Juanita and Santa Catalina

Not far from Arequipa, in 1995, a sensational discovery was made on the Nevado Ampato at an altitude of 6000m: the approximately 500-year-old mummy of a girl of about 14 years old. The well-preserved mummy, known as Juanita, was one of the human sacrifices meant to appease the gods in case of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Unfortunately, photography was prohibited in the museum, and Juanita was currently in storage, so we could only visit the less well-preserved Sarita. However, the Santa Catalina Monastery, founded by Dominicans in 1579, provided plenty of beautiful subjects for our camera. A city within a city, surrounded by thick walls made of sillar stone, still houses more than 20 nuns to this day. In earlier times, only the second-born daughters of the wealthy were admitted here and lived in isolation from the outside world. The maintenance of this gigantic complex is now ensured by the entrance fees paid by tourists. We spent almost four hours exploring this enchanted place with its wonderfully colorful walls and romantic niches.