Tourist First: Peru: Arequipa, Monasteries and More

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Peru: Arequipa, Monasteries and More

Arequipa's cathedral takes up one entire side
of the city's main square.

It's fair to say that Arequipa was not the best part of our fall 2014 month in Peru. At different times during our stay there, each of us was ill. Jane skipped dinner entirely one night when I wasn't up to going out, and I ordered for myself what may be the world's worst delivery pizza another night when she wasn't feeling well. We had hard-to-get reservations at Zig Zag, one of this food-minded city's hottest eateries, that we had to cancel. Nonetheless, we did get to see a good bit of the city and were both well enough to venture out of town for an overnight visit to the Colca Valley (click HERE to see earlier post).

Arequipa is set amid volcanos, some said
to be overdue for eruption.

Wth 860,000 people, Arequipa is the second-largest city in Peru. Today it is perhaps best known for the story of Juanita, a story almost as incomprehensible as it is sad. Juanita is the name given to an 11- to 15-year-old girl who was sacrificed about 550 years ago to the god of Ampato, a 6,380-meter volcano. Her mummy was discovered in 1995 after ash from a nearby volcano settled on the snow atop Ampato, caused its snow cap to melt and the melting snow dislodged her tomb. The name Juanita is a tribute to one of the men who found her, Johan Reinhard, a high-altitude archaeologist from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The mummy, on display in a refrigerated case, is said to be the only totally intact (all internal organs) mummy ever found. The mummy is sometimes taken away for study; if you're planning a trip and want to see it, you should check whether it will be on display.
The mummy can be seen only as part of a guided tour at the Museo Sanctuarios Andinos (click HERE for its Spanish-language website). Our English-speaking guide said that it's thought that the girl was chosen at birth to be sacrificed and was trained by priests not only for her death but for her role after death -- as a go-between for her people and the apu (mountain god), or perhaps as a guide to the afterlife. It probably took almost two weeks for the girl and a group of priests to reach the top of Ampato, where she was likely given some sort of narcotic before being killed by a single blow to the head. She was then placed in a fetal position and carefully wrapped in ornate textiles adorned with gold and feathers before being sealed in a tomb made of carved stones.
Photography is not allowed in the museum, which is quite dark, but photos of Juanita are not hard to find online.
Photography is allowed, however, at Arequipa's two important monasteries: the Monasterio de Santa Catalina (click HERE for its website) and the Monasterio de San Jose y Santa Teresa (click HERE for Spanish-language website). Santa Catalina is the larger and only one we visited. Each is still home to its own community of nuns who are supported by the entrance fees charged visitors.

The entrance to Santa Catalina encourages
tourists to keep the chatter to a minimum.

One of many tiny courtyards inside Santa Catalina. The
monastery was built in 1579 entirely of
Arequipa's signature white sillar stone. It consists of a 100
houses that sheltered as many as 175 nuns at a time, some
of whom came with servants. Once confirmed, the
nuns lived in strict isolation from contact with the
outside world. Just as the Pre-Columbians
had sacrificed their children to the gods, the good Catholics
of Arequipa would donate a daughter -- and the money to
support the monastery -- as proof of their piety (and
perhaps as payment for a ticket to heaven).

A walkway in one of Santa Catalina's three cloisters.
To see a map of the monastery, click HERE.

Streets such as this criss-cross Santa Catalina. Doors
lead into former living quarters, some simple, some not.

A kitchen hearth in the former home of a nun
is set up as if it were still in use. Today's nuns
live in a part of the monastery that is not open
to visitors. Bet they have more modern kitchens.

Zocodober Square occupies one of the
monastery's small courtyards.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.