Sometimes, you go sightseeing just to go through the motions, because you are there, not expecting too much. And then something will take you completely by surprise.

I figured the Monasterio de Santa Catalina would be no different from many other places like that I've visited. And to an extent, it wasn't really. But in restoring the town-within-the-town (much was destroyed in earthquakes) they boldly chose mediterranean blue and stone red, giving the whole place a sort of Matisse-effect. Everywhere you went were little nooks and crannies, every corner you turned revealed another pleasant patio or courtyard or mini-garden. They are accentuated by splashes of colour, either from the walls or from the potted plants which are everywhere.

It's very peaceful, and it's easy to escape the other tourists by taking a few turns until you have a little courtyard all to yourself. It's mainly the tranquility that gets to you: in a city where honking horns is a sport, you don't hear a thing. When you get to the top of the church, you see the surrounding buildings and you just want to get down again, pretend you are somewhere in the South of France, the Italian countryside or a Spanish hacienda...

When I left, I went to visit the cathedral, but it was closed. I did go into the Iglesia de la Compañia. Then I had lunch at ZigZag, a nice place on Santa Catalalina which does crepes. After, I went to the Museo Santuarios Andinos. First, they show a National Geographic video about the discovery of the ice mummy Juanita and others. Then a guide leads you through the museum, explaining about the artifacts and trinkets found in the graves.

The mummies were only found because at the time of discovery, Ampato's neighbour Sabancaya was belching out ashes, melting the snow. Juanita (the best preserved mummy and the most famous, also called 'The Ice Princess') and the others were sacrifices to appease the Ampato mountain, who was a deity at the time. They were young children from noble families between 12 and 16, and were made to walk up the mountain with the priests, where they were killed by a blow to the head, then buried. Supposedly it was a great honour to be 'the chosen one' and only the most beautiful from the best families were chosen.

Juanita needs to be cleaned to be kept in good condition every year so she wasn't there, but there was another mummy, which is kept in a cooler to preserve her. It's all a bit odd, staring at dead people even though they have been dead for over 500 years, especially as they still look very real... Juanita, you can see in the photos, still has most of her skin, hair, and nails.

After visiting the museum, I posted off some more stuff to Belgium and went to se if there were any other people interested in trekking the Colca Canyon. Apparently not, so it will be bus again...

I had dinner at El Turko, a -you've guessed it- Turkish restaurant. The shish kebab was lovely and I had a glass of red wine as well... Very nice.