Get Thee to a Nunnery!

In 1579, the Dominicans built a unique convent, the Monasterio de Santa Catalina. This convent was built as its own city within the large city of Arequipa, Peru. The convent takes up over 5 acres and is surrounded by large stone walls separating it, and the nuns within it, from the rest of Arequipa. 

At its peak, the convent housed 200 nuns and 300 of their servants. This walled "city" is complete with 5 streets -- all named after different cities in Spain.

Along these streets are several plazas where the nuns could gather in their free time and enjoy the out-of-doors.

The nuns at Santa Catalina were primarily from wealthy families. The oldest child was expected to be married. The second child was expected to devote their life to God. If the second child was a girl, Santa Catalina was the most prestigious place to send them. The families would pay a very high dowry to send their girls to this convent. Accordingly, the convent was entirely self-sufficient and, in fact, very wealthy.

The girls would enter the convent at the age of 12. From the moment they entered the front door, they would never see their friends or family again. For most of their life, they were committed to a vow of silence and a secluded life.

From time to time, the nuns had the opportunity to speak with family members in the locutorios. These were small cells with a screen so that they could not be seen and could not see those on the outside. These conversations were only allowed with the permission of the Mother Superior and only with another nun present to ensure that the conversation only included appropriate topics.

When the young girls would first enter the monastery, they were novices for the first 1-5 years. They would spend all of their time learning the ways of the monastery and studying the bible. When they felt they were ready, they were asked to take their vows, at which time they would become official members of the monastery community. Each year that they were studying as a novice, the family would pay more money for their studies. Accordingly, the girls were under a bit of pressure to learn quickly and take their vows as soon as possible.

When they first entered, they were given their own room with a bed, a chair, an altar to pray, and a small cubby for any personal items.

Toilet in the Nun´s Rooms -- Usually with a Chamberpot Below

The nuns ate together in the communal dining room. Throughout the meal, one nun would read aloud from the bible from a pulpit in the corner. This responsibility shifted each day since the nun reading was forced to skip all meals for that day.

The monastery had a large bathing room where the nuns could take a bath once a week. Two nuns could bathe at the same time, but only with a large sheet to separate them for modesty purposes.

Some of the more extreme nuns practiced self-flagellation – castigating themselves in order to pay with their own pain for the salvation of others’ souls. To this end, some of the nuns had a bed of nails on which to sleep.

In general, however, the monastery seemed like a pretty nice place to live. The nuns had a beautiful town and nice homes, always plenty of food, and servants to take care of many of their needs.

Laundry Area

The Kitchen -- For 200 Nuns!

The Cemetary -- (the nuns didn´t even rejoin their families in death!)

A Life-Sized Last Supper (The nuns hand make all the clothes and even use their own hair for Jesus)

The monastery was opened to the public in 1970. Today it is still functional, housing 20 nuns ranging in age from 18 to 90. Their living quarters remain private and the nuns worship only at times when the monastery is closed. All of the nuns in Santa Catalina today enter voluntarily and are only allowed after the age of 18. They have internet access (with many websites blocked), email addresses, and are allowed telephone calls to loved ones. The nuns can even leave the monastery to visit an ailing family member with prior permission from the Mother Superior and only in pairs.

I spent 3 hours wandering these streets – the architecture is charming and the streets are peaceful and beautiful – a lovely, and timeless, contrast to the bustling streets of the city outside the walls.

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Llamas, Alpacas, Vicuñas. . .Oh My!

Among many other claims to fame, Peru is known as the home of llamas and alpacas.  In actuality, of the 3 million llamas in South America, only 33% live in Peru (most of the rest are in Bolivia), but 87% of the 4 million alpacas can be found in the mountains of Peru.

Llamas and Alpacas are the two domesticated camelid species that live in South America. Their two wild relatives are the vicuña and guanaco.

Camelids are a family of animals that include not only the four South American species but also the two species of camels. These large herbivorous animals have several distinct characteristics. For example, their hind limbs are attached at the top of the thigh only and thus, they can only lie down by resting their knees and legs tucked underneath the body. They also have a two-part upper lip with each part separately mobile (the better to spit with)! They do not have hooves, but a two-toed foot with toenails and a soft footpad. The four South American camelids can move the pads on their toes to better grip the steep, rocky terrain.

