This was a free day where we could explore Lima on our own. After breakfast we walked two blocks to the Inca Market. Handmade items like baby alpaca sweaters, woven tote bags and wallets, jewelry, paintings, and leather items were among the many items sold. The market stalls and shops were just opening for business when we arrived. We bought a zipped and hooded navy baby alpaca sweater with an alpaca design for Divi.
Next, we started searching in the Miraflores district for a restaurant to eat lunch. There were numerous choices including McDonald’s and Subway. No way were we going to eat American food here. A few blocks from the hotel we found a restaurant that had authentic Peruvian food. We sat outside, ordered drinks and lunch, and did some people-watching. We were served food that not only looked delectable, but tasted gourmet as well: perfectly grilled salmon, mashed potatoes and mixed steamed vegetables of julienne-cut carrots, red peppers, and onions; small tomatoes, broccoli florets, and asparagus. I enjoyed a fresh-squeezed lime drink that went perfectly with the meal. The price was only about $21 for the two of us.
Earlier we had signed up at the hotel to take a city bus and walking tour of Lima at 2:30. Five of us who are in our OAT tour group went together, and we were joined by a few other tourists. We were driven to the best spots that tourists go in the city. The highlight for me was at the end of the walking tour when we walked through an old cathedral and down into the catacombs underneath. We saw displays of over approximately 2500 people’s bones. All the femurs were placed together as well as the other types of bones and, of course, the skulls. Our guide, Luis, was very knowledgable. It was overcast today, so the pictures look kind of flat to me. No photos were allowed in the San Francisco Cathedral, so I didn’t get any skull pictures 🙁 http://www.peruthisweek.com/travel-lima-day-trip-catacombs-of-san-francisco-30340
Supper was a granola bar and cashews in our room. Then we got ready for an early morning flight tomorrow to Cuzco.
Massive doors of the cathedral
. Birds swarming
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