Saturday, December 14, 2019, Arequipa (Matarani), Peru
AREQUIPA (MATARANI), PERU
Peru's population is around 32 million and Matarani's is 1/5 million. Primary exports are copper ore, silver, and gold.
Arequipa is a department (ie., state) in southwestern Peru. It is bordered by the departments of Ica, Ayacucho, Apurímac, and Cusco in the north, the Department of Puno in the east, the Department of Moquegua in the south, and the Pacific Ocean in the west. Its capital, also called Arequipa, is Peru's second-largest city.
This department has a rough topography, which is characterized by heavy layers of volcanic lava covering large areas of its inter-Andean sector. It has deep canyons such as the ones formed by the Ocoña and Majes rivers. Plateaus range in height from medium, such as La Joya, and high-altitude ones such the Arrieros Pampa and those located in the zones of Chivay, Huambo and Solimana, and Coropuna, emerge above the plateaus and attract snowfall. In contrast with these heights, there are deep canyons, including Majes, Colca, Sihuas, and Ocoña, where important aspects of the ecological evolution of this zone can be clearly observed.
Along the coast, small plateaus and dunes represent characteristics of the desert of Arequipa, such as the ones located in the Majes, Sihuas and La Joya plains. These are particularly beautiful and developed. From a hydrographic point of view, the rivers draining its territory belong mainly to the Pacific watershed. Some rivers belong to the Amazon hydrographic system. Some of the region's main rivers are: Ocoña, Yauca, Camaná, and Quilca. The starting point of the Amazon River is located in the Arequipa region.
Arequipa City Highlights
We discovered the “White City” (so called because of the "white Eurpeans" who founded Arequipa), a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Blessed with a beautiful natural
setting in a green valley between towering volcanoes, Arequipa is a city that
is proud of its cultural traditions. We
admired the historic center and see the neoclassical cathedral and City Palace.
Next, we admired the imposing
red-and-blue walls of the Santa Catalina Monastery, a city within the city;
founded in 1580, this former cloister occupies an entire city block. We enjoyed the famous Arequipeña cuisine, a
fusion of indigenous and European traditions, in a local restaurant. Our tour continued with a visit to the Jesuit
Church, a fine example of the mestizo baroque style, which combines European
baroque with indigenous elements. Afterward, we had time to browse the shops at
Patio del Ekeko for mementos, including silver jewelry, handicrafts, and alpaca
wool products, before returning to our ship.
Another neighbor also inspecting gangway installation.
On our way for a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Arequipa in the Andes.
White powder is volcano ash, not snow.
Volcano Misti, also known as Putina or Guagua Putina is a stratovolcano of andesite, dacite and rhyolite located in southern Peru near the city of Arequipa. With its seasonally snow-capped, symmetrical cone, Misti stands at 19,101 feet above sea level and lies between mount Chachani 19,931 feet and Pichu Pichu volcano 18,599 feet. Its last eruption was in 1985, 198 years after its previous documented eruption.
Misti has three concentric craters. Active fumaroles, or volcanic gas vents, can be seen in the inner crater. Near the inner crater, six Inca mummies and rare Inca artifacts were found in 1998 during a month-long excavation directed by archaeologists Johan Reinhard and Jose Antonio Chavez. These findings are currently stored at the Museo de Santuarios Andinos in Arequipa.
Convent Santa Catalina
This is the main tourist attraction in Arequipa, and undoubtedly one of the most interesting colonial buildings in Peru. The convent was shrouded in secrecy until the majority of it was opened to the public in 1970. However, a part of the complex is still used by nuns and cannot be visited. There are, in fact, still a small number of nuns still in Santa Catalina, and some novices. The convent is extensive, covering a whole city block, with an area of 20,426 square meters, and is often described as a city within a city. This is not an unfair description, with the convent having streets and squares named after Spanish cities, although this is a recent creation, as are the bright colors of the walls. Initially, the complex was unpainted, leaving it the color of sillar. The convent has been shaken by the numerous earthquakes to hit Arequipa, and several areas have suffered damage. However, the buildings have been reconstructed, and are a delight to wander round.
