Met with the Archbishop of Arequipa last Thursday to discuss the photo book I am developing.  He was very happy with the photos I showed him (50, approx. 5 x 7, examples of the hundreds I've taken so far).  We now need to find someone willing and able to print the proposed volume and come up with the funding.  Meanwhile, I am working on translating historical information from Spanish to English, revising the text in English, then re-translating back to Spanish to add some life to the rather dry descriptions I have. 

Writing is enough of a challenge in English, but Spanish is a very different language and sometimes there are no good direct translations.  Fortunately, I have a very good Spanish tutor who is assisting me with both the translationa and the direct contact with Printers. 

I have great hope for this book.  Though there are a lot of photos of some of the churches, some have been sadly overlooked for a variety of reasons, and consequently there does not exist a single volume chronicling the 22 Spanish Colonial Churches that exist in just the original district of Arequipa.  Because of the threat of seismic activity, too, I feel it will be important to have current photographs of the churches as they stand now.  Many have been severly damaged in the past by earthquakes, and though they have been rebuilt and restored, much of their original grandeur has been lost. 

The people of Arequipa, and Peru in general, are a people of great faith.  I hope this book will be an homage to their faith and a gift to their posterity.