Last night we got another letter warning us of increased crime against tourists in Lima. We’ve received general warnings in most larger cities in South America, but this letter, like the one for Buenos Aires, was pretty specific. So again, no jewelry, camera in the pocket and sticking close with Michael. Fortunately, we had another tour. This one went through the port city of Callao, which our guide described as being part of Lima, to the Cathedral of Lima which is gorgeous. It’s in the middle of the central square which includes several government buildings and the president’s house. Then we walked a few blocks to the San Francisco cathedral, monastery and catacombs complex all built around 1774. It’s a working monastery, but part is available to visit. The woodwork and tiles were beautiful. Then we went below to the catacombs where thousands of bodies were buried for and excavated. They’ve collected the bones and put them all together, leg bones in one place, arm bones in another and skulls in yet another. At some point the bishop said to stop excavating so no one knows how many bodies there are. This complex has survived all of the local earthquakes with no major damage, but I was still happy to get out of that underground dark, cramped place. Next we went through the nice area of Lima called Miraflores and stopped at a large private home, Casa Garcia Alvarado, that is now available for groups to visit or have functions. We got to look around and then had Pisco Sours (the national drink of Peru and Chile) and some empanadas served by the owner of the home. Many of the homes, especially in Callao, look like they are being worked on or added to. You’ll see rebar sticking out of roofs, half-built walls and stacks of bricks around, even though there are curtains in the windows and people obviously living there. Our guide explained that if the house isn’t “finished” they don’t have to pay the municipal tax yet. Nobody likes to pay taxes, I guess, but it looks odd.
There’s a rumor that 4 Russian passengers were put off yesterday in San Martin for stealing from the onboard boutiques. Not very bright of them, if it’s true. A week or so ago the Commodore announced that there was an unusual number of passengers with colds and flu and reminded us to wash our hands frequently. Wish he’d have asked those sick passengers not to go on tours - sometimes the bus is a cacophony of coughing. So far, we’ve managed to avoid it, but we’re very careful to wash hands a lot and not touch common areas like stair railings if possible. We haven’t heard anything about any norovirus going around, which is fortunate.
The weather is getting warmer, though not nearly as hot as Rio and Buenos Aires. Next stop is Puntarenas, Costa Rica after 3 sea days.
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