After four days of staying in, the girls were ready to venture out.
With all their sores either shrinking or crusted over, we know they're
no longer contagious. And their energy this morning was hardly
containable.
We hopped a local bus and rode from Miraflores to downtown - a 45-
minute ride in a glorified van. It cost us 2.50 Soles, less than a
dollar, for the four of us.
The bus has two workers: the driver and the ticket-taker. These
descriptions do not do them justice, however. The driver doesn't just
drive: he weaves in and out of traffick, estimating his berth with
mere millimeters to spare; he generally manages to obey traffick
signals; and he is attuned to the ticket-taker's directions to stop,
go, slow down, go around, or wait; not easy with the constant clatter
of old VW bugs, horns, and loud music blaring (from his own stereo).
The ticket-taker has the more interesting job. He stands at the door,
which is midway along the body of the extended van, and half hanging
out hollers the destination of the bus, over and over again. I'm not
sure why, since the destination is actually painted on the front and
side of the bus, but it is entertaining; ours sounded like an
auctioneer selling off the best destination for a reasonable price. He
also hops off the bus as it rolls to a stop so that passengers can get
off and on. He also lets the bus driver know if someone needs to get
off or if a potential passenger is running to catch the bus. And he
takes your payment and makes change.
***
Once downtown, we walked to the main square (Plaza de Armas), which is
large and very well manicured, which actually makes it less
interesting than some of the other squares and parks, in my opinion.
The cathedral is one of the main buildings on the square, so we
visited that next. I'm very impressed at how much the kids like to
discover old churches. We spent nearly two hours exploring, including
very cool catacombs, with a number of skulls on display, and a
"treasure room" with beautiful vestments and religious objects - there
was lots of gold involved. We also found the tomb of the first
archbishop of Lima, who was just 32 when he died in 1575.
Just before noon, we headed back out to the Plaza de Armas in time for
the changing of the guard at the presidential palace (Palacio de
Gobierno). Lots of pomp, some ceremony; the kids found it pretty
boring. It didn't help that it was taking place behind an iron fence,
across the street, guarded by heavily armed riot police (about one
every 15 meters). Not really worth standing around for.
Next was lunch at El Cordano, a local bar and restaurant that boasts
that it has hosted every president for lunch since it opened its doors
a hundred years ago. The kids had cheese sandwiches (can't go wrong
with that!); I had fried calamari (ditto); and Derek had the special -
beans, rice and chicken in a delicious sauce. As in all our travels,
we try to keep to mostly vegetarian fare, but we also feel the need to
try local specialties. Likely I'll be writing about tasting anticichos
(beef heart), alpaca, and more ceviche (mounds of seafood). Stay tuned.
The afternoon saw us heading out to the Monasterio de San Francisco,
complete with extensive catacombs. There were signs throughout, and
both the ticket seller and our guide made it clear that we were not to
take any photos, with or without flash. Those warnings always inspire
excitement and great disappointment in me, since I know will be seeing
extraordinary beauty - and I won't be able to bring it home with me. I
was right. The first stop on the tour was a domed ceiling made of
hundreds of pieces of carved cedar assembled into geometric shapes of
various stars (Arab influence at work in new-world Spanish colony!).
The dome is not just beautiful; it's an astounding work of engineering
since no glue or nails were used to assemble the dome: it's held
together by pressure.
Another amazing sight was one of the most extensive ancient libraries
in Latin America, with a collection of more than 25,000 books, dating
back to the 15th century. It looked like a movie set, and the lit
freak in me worried immediately about the state of the books. There
was clearly no light control (skylights above) or humidity control
(open doors in a very humid city). I wonder if those fragile works
will last another century in their current state and home.
There was lots to see, but the most notable was the last stop: the
catacombs. The monks of centuries past provided free Christian burial
to all, so this was a popular site, with likely more than 25,000
bodies resting below the monastery. We got to see collections of
femurs and skulls, and explore the maze-like catacombs.
After stepping out of the monastery we decided it was time for a
treat. A short walk away we found a bakery selling a sweet concoction
called turròn de Doña Pepa. It's a layered affair with three layers
of shortbread-like fingers, virtually glued together with a syrup
(likely corn based) and topped with colourful candy. The stuff is made
in large pans and is sold by the quarter kilo. We ordered half a kilo
between the four of us. Solanne liked it most, but as always only had
an appetite to eat about five bites of sweets before frowning and
announcing she was done. Maïa managed to eat half of hers; Derek and I
polished ours off, but at the expense of any possibility of interest
in supper.
Between each of our destinations, we walked, explored various squares
and parks, and stopped to relax and draw. A decent day for the first
one back from a sick bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment