arequipa

arequipa cathedral ------------------ menu del dia (soup of moron)

the central market - an array of colours -------- corn and potatoes of all colours and sizes



et la, j ai combien de doigts (how many fingers) ????-sta catalina monastery (the cemetary and washing area)

entrance to the monastery ------------one of the colourful courtyards

view from the rooftop ------------------------------confession bench

entrance to a peruvian bank -------------- church facade

respect! how to be a real nun-------------------- another view of inside


arequipa's balconies view


cooking time ------------------------------ -bon apetit

arequipa is a lovely city, complete with colonial charm and a wonderful ambiance. it is known as the white city as many of its buildings are made of sillar - a white volcanic rock. needless to say, it is situated near a variety of volcanes, namely the ¨el misti¨, a snow capped volcano measuring about 5822m.

one of the many museums, cathedrals etc in the city, we visited the santa catalina monastery which is a cloistered convent and was constructed (out of sillar of course) in 1580 and was later enlarged in the 17th century. at that time, only wealthy spaniards, paying an extravagent dowry of approximately $50 000 thesedays (!), were accepted and they had one to four slaves on hand (!!). it is not as though they were moving into a hotel, as their rooms were cells, so to speak. a lavish cell, shall we call it. it had a kitchen off the main room and some had a fire place. i´m guessing that those were the lucky ones as the rooms mustvé got pretty damn cold with the stone floors.

the colours of the monastery are magnificant with oranges, blues and plants on almost all the window sills. there are three courtyards with beautiful painted arches and some with fruit trees. the monastery still houses about 20 nuns today. not too kak -

¨el museo santuarios andinos¨ is also recommended as it tells the tale of ¨juanita¨, a 500 year old incan girl who was offered to the god´s. she was found only in 1995 in the crater of the ampato volcano (6380m). one is actually able to view this beauty, which is somewhat freakish.

when we were not stimulating ourselves interllectually ;), we went exploring the market (where we bought many a lunch and loads of interesting fruit; the pepino-papaya for example), watching the world go by in the plaza de armas (main square) and hanging out in various spots where locals were congregated.

after being here for quite a few days, i can understand why unesco nominated this city a world heritage site (in 2000).

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Arequipa, la ville blanche, nous a acceuilli pour qq jours. La ville est entourée de volcans a 6000 m, et elle est située a 2000m d´altitude. C'est la roche volcanique qui donne cette couleur blanche a la ville. La cathedrale domine la plazza de arma, rendez vous des pigeons peruviens.

Durant le séjour, on profitera pleinement des marches afin de se concocter qq plats dans la cuisine de l'auberge. Le matin, on va choisir des légumes et quelques patates (le choix est immense, plus de 4000 variétés au Pérou) et le soir, on mange tout ca tranquillement en écoutant la musique, comme a la maison.

La ville possède un monastère de nonne fondé peu après l´arrivée des colons. C´est une véritable ville dans la ville, avec ses propres rues, ses propres maisons et ses jardins, le tout entouré d´une grosse muraille en pierre. Les nonnes qui y residaient avait meme leur femmes de menages. Par contre, afin d atteindre la veritable sagesse et de comprendre le monde, elle devait porter une sorte d armure avec des pics un peu partout, ca devait etre sympa tout ca (cf la photo how to become a real nun)

Le musee santuarios andinos possede la fameuse momie Juanita, trouvee a 6380 m d altitude sur le volcan ampata en 1995. Le volcan etant entre en eruption, la neige du sommet a fondu et la momie, enterree il y a 500 ans par les incas, s est retrouvee mise a jour. Juanita aurait ete sacrifiee afin de soulager la colere des dieux. Ce genre de sacrifice etaient assez courant chez les incas. Des pretres parcouraient les differentes cites afin de trouver les heureux candidats au sacrifice, ceux ci devaient etre noble et ages de moins de 13 ans. L heureux elu se voyait alors recu par l inca meme a Cusco et cheminait ensuite jusqu au lieu de sacrifice. En l occurence la mere Juanita a du marcher 3 bons mois pour rejoindre le sommet de l ampata. L etat de conservation de la momie est vraiment incroyable.

Enfin, a Arequipa, on a pu essayer le fameux pisco sour, cocktail avec du pisco (ceux qui suivent le blog sauront ce que c est) et du blanc d oeuf. Avis aux amateurs, moi, je prefere une bonne arequipeña.