August 18, 2006

August 18, 2006

The bus left Cuzco at 8:30pm and arrived in Arequipa at 5:30am. It was a very nice bus; the seats were better than coach air but not as good as business class. We even had dinner and a movie. Unfortunately I can’t sleep on a bus or a plane. After arrival we head straight to our hotel where they nicely allow us to check in early. Aimee and I sleep for a couple of hours.

Waking refreshed, we have breakfast and visit the Andean Shrine Museum. The Andes Mountains are a hot bed for volcanic and earthquake activity. This museum is about how the Indians used to sacrifice young girls (sometimes boys) to appease the mountain gods. The centerpiece is Juanita, the Ice Maiden, a 12-year-old female mummy found in 1995 at an altitude of 15,000 feet atop one of the local snowcapped volcanoes. Her body was perfectly preserved in the ice for 500 years. The museum is small but quite interesting.

After a romantic Peruvian lunch on a balcony overlooking the main square, we visit the Monastery of St. Catherine. This is a 250-year-old city-size monastery for nuns. The nuns at this walled facility led a cloistered life with almost no outside contact. Based on the tour the nuns led a tough life that changed little for 300 years, until 1968 when an earthquake damaged their old living quarters and new digs had to be constructed.

For dinner we eat at a Turkish restaurant; I can’t believe I had to travel to Peru to sample Turkish food for the first time.