2nd Day in Lima

Well, I got up this morning at my hostal and took a shower and packed my bags because it is my last day here. After I got done packing my bags Marie (a girl from Norway that I met last night) and I went to the city center of Lima. It was a happening place this sunday morning. We saw the Plaza de San Martin and then we walked up a pedestrian mall towards the Plaza de Armas. On the way to the plaza we saw a beautiful church which was home to the convent in the area. This plaza, Plaza de Armas, was the nicest one in Lima. It had a fountain in the middle that dates back to the 1600´s. On one side sat the Presidential Palace and on another sat the Cathedral de Lima. We visited the Cathedral and it was very nice.They were getting ready to start a mass so we only stayed a little while. There was a plaque in the Cathedral that said Pope John Paul II visited this cathedral while Pope, which was pretty cool.

After the cathedral we walked up a street and saw a really cool neighborhood which was hanging on to the mountain. We also saw the Congress Building and then took a tour of a museum that was dedicated to the torture techniques of the Spanish for their inquisition on Peru during the conquest. It was intersting, but gruesome.

Then we went back to the plaza and met a kid from Lima named Eric. He took us to a free museum where we saw many different items from the ancient times of Peru. We also went into a vault in this museum where we saw many gold artifacts from the Inca times. There was so much gold, I can now understand why so many people searched for El Dorado. On the way to the museum there was a parade of people who seemed to be celebrating something important, but neither Eric nor we could figure it out. Then we returned to the plaza to watch the changing of the gaurd at the presidential palace.

Then we went out to eat to have some genuine Peruvian food. I got a mixed fish dish which was really weird looking. It has mussels, crawdads, crabs, many different types of fish, and a lemon sauce. It was cold, but it was good, until I got sick of the Lemon. Every bite was like biting into a whole lemon. We also tried Inka Cola, the Peruvian soda pop. It actually was good, but tasted a little like cough syrup.

After we ate, Mary and I returned to the hostal and I got ready to leave. While I was getting ready two girls were also getting ready and we found out that we were on the same bus. We ended up talking and hanging out on the bus. The bus left Lima at 4pm and headed for Arequipa on the southern coast. The views were absolutely amazing. Lima and most of southern Peru is situated on a desert because the mountains protect it from any possible rain and the Ocean is cold enough that little evaporation occurs. This means that almost every day is sunny without a cloud in the sky. On the bus you could look to your left and see desert and mountains and if you looked to your right you could see the massive Pacific Ocean and its mighty waves. We saw the sunset, watched some movies provided by the bus company (Knocked Up and another one) and went to sleep.

So far I really like Peru. Lima was much cleaner and nicer then I expected it to be. The weather was absolutely fantastic and the people were very nice. The contrast of the scenery is breathtaking. I can´t wait to get my pictures loaded so you can see them.