{ 20 décembre 2005 }
el capital del perú
before we flew from cusco to lima the morning after our machu picchu adventure, we planned on seeing a church and a couple other things in cusco. however, i was extremely sick in my stomach that morning, so i opted for staying at the hotel while jimmy and ilario ventured out. so a word to the wise: even if you don’t drink the water in peru, you still may get sick from brushing your teeth or eating fresh vegetables, so make sure you take some stomach medication with you. i took some medicine then rested for the couple hours jimmy and ilario were gone, and i was feeling much better by the time they returned.
upon arriving in lima, we spent a while just wandering around, checking out the main plazas and side streets. jimmy wanted to see the river, so we walked over to it. and, really, there was nothing to see. it was quite low and very dirty. we were about to cross the bridge when this woman came running up to us, telling us that the other side of town across the bridge wasn’t really safe for visitors. this woman was showing an american student around, so we figured we should trust her. to demonstrate the craftiness of the pickpockets, the woman even told us how 1 time someone stole earrings off of her ears!
after being saved from crossing the bridge, jimmy & i headed over the franciscan monastery, which was founded in the 16th century. admission was only s/. 5, and the visit was well worth it. there were a lot of old artifacts and paintings, plus it was interesting to see all the different rooms. there were pretty, colourful painted tiles covering the walls around the courtyard. in 1 of the rooms there was a painting of the last supper, and i believe jesus and the apostles were dining on guinea pig.
beneath the monastery are catacombs that you can walk through. supposedly the remains of over 25,000 people are in the catacombs. there were piles of bones and skulls organized in various ossuaries. it was intriguing, but kind of creepy.
next we wandered around a little more. later on we ran into the woman and the american girl from the bridge. we told them that we were heading off to miraflores in a bit, and the woman told us that they were going to miraflores right then and we could go along in her car if we wanted. jimmy and i decided that a car ride sounded much better than a taxi ride, so we joined them. as we walked to the car, we all talked and got to know each other better. the woman, karin, is a dentist with her own practise. the american girl, beth, is a student at tcu and she had been studying in cusco for the previous 4 months. karin’s cousin worked with beth’s program in cusco, so that is how they ended up together.
once in the sacred valley when we were in a taxi, jimmy noticed the driver crossing himself when we drove past a church. i hadn’t seen this, but i saw karin cross herself whenever we passed a church.
we stopped in barranco, a romantic area with a great view of the ocean and cliffs. when i go back to perú, i’d like to go there for dinner at 1 of the restaurants with a wonderful view.
we drove along the coast and stopped along the way. we played on the beach in chorrillos. karin kept poking the sea urchins that were in little pockets of water on the rocks, then she would laugh when the urchins would wiggle. a guy who was fishing had found a starfish, and he brought it over to us. karin couldn’t stop laughing as she pet it.
the beach where we were was all rocks; we even had to cross a bridge made of rock to reach it. the bridge is near a restaurant, and supposedly everyday at the same time a man dressed like a monk jumps off the bridge. unfortunately we never saw this happen.
jimmy walked a little too close to the water and was splashed by a wave, but thankfully he didn’t stink like sea water during the flight home. karin, beth, jimmy and i all had fun checking out the hidden animals, running from the splashes and walking along the ocean.
as we said goodbye to karin and beth, there was a gorgeous sunset over the mountain. our time spent with them definitely showed how some of the best things that happen on holiday are completely serendipitous.
jimmy and i went back to miraflores, and we came across a large book fair in a park. they had books on pretty much any topic imaginable. in another park we came across a market where people were selling hats, jewelry, crafts and more. soon enough it became time to head off to san isidro to meet alejandro [peruvian coordinator for iaeste] for dinner.
posted at 11.39