02/13 - Arequipa: El Convento

We woke up on Arequipa, and visited Monasterio de Santa Catalina. It's like a city inside a fortress, full of impressive artwork and architecture. It's a preserve, now, but a section of it is off-limits; still functioning as a cloistered convent. The place was founded in 1579, as a convent for wealthy girls. Their families gifted paintings and other treasures to decorate their cells. Many pieces were stored after they died, and have been restored and are now displayed in the museum.

I am thankful we have a few photos on Jim's camera, but it's really unfortunate that we lost mine. Most of the walls there are painted bright blue or adobe red, and [completely coincidentally], that day, I was wearing a bright blue shirt and Jim an adobe red shirt. There were some really beautiful shots there. The place is like a beautiful labyrinth. We spent hours there. And I even bought a chocolate [made by nuns] at the gift shop. It is certainly worth browsing the photos on their website.

We had to rush to make it to the Cathedral before dark. It spans the entire length of the Plaza de Armas, and contains a massive pipe-organ; the largest in South America. Parts of the cathedral have been destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt numerous times; most recently in 2001, when one tower was badly damaged, and the other completely destroyed.

We went to bed early, because we had to leave for Cañón del Colca at 3 the next morning.