Lima Tour #2

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So, yesterday we all got to sleep in, it was great. Elvira and I went on a tour of Lima on the Mirabus, a big, red, double-decker bus, while Beth went to the beach. They told us the history of different streets and parks we passed, such as the archeological ruins smack dab in the middle of a city of 3 million!

We got off the bus at the Cathedral of San Francisco and our guide took us down to the catacombs. The catacombs are these burial sites under the cathedral where 7,000 (I believe) Franciscan friars have been buried over the last 300 years. It was really cool, but also very weird, because the archeologists had wanted to count how many bodies were down there, so they divided up the bones by part. There was a pile of femurs, a pile of skulls, a pile of tibia, a pile of scapula, etc. There were also these large, circular caverns where the bones had been arranged, which just seemed very disrespectful. Photography wasn't allowed, but I've attached a photo I found online. The woodwork in the cathedral itself was amazing. The choir room had 130 seats, each with its own saint behind it and each seat carved with a different design on it. There was an enormous painting on one wall of a "family tree" of Franciscans, with the trunk embedded in the chest of St. Francis and the faces and names of famous Franciscans attached to the branches.

Afterwards, we went to the Inka Plaza, where they have a bunch of the touristy stuff you can buy in Cuzco, only cheaper. I got a pair of brown, canvas ankle boots with traditional patterns and an alpaca on the side in a lighter brown color. They're super cool, but I got blisters from them today walking around. I think I just need to put my inserts in them and I'll be fine.

Got to talk to Eric on Skype in the evening which made me really happy. If anyone wants to talk, I'm on Skype most of the time, so just send me an email to get my username (not going to put it up online). Love you all!

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