Last day in Lima

We started off the day yesterday by going to Museo Larco, a museum showing the history of Peru dating back thousands of years. Within the beautiful grounds, there are over 45 thousand pieces of archaeological proof of Peru's history. Their extensive collection along with the in depth descriptions of each object made the museum very interesting for both of us.

Second, we went to The National museum of Archeology, another museum very similar to Museo Larco, with many artifacts from thousands of years ago. It was swarming with school tours.

Next we went to the Franciscan Monastery and Museum in order to see the catacombs, an underground burial ground that was used less than 200 years ago. The entry included a tour of the church, which we did not expect. Various carvings, tiles, and elaborate dome ceilings adorned the building. They even had a bone from San Fransisco (it looked a little bit like a fingernail to me). Probably the best part of the monastery was the library, and impressive room with an upper balcony for for extra book storage, some dating back to the time of the 1600s when it was built.

Finally, we descended into an area smelling of dirt. After passing through a dangerously low doorway, we were in the catacombs, home to about 25,000 skeletons. It seemed similar to the catacombs that we had visited in Paris. There were low ceilings and dim lighting, as well as humongous mass graves (sometimes over eight feet deep) containing thousands of skulks, femurs, and many other bones. We were told that benefactors and friars had individual graves, but that wasn't part of the tour. It taught us more about the history of Peru after the coming of the Spaniards.

Speaking of the Spaniards, the World Cup game today was quite popular. Tons of people listened to it on the radio, and a very large screen had been erected in La Plaza de Armas for the Cup. Soccer is very important to Peruvians and many people, including adults, are in leagues.

For dinner, we went to Huaca Pucllana, a ruin from the fifth century. There is a nice restaurant that has been constructed overlooking the site. It had a nice atmosphere, with interesting lighting and many outdoor fires. We both tried cuy, or guinea pig. My mom didn't like it a ton, but I thought it was interesting. I also had duck risotto. Yum.