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Published: November 7th 2006
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El Misti
The volcano overlooking Arequipa Adios Bolivia. Hola Peru. We arrived in Arequipa safe and sound with one more border crossing under our belts. After a mix up with the hostal we had booked into (it was “Tony’s” birthday after all) we managed to find the perfect place run by a great Peruvian family that suited us just fine with its cheap prices, roof top terrace with views of the city, internet, laundry service, friendly staff, and not to mention the best shower so far. With Andrews lung on the repair, the next day we were off to check out Peru’s second largest city.
Arequipa is at an altitude of 2325m and sits in a valley under the perfectly cone-shaped volcano of El Misti. The town has been built around the towns Plaza de Armas, a Plaza surrounded by grand colonial buildings on three sides and by an impressive cathedral on the other side. In the centre is a lovely fountain attracting pigeons and people looking for a place to relax. Situated on the balconies surrounding the plaza are restaurants and whenever we walked around the area people would wave and yell at us across the street or approach us with menus to try and
Monasterio Santa Catalina
Complete with a life-sized depiction of the last supper get us to eat at their place. In the end we started to avoid the plaza if we could so we would be left in peace.
The first day one of the woman at our hostal told us the places to visit and she also gave us a warning speech about the dangers about pick-pocketers and the places to avoid at night. As a result the camera tended to stay back in the hostal, so unfortunately there aren’t many pictures of the city. That day we decided to check out the local fruit and vege market and grab some cheap Peruvian food to eat, and on our way out a women asked us if we spoke English, we said yes, to which she replied “you shouldn’t be standing here with your stuff, its dangerous,” and left. We were a bit bemused by her comment having felt completely safe as well as the fact that she was clearly carrying more items of value on her. To date we have yet to feel in any way unsafe or in threat of pick-pocketers, and have come to the conclusion that unless you are careless, you are no more unsafe then any other
Monasterio Santa Catalina
One of the more luxurious beds we saw place in the world (fingers crossed this holds true for the rest of the trip).
One of the places recommended by the hostal was the local monastery, Monasterio Santa Catalina. We decided to make a day of it and spent three hours wandering around the giant convent. The convent really was a city with in a city, with its streets, complete with street names, that housed the nuns quarters, and a few plazas dedicated to the different stages of nun life. We were amazed by the monastery and the way that it depicted the life of a nun. Originally, in 1580, the convent was set up to house upper-class women and they would enter the convent on the condition that their family would pay a large donation. When they entered the nunnery, they did so in the company of up to four slaves to carry out the nuns chores and to ensure the women lived the life they were accustomed to. However in 1871 the pope sent a strict Dominican nun to sort things out. For the next 100 years, the nuns lived in isolation within the walls surrounding the convent, and no outsiders were allowed to enter until
Monasterio Santa Catalina
Looking down one of the alleys, the nuns used to walk along the monastery was open to the public in 1970. The monastery was extremely interesting and gave us a bit to think about after we left.
The next location on our agenda was the Museo Santuarios Andinos, home to Juanita, the ice princess, where we were filled in on one of the fascinating rituals of the Inca. The Inca believed that the volcanoes were gods, and when they erupted they were angry and were punishing the people. In an attempt to appease the gods, the Inca would climb the volcanoes to leave offerings for the gods, the greatest sacrifice being a virgin child. In a grand ceremony starting all the way from Cuzco, the Inka people made the journey by foot to Arequipa where they undertook the task of reaching the summit (around 6000m) of the volcano. On this journey was a 12 year old girl who had been raised for the sole purpose of being a sacrifice to the gods. When the group eventually made it to the top, they performed the ritual whereby they killed the young girl with a blunt blow to the head and buried her along with many offerings of gold, silver, copper, ceramics and
Monasterio Santa Catalina
Before printing machines it was handwritten bibles! more, all in the hope that it would calm the volcano for a few more years.
Hundreds of years later, the sacrificial child along with the other offerings was found by an international scientist, and she now resides in the museum in Arequipa. Juanita is said to be the best preserved mummy in the world. She still has her skin, her hair as well as all of her internal organs being intact. The visit to see her and hear the tale of her journey was a fascinatingly interesting experience.
One of the major tourist attractions of Arequipa are the canyons, as the region boast the two deepest canyons in the world. Unfortunately we were unable to see them since in order to be the deepest canyon in the world, the top of the canyon must be at an altitude of more then 3500m, and at the moment we are avoiding any altitude, for the sake of the lungs.
Arequipa is a wonderful city and it was a pleasure to visit it. In fact we managed to squeeze a movie into our visit since we hadn’t been to one since Buenos Aires which was a life time ago
Monasterio Santa Catalina
One of the many kitchens, in a time before the modern day ovens. for us.
From Arequipa it was a luxurious bus ride with Cruz del Sur to Ica on Peru’s southern coast.
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