I did my round along Arequipa´s churches and convent on an early Sunday morning. It was mother´s day as well, so most of the churches were open for services and generally packed. People walked in and out, so it was not difficult for me to get in as well.

La Compania was my first stop, and this one already has the sculptured façade that Arequipa is known for. The rest of the construction is quite bland and bulky, which makes the decorations at the front really stand out. This church also has a façade at the side, with a fine sculpture of a knight (St. James) and two mermaids. At San Francisco church I first clearly saw the enormous vaults that support so many of the buildings here in Arequipa – to survive another earthquake that will come sooner or later. Via the small La Merced and the 18th century San Agustin, I arrived at the Santo Domingo church where the wooden altar stands out.

The convent of Santa Catalina is the highlight of the city and could have earned WH status on its own merits alone. A tour will take you along the different parts of the convent, which walls are painted red, blue and yellow to soften the reflection of the sun on the naturally white silla. This colouring I think is one of the reasons tourists enjoy it so much, it is very picturesque. But the convent's history is fascinating too: the nuns here were really locked away from the rest of the world, but lived in comfort and died at an average age of 80 years. They spent their days on embroidery and prayer, but were not taught to read and write until the 19th century.

The day after, I was finally lucky to get into the Cathedral. I had tried several times on Sunday, but it was mostly either closed or service was going on (and then tourists are not allowed to enter). It took a while to get used to the Cathedral's interior: it is so much more "new" than the other churches here. But then its neoclassical features started to become clear. The statues of catholic saints resemble those of Greek philosophers.

In all, Arequipa is a very pleasant city to stay in. Besides the historical city center, the Mansion del Fundador (8kms away) and the museum where the frozen Inca girl Juanita is shown are also well worth visiting. The city in general isn't as "white" as its nickname would suggest. Only part of the buildings in the city center are off-white (or grey, due to pollution). Lots of them are yellow, red or blue, however. The guide at the Santa Catalina convent told us that "White City" referred to the original population type of the city consisting of white Spaniards, not to the colour of its constructions.