Afternoon tour of Lima

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At 2:00 pm we were collected from the hotel by our tour guide for the afternoon, Miguel, and his driver.

We were the only people in the small minibus and had a fascinating insight into Peru past and present.

Our first stop was Hunca Huallamarca, a pre-Inca pyramid. It is made of mud bricks (adobe) and has lasted because this coastal part of the country receives virtually no rain. The bodies stored in the pyramid were buried in sacks and rather than mummified dried out. The contest between the pyramid and modern surrounding residential area was startling.

From there we went to the cathedral. The two most interesting points were the chapel to Francisco Pizzaro and the cathedral's construction. The substantial pillars are not stone but hollow wooden frames with a very light weight wooden roof covered in plastic. A flexible structure is required because this is a very active region geologically - with frequent earqthquakes - the fault line being 100 miles off the coast where the Nasca Plate is going under the South American Plate.

From there we visited the catacombs under the monastery of San Francisco. We passed by and over large vaults with piles of human bones.

In and around the trip we discussed the difference between conquest versus colonisation, the Catholic Church, football and British humour. A very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

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