My bus was at 10 pm. Check-out was at 12 noon. I left my luggage at the front desk locker and proceeded to find ways to waste some time. I tried unsuccessfully to locate some of the people I know who live in Lima but, I only had emails and I knew some of them were travelling at this time. So, an email sent late the night before was unanswered. I decided to just wander.
I headed to the dome shaped structure I was able to see from my window. It turned out to be a Franciscan monastery featured in my guide book. Entrance was $5 soles and there was a guide in English. This church had a heavy Moorish influence, I'm told, so the architecture reflected the geometric shapes influenced in that period. Not nearly as flashy as the other churches I've been in, the extravagance in this church was shown in its intricately detailed carved wooded furniture and building supports. It boasts a library with the first dictionary published by the Real Spanish Dictionary and other books up to 400 years old. Unfortunately I was not allowed to browse. You need permission from the "head office" of the church. You know, where the Pope lives. In the various rooms, there were more pieces of art in Spanish styles. To me, it meant darker in colours and mostly brown. Inside, where the staircases were, was a beautiful wooden dome. Pieces of carved wood formed a criss-cross of arches.
As you walk through the courtyard, you notice that there are grates on the ground, and if the light is right, you can see stone steps leading down.
Discovered in 1943, the pamphlet says, the Catacombs contain the remains of 25,000 bodies buried under the church until 1808. As you go down, the ceilings get lower. I'm 5'2" and I had to duck at some of the archways. The first room, about 14' long, had pits on both sides, about 3' from the wall and 3-4 feet high. In them were piles and piles of human bones. Dark and dank, you feel like you're in an Indiana Jones movie. About 4 rooms were on display. Each was very closely the same. Two rooms had deep wells half-filled with bones. Some sections were organized by body parts. This was done by the archeologist who researched the place. The process for burial was this:
* Person dies and then has final ceremony in church.
* After the service, the body was carried down to the catacombs. You can see the front of the church's main worship area looking up from the bottom.
* If the person was rich or influential, they had a casket and was placed in a different area.
* If the person was a commoner, they were buried in one of the rooms. They were laid down, then covered with lyme then a layer of dirt. They usually could fit about 4 bodies in one of the 4 feet deep pits. The lyme decomposes the bodies effectively, minimizing bacteria and other air-borne diseases from developing in this hot and humid environment.
* Once the flesh was all eaten away, the bones were placed into the pits at the beginning of the catacombs area, making way for new bodies in the decomp pits.
* Composting, therefore, is not a new technology after all. I bet you the dirt down there is really fertile.
After the tour, I headed to the main Cathedral. It looked closed so I took a picture and continued walking. I found the pedestrian walkway which was lined with stores. I saw a KFC and immediately went in and got some fried chicken. Even though I don't usually eat KFC at home, I found myself gobbling up this terribly overpriced meal. I'm gonna get so fat during this trip.
I wanted to watch a movie. That would have wasted a good 2 hours but, the line-up was long and I really didn't feel like waiting. So, on I continued. I passed this architecturally beautiful building lined with guards and even a tank. All of them had guns and the guys on the roof had machine guns. I think this was the government palace.
Now, I'm sitting in a restaurant having one of these incredibly cheap set menus and a malt beer. When I was ordering it, the waiter was trying to convince me to order the light beer on tap. I didn't want it. He said the beer I chose was dark. I said I like dark. The really cute waiter was of African descent. OOPs. My bad Spanish. (Dark, in Spanish to describe beer is "negro" or black. It's also used to describe people of African descent in a non-derogatory way.) So, me gusta negro, as I untactfully said, had a double meaning and was not what I meant!
This beer is not Stone Stout, a really good beer I enjoyed in Buenos Aires. It's a national brand - Cusqueña Malta - has spicy overtones but its a bit too sweet for my tastes.
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