As I reached the gates of the Museo Larco and pondered my Uber dilemma, a gentleman called out asking if I needed a taxi. A museum security guard assured me that this driver, while not affiliated with the museum, was vetted, legitimate, and I could safely ride with him.
The driver quoted me 50 soles to go to centro histórico as the ride would take about 45 minutes (it actually took just over 50!), but that this also included a brief tour and orientation of the touristy part of the centre. He handed me his card with his details:
He also passed me his catalogue of offered tours, and the first one caught my eye. I’d put Pachacámac on the calendar for Thursday morning, but my casual attempts to find a guided tour had failed, and I just knew that despite what I’d read, this was not a place to go to in a taxi and hope you could get a ride back.
Somehow, the universe had put me in the right car with the right person to achieve this travel goal! He quoted me 300 soles (about 90US or 1,800 pesos) for a half day tour to include not just Pachacámac but also the highlights of the Barranco neighbourhood, and we agreed to meet in my hotel lobby at 8:00AM the next day. Serendipity!
It was a very long and not scenic route to centro:
You’d never guess from the lack of pictures that I spent a solid three hours there, but photography was not permitted at my primary destination.
This is Plaza San Martín, where I was warned that a lot of protesters gather, and which is lined with historic houses:
The little I saw of centro was much grittier and graffiti-strewn than Miraflores, but still surprisingly clean:
Javier pointed out the cathedral, a museum to check out, and told me three times to stick to the primary streets and to call him if I needed a ride back to the hotel before dropping me off near the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco so I could visit the Catacombs of Lima.
This is the exterior of the convent, which still has an active community of Franciscan monks.
We are not allowed to take photos inside the convent, so I’m having to write the following up purely from memory. I was met outside by a lady offering to take me on a guided tour. She’s the only guide I had a bit of trouble following of all the guided tours I took in Lima, but she did not mind if I asked her for repeat or clarification, so I feel that I got everything I needed out of this tour.
First up, the architecture of the basilica. The walls are lined with tiles from Seville that are stuck in place with egg white! There is also an incredible wooden ceiling that is held together by all the pieces interlocking like a puzzle. We saw the organ, a huge dome not dissimilar to ones I’ve seen in mosques, and a library straight out of Harry Potter or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The building was absolutely magnificent, but you’ll have to take my word for it.
The highlight of the tour was descending into the catacombs, a site the likes of which I had no idea existed in the Americas. It is huge and has yet to be fully mapped, so its extent is unknown.
I saw so many skulls and femurs, each time thinking about how they belonged to a person who had a name and a story. I think the sight that most affected me was that of the communal pit where the bodies of everyday people were tossed in all together. Today, some of the bones are arranged artistically. I found a public domain photo of this, but realised that it may be too graphic for some readers so I’m not sharing it in this post. You can see the picture here.
After my tour, I headed towards the cathedral and main square, but could not access either as they were closed as the city put up Christmas decorations!
Javier, my catacombs guide, and a random man on the street all told me I had to go visit the art museum, MUCEN, at the old reserve bank, so that was my next stop. My photos here didn’t come out well at all (flash + glass reflection), so again, I don’t have a lot to share. The building was impressive, and the collection spread over three floors was worth a visit. This was the only truly free activity I encountered in Lima.
When I came out of the museum, it was almost right into a protest, so that told me I’d done enough for the day. It was also coming to 4:00pm and I wanted to be back in Miraflores before dark. Javier had told me to look for an Uber around Plaza San Martín, but the walk there was not particularly scenic, with a lot of people and I was concerned about the protesters.
I found a park with a quiet side street where I could easily get picked up and, thankfully, I had cell service. It took about 15 minutes to get an Uber, and then it was a solid hour ride back to Miraflores!
That was it for Wednesday. I’d had the expected energy crash for this day and met my goals for it, so I just hung out at the hotel for a bit before going out to get snacks for the next day, then called it an early night.
