachani. You'll also notice the trees are planted in the street protected by concrete. I can only assume that trees were an afterthought with the city's planning.