As I said, the Hell room drove me to find something better the next day. And indeed I did, Casa de la Gringa (house of the foreign lady). It had a hippie new age phsycadelic feel. And indeed, lessons for aura-finding, meditation, etc. were availabele. The place even had 2 cats. Above all, it was clean and decorated very artsy-like. Everybody was friendly (guests and staff) and I gave a great sigh of relief. (Not heat though. I don't think any place had heat!) I had a shower (hot AND cold water) in modern facilities and damn, I miss these little things. It was also double the price. But worth it. I set out on that rainy day to take pictures of the cathedrals and explore the downtown centre.
Tampons with Applicators available for sale at any pharmacy. 'Nuf said.
Big church wanted $40 soles so I could go inside. Not thanks. Took a picture of the the intricate wooden doors on the outside and moved on. I went by a different church which charged only $3 soles. That I could handle. Inside held many great pieces of art by an Aboriginal Peruvian Catholic from the 19th century (I could be wrong about the year. They were old though.) The beams on the roof were of beautifully carved wood. In one of the display rooms, there was this diamond, ruby, emerald encrusted gold thing (forgot the name) that was used to hold bread for communion. It stood about 3 feet tall and was protected in a sensor-wired glass cabinet. That thing was very old too.
On display were ten 17th to 18th century priest robes made with bronze, silver and gold threads. Must have been itchy. All this info was deliverd to my by a very annoying guide, whom I had told that I didn't want his services. He followed me anyhow. He led me to the choir room upstairs and there were wooden carvings of the various martyrs of the church. Some had hands missing or their heads deformed or in other various states of torture, depicting how they were punished. Next, we climbed higher into the bell towers were I had an extraordinary view of the city. And where he tried to inch closer to me. I tactically blocked him with my bag of groceries. Next we climbed down to the main worship area. Once again, big statues. Don't let me get on my soapbox about this again. Then we went to an enlcosed, tight area, where he, once again tried to get really close.Thank goodness for groceries. Anyways, we were at a balcony where the priest used to preach to their aboriginal parish, whom were not allowed into the church. hmmm........
Next stop, an underground area where a priest spent about 25 years (give or take - can't remember) in solitude. This guy painted various religious images all over the walls. This was quite cool. When we went back to the main courtyard, he asked if I've been to some night club. I said no, and I didn't want to because I had an early bus. (A lie.)
I returned to the hostel, started reading The Vampire Lestat and stayed in all night.
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