I got you! I like the murse!!!!
Today was Minh’s last day in town. He had to be at the
airport at 8:30pm, so better start the day early. I managed to reorganize my
schedule, so I’d be able to meet him before noon and I succeeded, hehe. I met
Minh at 11am. Our plan was going to downtown. He has already been there, but
just at night and driven by a bus, so he couldn’t take as many pictures as he
would have liked to. So, it was time to fix it, hehe. We took a cab and drove
to Plaza de Armas “
Main Square”.
I should say first, that is has been my first time showing
around downtown. Usually I don’t do it, but I think I will include it in my
future plans, since we had a great time and I found downtown so nice! Anyway,
first stop: The Cathedral! Minh wanted to go inside, so we did it! It was
really beautiful and fun at same time.
creepy eyes!!!!
It was so cool being with him. Same as
me, he likes to take crazy pics, so we were breaking the rules to get great
shots, haha. I became a guide and while we were walking around, he listened to some
music. What was that? It was noon! So it was the guard’s change at the Government Palace. We run and could watch it. It
was so nice. We arrived just in time with groups from schools too, hehe. Oh! I
have to say that although it’s winter, we had a great sunny day! Minh was
teasing me, saying he brought the sun to Lima
and tomorrow it might be cloudy, well we’ll see hehe.
Ok, which one will be the 2nd stop? The
Catacombs!!!! We have been talking about that the day before and it was a MUST.
more skulls...
We walked 4 blocks and arrived to St. Francisco Church. We were supposed to
walk all the time with a group. You are not allowed to walk by yourself. But
nobody could stop us, haha. We were just hanging out by ourselves looking for
the Catacombs and we found the entrance. It was amazing!!! My last time there
was a couple of years ago, but the Catacombs always amaze me. We got great shots! Even when we weren’t
supposed to take pics, hehe. One took the pic, while the other one was watching
nobody was coming, so much fun!!! Definitely I recommend visiting that place if
you are in Lima
:)
We went back to the Main Square, looking for a store where we
could buy “Cocadas” (a Peruvian dessert / candy) made of coconut, since Minh
loves coconut, haha.
nice Main Square
Mmm, it was getting late and better have lunch first and
leave the cocadas for snack or dessert, mmm. We saw a nice balcony in the Main Square and
noticed it was a restaurant. We went into it and found a table just at the
balcony, perfect spot! I’ll write a review of this place later, but I need to
say first that it was cheap. They offered a combination of appetizer, entrée,
dessert & beverage for less than US$9!!! The food might not have been the
best, but you can’t beat that view! We had lunch and were talking about our
lives, past trips, future plans, hobbies, family, etc.
Ok, we were ready to keep on going, there was still one
place to visit. But in our way we found a lady selling the Cocadas, yeah!!!! I
wasn’t wrong, Minh loved them!!! So, we kept on walking and arrived to Pza San
Martin (San Martin Square).
Dos chinitos hanging out: Yadi & Minh
Before crossing and going into the square properly. I told Minh about another Peruvian
dessert “Turron de Dona Pepa”. I was talking about that, because the oldest and
best is sold in a small bakery at the square. We went to the bakery and I asked
the seller for a small portion, just to try it, because they sell it for kg! The
seller cut a small piece. I asked him how much it was and he told me it was for
free, hehehe. Minh liked it and while we were enjoying it, we crossed to the
square. It was such a beautiful and sunny day, that we just took a sit and
chilled out there for a while. We kept on talking about everything and laughing
about the crazy things each of us was saying, haha. It was getting late and
Minh needed still to pack, so better going back to his apartment.
Gipy, his friend, was going to arrive later, so we would
hang out for a while.
with Inca Kola!!!
First of all,
check TB, haha. We were just hanging out when I got a phone call, who was
there? Jim!!!! He was in Cusco and was back in Lima – cool!!!!! He was nearby and I asked
him to come and join us for a while. Minh was amazed by the fact I was meeting another
TB that day. Well, actually not much surprised. After being hanging out with me
last days, he realized how much I am into the site, haha. We were just talking when someone rang the
bell. It was Jim!!! And suddenly a Mini Meet Up, haha. Actually it was a short
one, but quality over quantity. Jim was
telling us about how he found Cusco and that he decided to stay in Lima for a
long time, maybe 2 months, cool!!! He became a Lima’s TB, haha.
It was time to say good bye to Minh.
a mini Meet Up: Minh, Yadi & Jim
I will miss him! We
had a great time last couple of days and I enjoyed downtown a lot today. I
haven’t done it in such a long time. Thanks Minh!!! You have a friend in Lima and next time I'm near Austin, I'll contact you. That's for sure!!! Now you won't get rid of me, hehe.
Jim and I left the apartment and it was time to look for sandals Jim wanted to buy, haha. Shopping time, haha. But it was easy, just
1 item. We found them quickly and Jim wanted a snack, mmm. Peruvian candies?
Haha, I know a place where you can find different Peruvian desserts/candies
from the North of the Country. We went there and got King Kong (a sort of cake
with Peanuts, Pineapple jam and cream Caramel in the middle) and coconut candies.
Jim hasn’t been able to try many Peruvian desserts, yet. Well, I’ll fix that in
the next few days, haha.
mmmm, King Kong
Jim needed to buy some groceries, so we went to the
supermarket. He was going to prepare a Chicago’s
Pizza. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for that. I have been out the whole day
and Gunther was missing his mom. It has
been a long day, but full of fun and tomorrow will be another fun day too. Who
am I meeting next????
Catacombs in Lima - San Francisco
San Francisco church, in downtown Lima, has the famous catacombs. It’s located just 2 blocks away from the Main Square – Plaza de Armas. You’ll recognize easily this big yellow construction full of doves.
You can't visit this place just by yourself. You have to do it with a tour. There are tours leaving each 15min and there are ones in Spanish and also in English. You are not supposed to walk around just by yourself, although we did it, hehehe. Fee is cheap.
You would start visiting the church and convent. They will explain you about the colonial times and the artwork inside. The beautiful church is just the surface. Under your feet, you’ll see a labyrinth, a cemetery which you could visit. Back during the colonial times, Lima was a small city and they didn’t find a best way to burry the dead people than under the churches. Until today the bishops are buried there. During the whole tour you will see skulls, femurs, and other bones. The “osarios” holes 10m deep are the most “attractive”. They are full of human bones and were built to absorb the sismic waves. I know, it sounds creepy… You can take pictures, but don’t use the flash ;)
At the square outside the church you will see a lot of pigeons, so just follow them if you are looking for the catacombs.
If you are in downtown, visit San Francisco. You won’t regret it. It will give you a better view of Lima during the Colonial Times.
creepy...
an Osario
ceeling viewed from the catacombs
San Francisco Church
