We fly to Arequipa. These are the dry highlands of Peru.
These are the suburbs of Arequipa. The region does not look particularly inviting.
Plaza de Armas
The city itself is very different. It was founded by the Spanish when they arrived in the 16th century. This is the Plaza de Armas.
You can see the Pikchu Pikchu volcano behind the church. I am still not sure whether the women wear the Indian clothes in real life...
... or just for tourists.
Arequipa is in the Andes at a height of 2.300m.
When I opened my deodorant, the ball of the deodorant popped out onto the floor due to the difference in air pressure.
Imagine what it does to your brain...
Alpaca museum
Arequipa is a major lama/alpaca wool exporter. We visit a shop cum museum.
This is how the wool looks after it’s “harvested”. It feels very soft and fluffy.
The wool is then colored with different natural ingredients.
Here is how the lamas look in real...
...in different forms. Alpaca meat is white like chicken meat. However, is not dry as chicken meat, but soft and tasty.
To fight against altitude sickness, locals drink or chew Mate tea.
If the tea does not help, this guy might. Also cures love problems, health problems, and “daños” of any sort.
City center
Arequipa is the second main tourist destination in Peru, after Cusco.
The architecture is mainly colonial...
...but also has its more pittoresque corners.
The houses are sometimes beautiful...
...sometimes borderline...
...and sometimes more adventurous.
There are 3 main churches in the city, which all look astonishingly similar. Here is a sample.
The region is also prone to earthquakes, which leave their traces.
Courtyards like this may seem artificial. And yet, they are so numerous that they are actually part of the city.
The strategy was to convert the colonial buildings into banks, restaurants, and public buildings, in order to guarantee their preservation.
This is the local market.
The traffic is impressive. Note the variety of vehicles on this picture. Half of the cars are taxis.
But no need to obey the speed limits, our taxi is protected!
Vallecito
Vallecito seems to be the richer part of Arequipa.
We are particularly impressed by the fortress-like protections around the houses.
Note how the houses are practically sealed to the street.
This fence would have made Honnecker proud.
This house is probably waterproof and shockproof from all sides.
Even this unfinished building is protected by glass splinters. We will later see that even modest houses are extremely protected.
Buildings are constructed by throwing the stones one after the other to the higher floors.
The Puente Fierro was designed by Gustav Eiffel.
It allows nice views on the city (note the poor man’s house in the foreground, though). The volcanos are covered in the clouds.
Religion
Among others, people worship a woman in this place (shown here in one of the temples).
There is a special ceremony during these days, and the woman is being carried around in the city on that occasion...
...together with a tortured man. People wear funny hats for this purpose.
Convent of Santa Catalina
Rich families brought the second of their daughters to the convent of Santa Catalina at the age of around 12 to become a nun.
The family paid a huge dowry to the convent, and got high social status in return. The girls were never to leave the convent again. They were nuns for lifetime.
The nuns were completely sealed from the outside. Once a month they could talk to their family through this grid.
The nuns could listen to the mass. The mass had to be held by a male priest (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). The nuns were not allowed to see the priest or the public.
The nuns prayed 10 hours a day. It was prohibited to laugh. There was not much occasion anyway.
Nuns who had dreams of Saint Sebastian (= dirty dreams) had to take a bath here. A cold bath. Saint Sebastian was the diCaprio of the times, apparently.
Here, the nuns could make their confessions. Probably the most boring confessions for the priest who listens.
Those who wished flagellated themselves every day. This was later reduced to once every 2 days without any disadvantage.
The nuns also re-enacted the crucification of Jesus. One of the nuns was bound to this cross for several hours.
The adult nuns lived in solitary confinement here. From time to time, they were allowed to socialize with the other nuns.
They had a kitchen and two ovens. No wifi.
Clothes were washed in these bowls. All work was done by slaves. Female slaves, of course.
Unfortunately, slavery was abolished by one of the revolutions in Peru around 1850. The Vatican followed suit around 50 years later, despite Colossians 3:22-25.
With 50% of the land in the region, the convent was a feudal land owner. It lived off the feuds. When the property was secularized, the convent lost its income.
Unfortunately, it also became illegal to confine people to a convent without their consent. Today, nuns can leave the convent.
Today, the nuns are allowed to play volleyball. They are even allowed to laugh, to watch TV, and to have Internet. But no emails! Only inbound information.
Our guide, Giovanna, deserves a picture on her own. She was very knowledgeable and concise in her analysis of history.
We continue to Cusco