The convent was founded in 1579 by María de Guzmán, a very rich Creole widow, who dedicated it to Santa Catalina of Siena. The history of the convent is fascinating, and many of the nuns living in Santa Catalina failed to live up to the vows of poverty that are usual. In fact, coming from wealthy Spanish families, many of the nuns came with up to four servants to accompany them. The dowry that had to be given by the most important nuns, who wore black veils, was 2,400 silver coins, equivalent to US$50,000 today. The nuns also had to bring 25 listed items, including a statue, a painting, a lamp and clothes. In the case of the wealthiest nuns, these included the finest English china and wonderful silk curtains and rugs. All these nuns entered because of the family tradition that the second son or daughter had to enter religious service. Although it was possible for poorer nuns to enter the convent without paying a dowry, it can be seen from the cells that most of the nuns were very wealthy. The largest cells have a large main room for the nun’s residence, a room for the servants, a kitchen, a terrace and even a guestroom, which was used by other nuns in Santa Catalina after a party. When a nun died, the cells were sold to other nuns entering the convent.
In addition to the stories of outrageous wealth, there are tales of nuns becoming pregnant, and amazingly of the skeleton of a baby being discovered encased in a wall. This, in fact, did not happen in Santa Catalina, although there are rumours of it having taken place in the nearby Santa Rosa convent.
Once inside the convent, a nun could never leave, and was able to receive visitors for only about 15 minutes once a week. Novices entered the convent at 12, and lived in one small cloister until the age of 16. They were not allowed to talk among each other, and had to spend their entire days in their cells, praying, apart from one hour in the morning when they went to mass. At the age of 16 the novices could decide whether to renounce religious service and return to the outside world or whether to stay in the convent. It is testament to the power of the family that, apart from one exception, no novice ever left the convent. This exception was Francisca Pizarro, the niece of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro.
In 1871, the mother superior, María Josefa Cadena y Pastor, eliminated the different categories of nun, and also abolished the individual cells. At this time all the nuns started to sleep in one large dormitory, with beds separated only by curtains.
Note the bed is under an arch in the wall; this is for earthquake safety. The west coast of Chile and Peru are very vulnerable to earthquakes and Tsunamis.
Termite door.
Staff bedroom.
Laundry tubs.
Chapel in background.
Another chapel.
Staff kitchen.
On our way to city square. Note Misti in background.
Large city square.
Surrounded by the Cathedral and various portals, the Plaza de Armas has a beautiful bronze fountain of three plates crowned with the figure of a soldier of the sixteenth century. A character that is called the "Tuturutu," which the story was in charge of warning of any new event.
Arequipa Portals
The Plaza de Armas of Arequipa has three big portals that previously where town hall of Arequipa functioned in the colonial era and from the Republican era does the municipality of Arequipa. The portals have a Neo-Renaissance architecture and are made of granite.
Square fountain
In the center of the square, there is a bronze fountain with a sculpture made of copper of a pixie with a trumpet, it is said that he once had wings, but over the years he lost, this sculpture is called Tuturutu. There is a myth that depicts a soldier of XVI century. The source closest to the character at hand is the priest and historian Ventura Travada and Cordova, who in his book: "The floor of Arequipa become Heaven" tells us about it: "Corónala (referring to the stack) an angel for fame, by whose mouth water rises in a high tuft."
The Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa is located in the "Plaza de Armas" of the city of Arequipa, province of Arequipa, Peru. It is the most important Catholic church of the city and also of the larger Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Arequipa since it is the base of the Archbishop and the Metropolitan Council. The cathedral is also considered one of Peru's most unusual and famous colonial cathedrals since the Spanish conquest.
Main cathedral door.
Life-size manger scene in front of cathedral.
Another view of city square.
One of three former town hall portals, now shops and restaurants.
(Jesuit Church of the Company of Jesus) This complex made up of buildings constructed by the Jesuits for religious and living purposes, is a representative monument of the seventeenth century religious architecture (1660). The church itself rises from the center of the buildings. It was designed in 1573 by Gaspar Baez and destroyed by an earthquake in 1584. The current structure dates from 1650. Inside you find sixty-six canvases from the Cuzco School from such artists as Bernardo Bitti and Diego de la Puente. (PromPeru). To view interior pictures go to:
Painting of 1584 earthquake.
Post Columbian era homes and stores, including McDonald's and Burger King.
Pisco museum
This is a very popular bar in Arequipa with an educational twist. Founded by an enthusiastic expat, Museo del Pisco is a bar/museum centered around the traditional Peruvian drink, pisco. Delicious local tapas and mini alpaca burgers also help to steady the student through their evening of pisco tasting!
Misti.
Copper mine tailings.
Volcano ash.
Non-copper mine taillings.
Entry to sea port complex.
We will sail this evening for Pisco, Peru. Tomorrow is a sea day.
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