Monasterio de Santa Catalina 29 May 2015

Before visiting the monastery, I also paid a visit to Museo Santuarios Andinos where there was ‘Ice Maiden, Juanita’, the preserved body of a frozen ‘mummy’.  The 12-year-old Inca girl sacrificed to the gods in the 1450s and now eerily preserved in a glass refrigerator.  She was unearthed atop Nevado Ampato in 1995.  All should visit in group with a compulsory tour guide.

After lunch, I went to Monasterio de Santa Catalina.  This time I relied on the guide book but I mistakenly walked in a reversed direction.

A city unto itself, this 5-acre complex of mud-brick, Iberian-style buildings surrounded by vibrant fortress-like walls and separated by neat, open plazas and colorful gardens, is a working convent and one of Peru's most famed cultural treasures.

Founded in 1579 and closed to the public for the first 400 years, Santa Catalina was an exclusive retreat for the daughters of Arequipa's wealthiest colonial patrons.

Kitchen

Sewing machine

Iron

Cross and watering system

Roof top view

Simple alter in a room and the art gallery

After leaving the monastery, I got to have late lunch.  Then I lost my direction and went to Matrina Church.  On my way back, I watched sunset and  visited La Cathedral (largest church in Peru) as well.

Then I got back and took rest, preparing for my Colca Canyon trip early tomorrow morning.