Arequipa - home of the ice mummy

We spent a quick day in Arequipa, mostly for the purpose of meeting "Juanita, the ice maiden". This girl, aged about 13, was selected to be sacrified by the Incas about 500 years ago in order to appease the mountain gods. A child was considered the ultimate sacrifice. She would have been selected from birth, and raised for this purpose, knowing that this day would come. She was dressed in very fine clothing, paraded to important cities like Cusco where the Inca king lived, and then taken to the top of one of the higher mountains near Arequipa, fed a drink of fermented corn, then struck on the head to kill her, and buried with a few fancy funeral objects.

About 15 years ago, she was discovered and recovered by a climber and made all the headlines around the world, National Geographic, etc. Due to being frozen so soon after her death, she has been perfectly preserved. She is now in a museum in Arequipa where you can view her. Her skin, hair, fingernails, etc are all still intact. Researchers have been able to get loads of information from her that have given insight into the Inca times. Because all of her organs are so well preserved, they are able to understand any diseases she may have been exposed to in her lifetime, assess her diet, etc. Even her last meal was still preserved in her stomach and could be analyzed.

We were also thinking of doing a 2-day trip out to an area where condors can be spotted. We really wanted to see a condor, but didn't want to give up those days that we will use for other things later in the trip. We had lunch at a nice balcony overlooking the main square in Arequipa, and were suddenly treated to a massive condor that, for some reason, decided to fly over the main square in town a few times.