Wednesday 20th April:
A half day tour of Lima with Betty, supposed to be just three hours, but with the chaotic Lima traffic and plenty of road closures, it takes well over an hour to reach the first of four visits, the Monastery of The Bare Foot Monks, a Franciscan order. The upside is we're the only ones there and it really is a serene place from around the 1650 era. This order was renown for it's humbleness, not that you could say that of the second monastery. Again a Franciscan order but they didn't do humbleness. Down below were the catacombs, where all and sundry were buried, in fact the bones of some 25,000 people were found, and now lie on a macabre display, mostly femurs, but also a good number of skulls as well, having lain for over 500 years.
The third stop having passed through the main square which housed the presidential palace, and Lima Cathedral, was a private house. Built in the 1500s by Pizarro's right hand man?, it has been in the ownership of the same family for 15 generations. The current owners are the four siblings of the 14th generation owner. They each have an apartment but only one resides there full time, and they open their house, not to the general public, but to tour organisations.
Betty does a good job explaining the local politics and the status of the recent general election which now awaits a run off between the two main contenders, one corrupt woman, who's corrupt ex-Presidential father is shortly to be released from jail for corruption, and the current Finance minister, who Betty is rooting for, as he's already over 70 and indecently rich anyway.
The last stop is a large Jesuit church, and we stroll quietly around whilst a service is conducted. Always good to see Christianity in action, and you get the impression that South America with its still very strong Catholicism will be the last stronghold of Christianity.
Betty recommends a nearby restaurant which we walk down to from the hotel, a Swiss restaurant on a very busy roundabout. The lunch is excellent and maybe a place to meet Robert & Barbara in a couple of days time. On the way back we visit a pharmacy to get some air sickness tablets, some Dramamine maybe. Lorna asks if anyone can speak English, the answer is no, so she points to her stomach, waving both arms to imitate an aeroplane, and then I pretend to vomit. They laugh and understand our mime, and we leave with the tablets, with tears in our eyes. Not finished, I drop into a hairdresser and get my hair cut, a really good job from a young lady, and less than I pay in Oakham. The thing that surprises me is that Lorna is surprised at how much hair ends up on the floor, but I'm not, it needed doing.
In also transpires that Lima Tours have managed to get us booked on a Nasca flight and I pay the $422 on line via the iPad, which I have to say is far and away the best travel companion to have, with the exception of Lorna of course.
After such a good lunch, we miss dinner and just go down to the bar for a local beer. I spy a face the other side of the bar, a traveller and his wife with a Brit travel guide. Then I recognise them, Andy & Gill, they stayed with us at the Eagle Festival in Mongolia last September, well that's a coincidence
A half day tour of Lima with Betty, supposed to be just three hours, but with the chaotic Lima traffic and plenty of road closures, it takes well over an hour to reach the first of four visits, the Monastery of The Bare Foot Monks, a Franciscan order. The upside is we're the only ones there and it really is a serene place from around the 1650 era. This order was renown for it's humbleness, not that you could say that of the second monastery. Again a Franciscan order but they didn't do humbleness. Down below were the catacombs, where all and sundry were buried, in fact the bones of some 25,000 people were found, and now lie on a macabre display, mostly femurs, but also a good number of skulls as well, having lain for over 500 years.
The third stop having passed through the main square which housed the presidential palace, and Lima Cathedral, was a private house. Built in the 1500s by Pizarro's right hand man?, it has been in the ownership of the same family for 15 generations. The current owners are the four siblings of the 14th generation owner. They each have an apartment but only one resides there full time, and they open their house, not to the general public, but to tour organisations.
Betty does a good job explaining the local politics and the status of the recent general election which now awaits a run off between the two main contenders, one corrupt woman, who's corrupt ex-Presidential father is shortly to be released from jail for corruption, and the current Finance minister, who Betty is rooting for, as he's already over 70 and indecently rich anyway.
The last stop is a large Jesuit church, and we stroll quietly around whilst a service is conducted. Always good to see Christianity in action, and you get the impression that South America with its still very strong Catholicism will be the last stronghold of Christianity.
Betty recommends a nearby restaurant which we walk down to from the hotel, a Swiss restaurant on a very busy roundabout. The lunch is excellent and maybe a place to meet Robert & Barbara in a couple of days time. On the way back we visit a pharmacy to get some air sickness tablets, some Dramamine maybe. Lorna asks if anyone can speak English, the answer is no, so she points to her stomach, waving both arms to imitate an aeroplane, and then I pretend to vomit. They laugh and understand our mime, and we leave with the tablets, with tears in our eyes. Not finished, I drop into a hairdresser and get my hair cut, a really good job from a young lady, and less than I pay in Oakham. The thing that surprises me is that Lorna is surprised at how much hair ends up on the floor, but I'm not, it needed doing.
In also transpires that Lima Tours have managed to get us booked on a Nasca flight and I pay the $422 on line via the iPad, which I have to say is far and away the best travel companion to have, with the exception of Lorna of course.
After such a good lunch, we miss dinner and just go down to the bar for a local beer. I spy a face the other side of the bar, a traveller and his wife with a Brit travel guide. Then I recognise them, Andy & Gill, they stayed with us at the Eagle Festival in Mongolia last September, well that's a coincidence
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