"Juanita" + Santa Catalina Monastery

Downtown Arequipa
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After a good night´s sleep in my own (simple) room, I had a full day to explore Arequipa.  After getting myself better oriented, my first stop was Museo Santuarios Andinos, the museum that houses the famous Janita, a young Inca girl who was found frozen (thus, well preserved) on Ampato Mountain.  She was discovered about 10 years ago by anthropologist Johan Reinhard.

An amazing find, it is thought that the girl was sacrificed as part of an elaborate ritual to appease the mountain gods.  Apparently, this was a great honour for the girl and her family as she would achieve some sort of divinity following her death.  Technically, not a mummy, she remains stored in a large, see-through freezer, together with a quite a number of other antiquities.

A very photogenic city...MEGA Monastery!

Church of San Agustin
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One highlight of the day was the exceptional monastery of Santa Catalina.  A citadel with more than 400 years of history, it proved to be a beautiful place to photograph (even with my basic camera).  A veritable city unto itself, it housed both nuns and monks, separated from the outside world.