During my first day in Arequipa I set out to find an apartment to rent in the city for at least two weeks. I have a ton of work to do, so I wanted to find a place where I could settle down for a bit and get some serious work done. The apartment needed to have three things – a shower, a toilet, and Internet access. Everything else was optional.

After 5 minutes of searching the city for a place to stay, I stumbled across Elena (a German woman I had met briefly in Nazca). With Elena was Raul (the owner of the Bothy Hostel here in Arequipa).

After just a few minutes of conversation, Raul learned that I designed websites and he said, “I need a new website for my hostel. Maybe you can build a new website for me and I can give you a free place to stay?”

To make a long story short, that is exactly what happened. Raul showed me some websites he liked, told me to go to town on his old website at www.bothyhostel.com, and produce something that more accurately represents the Scottish/Peruvian theme he has made for the hostel.

The next day I picked up the keys to Raul’s private apartment and checked into my new home in downtown Arequipa. Raul is traveling in Columbia until the 20th of January, so until then I’m staying in his apartment at no cost… but I’m working like crazy to get his website and all my other projects done in the meantime.

The following are some photos photos of Raul’s apartment and my temporary home here in Arequipa, Peru.

The yellow building above is the outside of my apartment building. I enter through the small black door on the left side of the photo. And do you see the two little arched windows on the second story – over to the right? Those two windows go into my apartment. They are situated right above the desk where I am sitting now as I publish this post.

Also, I didn’t notice this until I took the photo above, but there is a small basketball court located on the roof above my apartment. Do you see that?

Finally, this is the street leading out of my apartment building and into downtown Arequipa. I’ve walked this street every day since I’ve been here in Arequipa, Peru.