Today will be our last in the "White City" of Arequipa. We slept in and eventually crawled out of bed to venture around the city, whose colonial buildings are mostly made of volcanic rock named sillar. We had an early lunch and then booked an early morning bus to the town of Cabanaconde, at the head trail of the Colca Canyon.
We decided to spend our afternoon exploring the Monasterio de Santa Catalina (Santa Catalina Monastery), a nearly 450 year old monastery and convent which is core to this cities rich Catholic history. I found its architecture to be amazing, and unique, colorful and inviting. However its religious symbolism was somewhat sickening, drab, and archaic in my opinion, perhaps I am biased however. Its religiosity seemed so militaristic and thorough, I can only imagine the fear instilled in the peoples who were conquered by the Europeans and their religious beliefs some 500 years ago in this region.
We rested for most of the rest of day, the altitude still seems to be taking its toll on us still. We have to be up at 3AM for our bus to Condor Cross and then Cabanaconde, where we have booked lodging for tomorrow night. We will use this as a base to explore the Colca Canyon. We are doing it independently to save money. We have read that it is much more enjoyable this way. I am hoping we meet with others who plan to do the same hike so we can have some company along the way.
I am unsure if we will be able to update until we get to the Lake Titicaca region, or perhaps even La Paz, Bolivia. There better be beer down in the canyon, I will want one for my 26th birthday, the first of which I have ever spent away from home.
Many photos after the break below, enjoy.
4 comments:
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Guinea pigs!!! They are sooooooooo cute. I'd just want to pick one up. They'd probably bite though and they're most likely dirty.
These are by far my most favorite pictures.
It is amazing how a certain time and place can evoke different feelings, isn't it? I have to agree the array of colors and architecture is astounding. It's funny that if we saw colors like these in the US, in areas not of spanish heritage, such as say the northeast or midwest, and walked past buildings of this shade of blue, we might think, "well that's not very pretty". But, where you are, these colors are gorgeous.
The religious references and artifacts here are very convincing. Catholicism is very powerful, I feel. This place would probably inspire me to kneel down and pray. I'd probably feel honored and humble to be in this monastery. On the other hand, I like your insight into how the visitors centuries ago may have felt.
It's disappointing that you guys won't be able to update soon again. We all really look forward to these updates - and we're used to getting them on a daily basis! Oh well. Have a happy birthday Gavin!
Happy Birthday, Gavin! I hope you are enjoying your 26th birthday with your lovely fiancee. If I can't be with you, at least I know you are where you want to be, having a good time.
Love you, Mom
Happy birthday, Gavin! Your visit here looked beautiful. Classic spanish architecture created a dioneysian ambiance, but at the expense of all the wonderful indigenous architecture that was here before it.
The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing." ~Daniel J. Boorstin
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