Vaya con dios!: Cloister Nuns

After my Colca Canyon trek, I went back to Arequipa for a day before heading to Argentina. I went to visit the Monestario de Santa Catalina...one of the oldest functioning convents. The second girl born to wealthy families around Arequipa HAD to join the convent. No choice. And since they are cloister nuns, she was never allowed to have contact with anyone from the outside ever again! It was beautiful and HUGE...like a city within a city. There was a big scandal because these nuns came from the wealthiest families and lived inside in the convent in the opulance they were used to. Their families would build them apartments inside complete with servants! But when the reformation came, all of this was removed and they went back to communal living and eating.

The room where they placed a nun when she died. See the portraits on the walls? Only painted after death because it was considered vain to view yourself during life. This meant no mirrors, either! Little tid bit of extra info. There was only one nun that broke this rule and had her portrait painted in life because she suffered a stroke which paralyzed half of her face and she wanted to see what she looked like!