Peru – July 13
We awaken after a relatively sleepless night and make our
way to the rooftop terrace. It is a
beautiful day and we have yet to experience one as warm as this. The terrace offers a wonderful view of both
Chachani and El Misti in the background.
The view is somewhat obscured by the dust in the air, most likely the
result of an erupting volcano somewhere in the region. As Paulie and I enjoy our coffee, one by one
the kids arrive. We eat a nice
continental breakfast and decide to check out the town to get a lay of the land
before the 2:00 finals of the World Cup between Germany and Argentina. We head out to see the nearby convent of
Santa Catalina, a huge sprawling complex initially built in 1580, shortly after
the Spanish founded the city. The
convent was apparently a very happening place where nuns had 3-4 servants and
whiled away the hours by entertaining, having fiestas and hosting
musicians. All the revelry was put to
rest in 1871 when a Dominican nun came in “like a hurricane” and put a stop to
the nun fun! Afterward, it was strictly
business as they were returned to an austere lifestyle. The novices were required to live in their
sleeping quarters for 20 hours each day….meditating and practicing their
faith. We take a tour with an English
speaking guide and take about a million pictures as we make our way through the
labyrinthine passages. After our tour,
we take a moment to check out some of the local adventure tours and get some
info on mountain bike riding for the following day. We go back to the hotel to get ready to eat
lunch and opt for a Turkish restaurant that the kids spied the day before. After lunch, we get down to some serious Futbol
watching. Once the game is finished,
Annie, Sam, Paulie and I decide to finally make some plans for the following
day. We find a great guy working in an
agency nearby who gives us a lot of information on both mountain biking and
trekking in Colca Canyon. We decide to
do the mountain biking tour the following day starting at 8am. After finializing our deal, we head off to
the Plaza de Armas to locate a grocery store to purchase snacks for our
strenuous day. A late dinner and then
off to bed…..early to rise.
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