Our second day in Lima was a busy one. In fact, we walked more than six miles!
In the morning, we took a guided tour of Lima’s Historic Center. It was an interesting walk, as you’ll see from the pictures. I had more fun finding unusual angles to photograph than I did looking at some of the buildings themselves. Still, we enjoyed the tour and learned quite a bit about the area’s history.
Our guide was decidedly anti-capitalist, which added an interesting perspective. More than once, he’d point to a building and explain that it had been used primarily by the wealthy residents of Lima for one reason or another.as you can see from these pictures.
The highlight of the tour was the Franciscan Monastery and Catacombs. I learned from my new friend Chet (as you may recall, that’s my name for ChatGPT) that catacombs are burial places, and these were no exception.
We were part of a group tour, and our guide, who spoke English as a second language, did a marvelous job—even if she described just about everything as “beautiful.” To be fair, much of it was! We saw some extraordinary rooms before descending into the catacombs.
Full disclosure: I didn’t take the following pictures. Photography wasn’t permitted, so I found these on the internet.
I’ve never seen so many bones. And, as our guide kept reminding us, the carved chairs, ceilings, and other architectural details really were beautiful.
After the tour, we returned to the hotel for a rest before heading to Barranco, a neighborhood famous for its art galleries and murals.
The galleries were good. The murals were amazing.
Let’s start with a walk around the neighborhood.
One of the more interesting sights was watching surfers return from catching waves. They were too far away for me to photograph properly, but that’s what I was trying to capture in some of the ocean pictures. I’ll start carrying my good camera, with its excellent telephoto lens, shortly.
We eventually wandered into a gallery featuring the mural artist Jade Rivera. He had created several works specifically for the gallery, and I thought they were stunning.
I particularly enjoyed reading his comments about his work. His observations about children really resonated with me.
We continued exploring Barranco and, as promised, encountered one beautiful mural after another.
By the time we returned to the hotel, we’d done a LOT of walking. So it probably won’t surprise you that we took a long nap and settled in for the evening. I spent much of the night catching up on my first few blog entries, including this one.
A couple of final thoughts before I go.
First, I confess that I haven’t quite gotten my “blog voice” back. I was pleased with how my writing sounded during our trip to New Zealand, but these first few entries don’t entirely sound like me yet. I want you to feel as though I’m personally sharing our adventures, rather than simply introducing a series of photographs. I’ll keep working on that, and I hope you’ll bear with me.
Second, I’m a little surprised by my current mindset. We’re going to be away for three-and-a-half months—the longest trip we’ve ever taken—and I’ve adjusted to being away from home remarkably quickly. Granted, it’s only been a couple of days, but still!
I’m excited about the adventure. I’m even excited about starting language school on Monday.
I’ve never really believed I could learn another language. This time, I’m beginning to think it might actually be possible.
OK, perhaps “enthusiastic” is overstating things. But even allowing myself to believe it’s possible is a pretty big step.
Tomorrow we leave for Arequipa, our second stop on the trip!
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