The llama was domesticated thousands of years ago to be a pack animal. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, there were no mules, horses, or other animals so llamas were the only pack animals in South America. 

Alpacas were domesticated primarily for their fur. Alpaca fur is much softer than that of llamas and is 7 times warmer than wool! A useful fiber to have in the very cold high altitudes of the Andes! Alpacas are smaller than llamas and have long hair on their heads, while llamas do not. My personal favorite alpacas are the long-haired variety, the suri alpacas -- I just love their long hair!!!

Guanacos are the largest of the four camelids in South America. They are not domesticated and there are over half a million in South America – most in the Patagonia region of Chile and Argentina. Guanacos are incredibly versatile, living in very high mountainous regions and on the beaches of Peru. 

Vicuñas are the smallest of the four and the most rare. There are just over 100,000 living in the wild. These animals live at altitudes around 14,000 feet.

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I Want to Fly Like a Condor. . .Condor. . .Condor

The Colca Canyon (in southern Peru) is the 2^nd deepest canyon in the world – over 13,000 feet deep (more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in Arizona)! The views as you overlook Colca are incredible!

I spent a couple of days hiking in the canyon and learned an interesting (and obvious) lesson. I’ve always been a big fan of hiking – although usually in mountains, not canyons. I thought this would be similar. What I failed to think of in advance was that a canyon goes down and a mountain goes up. So on day three of hiking when you’re a bit lazy and tired. . .you have to hike straight up. Nice. I enjoyed ending my hiking experience by heading straight up a 4200 foot incline in 3 hours – before 7am. I think, in the future, I’ll stick to hiking mountains! But the scenery made it all worthwhile!

In addition to great hiking, the Colca Canyon is home to a large population of Andean condors. These birds are usually only found in the mountains above 6500 feet. Andean condors are the largest living flying bird: adults weigh between 24 and 33 pounds, they are over 4 feet long, and their wingspan is second only to the wandering albatross (which has the largest wingspan of all birds).

Condors are in the vulture family, they eat only carrion (animals that are already dead). Adults are mostly black with a white neck ruff and white wing feathers.

Wild condors have huge territories and they often travel over 160 miles per day in search of food. Since they do not kill their own food, they can go for days without eating. When they find a large carcass (deer or cattle) they will gorge themselves, eating up to 4 pounds at once.

These huge birds may not be pretty, but they are incredibly graceful to watch! Andean condors lack a large sternum to anchor large flight muscles and consequently are primarily soarers. They flap their wings when rising from the ground, but after they get to a moderate elevation they no longer need to move their wings at all, they just sail on the air.

It’s beautiful to see. . .

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Playing in the Sandbox

In southern Peru, near the city of Ica, lie miles and miles of sand dunes several hundred feet high.

In the middle of all this sand, strangely, is a small natural lagoon – an oasis in the middle of the vast desert.

Local legend is that a princess stripped off her clothes to change and then saw a male hunter watching. In shock, she dropped the mirror she was holding and that turned into the small lake.

Today, the small town of Huacachina, with a population of less than 150 people, has cropped up around this small lagoon.

The residents of this town have come up with some fun things to do with all of the surrounding sand!

The dune buggy ride was both thrilling and terrifying! As a huge roller coaster fan though, I loved being lifted out of my seat as we started down a steep hill at high speeds!

After getting my blood pumping, I decided to try sandboarding. Not fancy-standing-up-sandboarding (like snowboarding), I´m not talented enough for that.  But, lay-down-on-a-board-and-go-down-a-big-hill-as-fast-as-you-can-sandboarding. It´s really more like sandsledding!

What a rush!

Some of the dunes were so steep, I had to really think about it before I´d push off the top. But, as is always the case, when I got to the bottom, I immediately wanted to do it again!

And, at the end of the day, the child in me couldn´t help but roll down one of the dunes. . .a treat I´ve never outgrown!

Thank you Huacachina for letting me play in your sandbox!!

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