Peru

Pre-Inca pyramid ruins dating around 300 a.d. in Miraflores

Secret passage way under the church for people fleeing the Spanish Inquisition.

I see dead people.

The most fascinating part of the trip to the St. Francis Convent was the catacombs. Over 25,000 people were buried here beginning in 1546. The mortar in the walls is made of limestone dust and pelican poop. The strange mix has been resistant to many earthquakes over the centuries.

For some strange reason, the priests decided at some point, once the catacombs were filled (perhaps to make more room?), to take out all of the bodies and place them in the center of the monastery. They then cleaned the catacombs before putting them back. However, they had no way of telling what skeleton was what, and where it came from. So they neatly separated all the femurs, from the spins, from the skulls, etc., and put them back that way. Neat rooms of all skulls, or all lag bones. Really creepy. All arranged very ornately, almost artistically. Were they bored? Was this was of showing respect for the dead since they had long ago lost identifying information? Some pictures show some of the works. The church had no problems with us taking pictures of the skeletons. They didn't think they'd mind.

We next stopped at the Convent of St. Francis. Some beautiful murals and paintings. Very baroque church.

Typical building facade along the oldest street in the Americas. Site of pre-Inca village and Inca road from Columbia to Chile.

Security is high near the Presidential Palace

Palacio del Gobierno (Presidential Palace)

Home of Jeronimo Aliaga. Pizarro's second in command. The Aliaga descendants still live here.

Through the Post Office and up half a block, we arrived at the Casa Aliaga. This is one of the oldest residences in Lima. It is the original home of Jeronimo Aliaga, Pizarro´s deputy and second in command. Aliaga took over command of Lima when Pizarro was executed. His descendants still live in this house. Over 14 generations later!

We entered the house through massive wooden doors. Lots of paintings and skylights. The home was a mix of Spanish and French styles. Beautiful courtyard in the center of the home with a huge Ficcus tree over 200 years old. Everything was open and not really protected from the weather. Lima gets only about 1 inch of rain a year and has a very moderate climate. Must be why everything last so long...

The Aliago house was my favorite place we visited today. I really liked the fact that the family was still living in the house and had opened it to the public. Know what that is like!

Buildings in the Plaza de Armas (Main Square)

La Catedral

We made it to Lima. Took a while to get everyone through customs/immigration, but we finally made it to our hotel. The Hotel Maury is one of the oldest hotels in Lima. It has recently been renovated, but I guess not all of the rooms are equally "restored." Our room is pretty nice, but I hear Jay and Lauren's room lacks a toilet seat, and someone else reported a missing showerhead.

We have a quick breakfast then head out with the whole group--sixteen of us--to see some sights in Lima. Our hotel is just a block from the main square. We start there and walk through the Post Office. The Post Office is Italian architecture, originally with a large glass enclosure overhead. After an earthquake shattered the glass, it was not replaced for safety. All that remains now is the ornate iron framing. Some sort of iron wolf/critter holding the chandelier chain in the P.O.