Arequipa, Peru

The countryside on the way to Arequipa
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Arequipa is Peru's second city and is often referred to as the "White City". As I may have mentioned, Peru is just one huge archeological dig and they are very adept at maximizing and capitalizing on the local materials for construction purposes. The reason Arequipa (Spanish name La Ciudad Blanca) is called the white city is because it is brimming with marvellous examples of colonial architecture built of this pearly white and shimmering volcanic rock called sillar. In the sun it actually sparkles! The city centre itself is built around a central square (as are most Latin American cities and towns) called La Plaza de Armas. And of course being in Peru, we still have some altitude to contend with. Arequipa is about 2,400 metres because it is situated pretty close to the Andes.

Vicuna on the way to Arequipa...
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Archaeological findings indicate the Arequipa area has been occupied for about 8,000 years! The pre-Incan civilization were a group of indians called the Aymara. The modern city of Arequipa was founded in 1540 by an emissary of the infamous Spanish conquistador Pizarro. It would seem that the significant Spanish influence in this city was a result of a very high proportion of Spanish nobility. Presumably they enjoyed the temperate climate of the area. This is plainly visible at the convent called the Santa Catalina Monastry (but it is a convent in the real sense of the word, so women and not men). Anyway this place is absolutely amazing! It consists of acres and acres of beautiful buildings, gardens, streets, private sitting rooms, dormitories, chapels, music rooms and so on, designed to "house" the first-born girls of noble Spanish families during colonial times. If you want to read more check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catalina_Monastery. Suffice to say that it is a most fascinating place and we spent the entire morning wandering about the place and ended up having lunch there. Curiously it still has about 20 nuns or something, but they are in another part of the convent away from the public gaze.

Llama and Alpaca on the way to Arequipa
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The other thing about Peru is that it is subject to rumblings of the earth, and Arequipa was almost completely destroyed in 1868 during a series of earthquakes. Also in 2001 another earthquake hit the city, of which there are many reminders throughout the city itself. Before that however, in 2000 UNESCO declared the historical center of Arequipa a World Heritage Site stating: "The historical center of Arequipa is an example of ornamented architecture, represents a masterpiece of the creative coalition of European and native characteristics. A colonial town challenged by the conditions of nature, the indigenous influences, the conquest process and evangelism as well as for a spectacular natural scenario." So yes that says it all I guess.

Some of the markets in Colca and on the way to Arequipa
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The other thing that was interesting in Arequipa was the museum. The city lies at the foot of the snow-capped apparently extinct volcano called El Misti. Arequipa has over 80 volcanoes which can be found in The Valley of Volacanoes. Anyway this is significant, because this is the area where they found Juanita. Who the ____ is Juanita you ask. Ok, this is a story worth telling if you can handle it I suppose. Around 500 years ago Juanita was 14 or 15 when she was sacrificed on El Misti to appease the mountain god, perhaps because of repeated bad harvests or volcanic eruptions or lack of water. Who knows? It would seem that her parents had been especially selected and their children were marked from birth for sacrifice to the gods. They know this because Juanita's umbilical cord, fingernails and baby teeth were also carefully preserved with her body in a special woven cloth (this is clearly visible in the museum). The chosen ones and their families apparently lived in luxury and were prepared for this possibility their entire lives. Only the beautiful, unblemished and innocent where chosen, for reasons that are not entirely clear.  It is hard to imagine raising your children to be sacrificed on the side of a mountain, but in these times it was apparently considered a great honour.

My meal of cuy (yes that's guinea pig!!) in Arequipa!
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Legend has it, or rather it is widely believed, that Juanita and her entourage  walked from Cusco to Arequipa, a journey that may have taken up to 20 days according to the guide at the museum, and then climbed to the summit of the mountain. Here various feasting and ceremonies were performed (although she would have fasted). One can only imagine how she felt, because the surrounding countryside is so imposing and so bloody cold! Quite obviously she would have been freezing, exhausted, hungry and frightened, but at the same time, probably honoured. Also she would have been heavily sedated by chicha (a locally produced drink made from corn), which is still widely consumed to this day by many Peruvians. Scientific examination (at Johns Hopkins University in the US) of Juanita's body has revealed that at the end of the rituals she was hit over the right temple with a blunt instrument which caused instant death. She was buried alone on the mountain top with quite a few ceremonial offerings. In 1995 volcanic eruptions in the surrounding melted the ice cap on El Misti and her grave was uncovered. Her mummified body, complete with all the offerings rolled 12 or so meters into a crater of the mountain and was discovered, perfectly preserved, by an archaeologist who had been working in the surrounding area. As luck would have it, he found her within two or three weeks of her being exposed to the open atmosphere. Her face is bleached where it was uncovered to the elements, but the rest of her body remained covered and therefore is still pretty well preserved. Her hair is still attached, her fingernails perfect and her internal organs still perfectly frozen. But I will never forget her face, and I just hope that people recognise and pay homage to the manner in which she faced her death and see dignity, rather than the macabre, in the state in which now lies. Although I guess this is a pretty hard ask, given the circumstances.

Santa Catalina Monastry in Arequipa
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The offerings buried with her are amazingly well preserved. Although her shawl is damaged where it was exposed to the elements but the colours are still pretty vibrant. You can see her alpaca shoes and the tiny symbolic sandals for her journey to join the gods together with fine ceramic offerings, gold and silver idols dressed in feathers and an unusual textile offering, the meaning of which has not yet been established. To me it looks like a doll, a toy for little girl.  It would also seem that three other children were sacrificed on the same day, further down the mountain as secondary offerings to Juanita. Two of them are also perfect, but one is very badly damaged by lightening! I didn't get into the whole history of the thing, because that's for the experts, but suffice to say that its all pretty disturbing. But in acknowledging and sensitively preserving history such as this, the past will always provide a better understanding of the present. Anyway if you want to read more about Juanita go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy_Juanita.

More of Santa Catalina Monastry
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Anyway, other than that, Arequipa offers great night life, wonderful restaurants and a very nice city all round. This is a place I would definitely return, and definitely recommend for the traveller heading to Peru.