Friday, July 11th, 2003 – Day 143
I was up around 10.00am and took an hour to unpack and repack my bags to create more space (it did not help). The cost was 36 Soles for the two nights and 12 Soles for my laundry. They kept my bags in lock up. I walked down to the Casa del Moral. It was 5 Soles in.
“An extraordinary mestizo baroque mansion, built at the beginning of the 18th century by a Spanish knight and nicely restored with period detail in 1994, Casa del Moral offers one of the best windows onto colonial times in Arequipa. Named for an ancient mulberry tree–the moral found in the courtyard–the home is also distinguished by a magnificent stone portal with heraldic emblems carved in sillar. Handsome furnishings, carved wooden doors, and Cusco School oil paintings decorate large salons, built around a beautiful courtyard, the largest of the colonial residences in the city. Look for 17th-century maps that depict the borders and shapes of countries quite differently from their usual representations today. A second courtyard, painted cobalt blue, was used as the summer patio. Climb to the rooftop for a great view of Arequipa and the surrounding volcanoes”.
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Arequipa – Peru – Casa del Moral (11-07-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Arequipa – Peru – Casa del Moral (11-07-2003)
It was a nice but nothing out of this world. I wasn’t feeling like doing much today so I went onto he NET for a while and then went to the famous Museo Santuarios Andinos. It is 15 Soles in and you get a English speaking Guide (whom you are expected to tip). They are dressd in power suits and have guides for most major languages.
“The Museum of Andean Sanctuaries has a number of fascinating exhibits, including mummies and artifacts from the Inca Empire, but it is dominated by one small girl: Juanita, the Ice Maiden of Ampato. The victim of a ritualistic sacrifice by Inca priests high on the volcano Mount Ampato and buried in ice at more than 6,000m (20,000 ft.), “Juanita” was discovered in almost perfect condition in 1995 after the eruption of a volcano melted ice on the peak. Juanita’s remarkable preservation has allowed researchers to gain great insights into Inca culture by analyzing her DNA. Today, she is kept in a glass-walled freezer chamber here (as she has been since 1998), less a mummy than a frozen body nearly 600 years old. Displayed nearby are some of the superb doll offerings and burial items found alongside the corpse. Guided visits are mandatory”.
(picture above) More information on the find can be found here. It was OK, the only thing the museum has is two mummies (in fridges) and the artifects that were found with them. Veacuse it is so popular the guides rushes. Not great!
I called into the catghedral again for 20 minutes.
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Arequipa – Peru – Cathedral (11-07-2003)
I headed back to the hostel to collect my bags. The hostel was “Hostal Le Foyer – Ugarte 114) It was 3 Soles to the bus station and I boarded. It was 25 Soles to Cusco which is 521km (323 miles) away. The bus was full to the brim and off we went. It was a VERY cold journey and I had very little leg room. It was a slow journey and I took a sleeping tablet which helped.