This morning, I arrived at the Arequipa bus station at 4:30AM and immediately took a taxi to the hotel near Plaza Armas. I worked in the hotel lobby for about an hour and a half and then had breakfast at the hotel. Then, I spent the first half of the day walking around Centro Historico, stopping at a coffee shop “Koffehaus” and also “Monastery of Santa Catalina,” one of the oldest and most historical structures in Arequipa. I took an hour long English tour of the monastery and it was interesting to learn the following:
- Although the structure was built in the 16th century, none of the building is original. All of it was rebuilt at one point or another due to many earthquake over the last 500 years. Earthquakes were always at the forefront of the minds of the builder’s, inhabitants, etc. (nuns sleeping under arches)
- In the 16th century, tradition dictated that a family’s first born was supposed to get married, the second born was either a nun (if female) or a priest (if male), the third born was either supposed to take care of parents (if female) or be a soldier (if male), and all subsequent children were allowed to do whatever they wanted
- This monastery was only for wealthy girls/woman. In order to be a resident, nuns or their families would need to pay large sums of money upfront
After the tour, I continued walking around and also walked to Starbucks. Then, I stopped by the hotel and showered and relaxed for an hour.
Then, I walked back to Plaza de Armas and had an early dinner at a balcony restaurant and then worked in a coffee shop for another for a few hours.
