Arequipa

We didn't get to spend a lot of time in Arequipa but we liked what we saw. The main square was very beautiful, with a large Cathedral on one side and three sides of double tiered arches. The rest of the city retained a great deal of the Spanish architecture and the city itself was surrounded by volcanoes. Very pretty.

View of the city with one of the few volcanoes that surround the city in the background...

Catelina Convent was started a view years after the Spanish came in and was for only very rich families. Although it still runs as a teaching convent, it was only opened to the public in 2005 and has been recognized by the goverment as a historical landmark.  The girls were always the second daughters of wealthy families and it was an honor to accepted into the convent. That being said, the girls went 4 years from ages 12-16 without speaking to anyone except their teachers. After age 16, they were allowed to speak to other nuns and receive visitors, but they could never leave the convent. They could only see their visitors through a screen (similar to the glass at prisons) and they couldn't touch anyone directly (gifts had to pass through a turntable). It doesn't sound like a nice life compared to today's standards, but they did have servents to cook and clean for them. The convent itself is beautiful.

Coutyard in the Catelina Convent...the convent was very colorful with the different buildings painted bright colors like red, yellow and blue.

One of the older streets within Catalina Convent...

Mirador on top of a roof of the convent...

Main plaza in Arequipa...

Big cathedral off the main plaza...in 2001 one of the spires was damaged in a big earthquake, locals are upset because the new spire didnt meet the artistic standards of the older one...can you tell the difference? 

Great meal discovery...chifa...or Peruvian chinese food, in particular this dish was called "Aeropuerto" and was my personal favorite...it combined angel hair pasta ans rice cooked with brocolli and chicken with this sweet red dipping sauce...amazing!!  and of course the ever popular Peruvian beverage..Inca Kola...which is way too sweet!

What in the world is this you might ask...well its a foodstand in the back of a trunk of a car that was parked on the side of the city street...the lady was selling olives in huge 5 gallon buckets!!!

Pretty angle of the cathedral...

Night shot of the Cathedral from the second floor arcade where we sipped coffee before leaving Arequipa

Another pretty picture of square (I'm a sucker for palm tree shots!)