June 25th - Arequipa - Santa Catalina Saturday

Today was an absolutely lovely day. We meant to sleep in, but I woke up at 7 anyway, and so lay in bed reading my novel for an hour before getting up. Francesca and I had breakfast downstairs in the hotel courtyard with Elli, Grace, and Frank, and then split off and met up with Miriam and Kate to go downtown. We stopped for a second breakfast since Miriam and Kate hadn't eaten, and had 'french coffee' served in bowls with steamed milk and crepes spread with manjar (dulce de leche). It was heavenly. From there, we went to the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, which is an absolutely lovely place. I understand that it's featured in the '1000 Places to See Before You Die' book, and it deserves its place there. It is a convent, founded in the 1500's, and still in operation. The nuns are sequestered into one area of the grounds, and the rest is open to the public. The ancient stone walls are painted terra cotta orange and celestial blue and geraniums grow in pots all along the walk ways. Stone staircases lead to nowhere and every corridor seems to bend and lead to another small room or garden or kitchen area. The light and the color and the flowers were simply lovely, and soft sounds of singing monks wafted through the walls. We each wandered independently, but finished at about the same time, two or three hours later. I've never thought about joining a convent, but if I could live there, it would be worth considering.

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick but tasty sandwich at a local restaurant and went to meet up with Grace and a local weaver for a lesson in backstrap loom work. Unfortunately, the weaver never showed up, so after an hour we returned to the hotel, and then went back out on the town to wander and explore. We stopped through several small shops, and tasted fresh churros and peruvian popcorn and had a lovely time.

The whole group met up again for dinner at the Plaza de Armas, and we ate at a really interesting restaurant overlooking the plaza. The restaurant specialized in 'traditional' Peruvian cooking, using hot rocks to roast alpaca and guinea pig and serving their food in hand thrown terra cotta pots. I had a local specialty - soup made with river prawns, and featuring corn, potatoes, pumpkin, and beans. Kate ordered the stone roasted alpaca, and it was served to her still on the hot black river rocks. She really enjoyed it, as did everyone. It felt like a very authentic dining experience. They also served us chicha (corn beer), which we had previously tried at another restaurant. It wasn't a big hit, but still was interesting to try. We've just returned to the hotel after a chilly walk home, and after writing this, I'm ready to go to sleep. It's been a full day.

Tomorrow, I'm scheduled to take a tour of the countryside with Elli for three hours in the morning, and then the group is going to some special restaurant for lunch. I'm sure it will be fun too. I'll let you know all about it tomorrow.

Until then,

Karen