We had a rather late start after last night's festivities, but after some coffee we moved to the 10 person dorm, sadly separating the dream dorm room's occupants. No matter. We had plans to taxi to El Centro with our Canadian friend, Martin, and see some Iglesias.
We began at the Plaza de las Armad, arriving at the exact moment as the change of the guard at the Palacio del Gobierno. We lamented our own lack of nationalism in the United States as we watched soldiers and the Naval band ceremoniously march about the palace's front courtyard. We took numerous selfies and panoramic photos of the plaza. ¡Què preciosa! There happened to be a wedding ceremony in La Catedral de Lima, so we respectfully stood at the back to observe the ceremony while discreetly taking photographs of the art and stained glass in the cathedral.
The Monasterio de San Francisco was completely awe-inspiring. It was our tour guide's first stay and he nervously asked us if he "was easy to understand". He was absolutely amazing and led us through the monastery pointing out tiles from Sevilla, the carved ceiling made from Panamanian ceder, and the original paintings done in " Lima-style", meaning the painting was entirely done in dark colors with the only light shining on the character of importance on the canvas. The catacombs really took the cake of everything we saw on the tour. Hundreds had been buried underneath the monastery, preserving many of the long bones and skulls. A 50m hole had contained the bones prior to the arrival of anthropologists and archaeologists, who identified and organized the remains. People continued to be buried under the foundations until the late 1800's when local governments became concerned with the hygienic nature of rotting bodies underground. Sadly, photographs were forbidden so EmBoss has plans to buy a book with photographs of the monastery.
We ate lunch at El Cordano, a restaurant founded in 1905 and located next to the Palacio del Gobierno. We got completely lost trying to find it, and kept asking locals for directions. They had all heard of El Cordano (many of Peru's presidents have eaten here) so we were determined to find it. We sampled some ceviche, pollo saltado, and bistec with some chica morado, a local drink made from dark corn, pineapple, and cinnamon. It was delicious, and we made plans to return.
Finally we arrived at at la Iglesia de Santo Domingo, home of Peru's patron saints, Santa Rosa de Lima patron saint of nurses, and San Martin de Porres patron saint of nurses and barbers. We delighted in the fact that Peru's saint were a man of African American descent and a woman. The grounds were stunning, with four remaining gardensand incredible architecture similar to La Alhambra in Spain. The catacombs were not quite as impressive as the Monestario de San Francisco, but we greatly enjoyed them nonetheless. The colors, blues and reds, were gorgeous, and many of the paintings were unrestored originals in incredible detail. Many were done in "Cusco-style", meaning the red colors were incredibly vibrant.
We headed back to the hostel with plans to spend the evening relaxing and enjoying our time before heading on a bus to Paracas the next day.
Best day EVER!
EmBoss
