Monastery of Santa Catalina

We had a guided tour of the largest monastery/convent in South America. It was established in 1580, covers over 5 hectares and is a city within a city. Since its inception, women from diverse social backgrounds have entered the convent to serve as cloistered nuns. A major part of the convent is now open to the public and we visited the cloister and attached rooms used for novices until 1969, the individual houses for nuns used until 1871, the kitchens, laundry and the dormitories which came into being after the reforms in the late 1890s. It was a fascinating place. Nuns still live in the convent but in a secluded section.