On the way back to the states, Brenda and I had a long layover in Lima. Rather than staying in the airport, we hired a taxi and walked around Lima. From the airport concierge, we got some beta from a young gal about the Mirabus Tour company which would, for a reasonable fee, take us around Lima. She also told us that it was a free musuem day, how cool! It sounded intriguing.
The taxi dropped us off at the main Plaza in Lima. It was packed full of people. It was a little claustrophic, so we went in search of the bus tour company. We got there just in time and made our way on board. We decided to sit up on Top. The open air felt nice after the airport and the ride in the taxi.
Santo Domingo Convent
Santa Rosa Convent
Public Art
Plaza San Martin
Palace of Justice
Governor’s Palace
Simon Bolivar Memorial
The tour was bi-lingual, but the English was always lagging behind. So, we were always learning what we had *just seen* rather than what we were seeing. It was kind of fun to try and figure it out from the Spanish.
Football Stadium in Lima
I took lots of pictures of the buildings, but was most impressed by their soccer, nay FOOTBALL!, stadium. It was huge. I don’t know how many fans it can hold, but I bet seeing a game there is amazing.
Lima reminds me of Los Angeles in some ways and San Diego in others. It’s right by the water, so you can feel the ocean; in the air, the smell, and the temperature. It is very clean, but it is obvious there are areas where you just wouldn’t want to be at night. Also, it’s quite a vast city and has a bit of sprawl.
Spanish Inquisition Musuem Interior
After the tour, we wandered over to the museum of the Inquisition. It was not a very uplifting experience to say the least. I knew they had tortured the native population, but this just visually cemented those concepts. We did not linger for very long.
Next, we decided it was time for an early dinner. We ducked out of the crowds to a nice restaurant and ordered drinks on the patio! I got a beer and Brenda got a Pisco Sour. It was really nice outside so dinner was very enjoyable. The portions were too big though and it was hard to finish it all.
After dinner, we found an internet cafe and logged on. Even that place was overcrowded!
When it came time for the taxi to pick us up, there was some celebration going on and they had restricted traffic downtown. We were wondering what the taxi guy was going to do…he was supposed to meet us at a specific spot, but that was completely off limits now.
We stood on a corner watching a mean looking policewoman direct traffic. We had our eyes peeled but couldn’t spot the taxi guy. Finally, a man came running up to us. It was him! He bribed a policeman to let him illegally park so he could run and get us. We were relieved because we were a little worried about getting back to the airport on time!
Back at the airport, we waited and waited to board the plane. We tried to spend all our Soles at the airport concession mall, but that was hard. There is not a whole lot for sale at the airport which is under 5 soles! I bought some chocolate covered nuts and a bottle of water.
The boarding process was the same kind of chaos as when we came, but this time we were both sitting in a nicer part of the cabin, so I wasn’t as stressed-But, I still managed to get on a little early and make sure there was enough room in the overhead for both our bags…I was looking forward to the extra leg room and also to getting some sleep and going home. We were both pretty tired by this point.
I don’t remember much of our flight back, except I know that we didn’t get much rest. When we finally landed in Denver, I wished Brenda a Happy Birthday.
What a fabulous adventure trip we had in Peru. Thanks, Brenda, for the inspiration and the wonderful company! Looking back on it, the whole thing feels like some wild and fantastic dream.
Tags: Brenda's Birthday, Bus Tour, Lima, Peru