Lima in an evening

We had such a short time in Lima.  We flew in from Cuzco, ran to our hotel, had a quick lunch, then hopped on a bus tour of Lima.  I really wish we'd had more time, as it looked like such an interesting city!

Our hotel was pretty nice, in beautiful Miraflores,  and even had decent wifi, with one drawback- no air conditioning!  There was a fan provided in our room, and our sliding glass door was wide open.  That was the only window in the room.  It did not even lock, so we assumed that it was how it was there.  It was really hot and humid, so that was a bit unfun. However, the lobby was nice, the room was nice, and the staff was friendly and helpful.  We found out later on our tour that 90% of Lima does not have air conditioning or heating of any sort, so be prepared if you head out there!

We did not have very long for lunch, so Kirk and I went to the first place that was not fast food that we ran in to. It turned out to be an Italian place- pretty decent, too!  Cathy had gnocchi, and Kirk had a chicken thing.  The menu was in Spanish, but we recognized a lot of the words.  Kirk's was a chicken fried chicken with cheese and prosciutto served with pasta.  Mmmm. 

Cathy is so hungry here, and it smelled so, so good.

Kirk's delicious dish.  

We had to race back to be at the bus in time for our tour.   Peru is another culture that does not rush you through restaurant meals.  It's very relaxing and we love it, but it can be a bit stressful when we have a bus to catch. 

We made it.

The tour was quick, and we only got out of the bus twice.  It was a shame really- Lima seems like the kind of city that deserves a lot of attention!  We will have to come back and explore it more thoroughly someday.  It was beautiful.  You could *really* see the colonial influence in the buildings- many of them were very European.  

Our great tour guide Mila! She was great!

We passed a park unofficially known as "Cat Park."  Once upon a time, there was a huge rat and mouse problem, and somebody had the brilliant idea of releasing several cats in the park.  It took care of the rat and mouse problem, but now there's a cat problem!  Cats are everywhere!  They have volunteers who feed them, and they try to trap and spay as many cats as they can, but it is still a huge issue.

Cat!

More cat!

We stopped to take a look at the Governmental Palace where the President of Peru lives.  You can really see the colonial influence in the architecture.  It was beautiful.  I wish that we had been able to go inside, but it was not to be!  The current president is Ollanta Humala.

The Palace

We had some time to explore the Plaza Mayor.  Kirk and I ran off to get some water, but we got back in time to take some good pictures!  

The fountain.

The wooden balconies are the originals- from the 1600's! They are made of mahogany.

Cathy, Carlos (our main tour guide) and Kirk.

Yellow buildings=government buildings according to tour guide Mila.

Once we were back on the bus, Mila talked a little bit about society.  We passed a hospital, and she talked about their health care system.  Like Canada, it has a single payer health care system, and every citizen is insured.  Overall, she said the system worked out well.  There's a 4-5 day wait for doctor's appointments unless it's an emergency.  

She also talked a bit about maternity care.  (Shout out to my preggo sister Melanie!) Unless you live in the larger cities, your baby will likely be delivered at home by a midwife.  The trained midwives are a fairly new thing set up by the government.  It was not so long ago when women were assisted by lay people, or their mother or sister.  Since going to the trained midwives, the survival rate of both the woman and the baby has increased.  In the cities, women have their babies at hospitals.  They have an extremely low C-section rate, and unless you are getting a C-section, there is no pain relief.  No epidural.  Not even an aspirin, according to Mila.

Cathy processes that information. 

Here's a few details Kirk photographed that I just like. :) 

One of our tour mates bought colorful bracelets- aren't they beautiful? 

Fun Fact: Cathy likes graffiti of any sort. She thinks it tells an interesting story.

We also had a stop at Parque Del Amor!  It was really beautiful.  It's right off the ocean, and it features the statue "The Kiss" by Victor Delfin.  The walls are colorful, and it had a wonderful view on the ocean. 

The Kiss. (or El Beso)

We were so there.

Hanging out in front of the wall with a great view of the ocean.

Kirk- and a nice view of the wall.

We were not in the park very long- we had to attend what our tour guide Rene called The Last Supper.  It was the last time our group would be eating together, and it was really bittersweet!  We really enjoyed the company of our tour mates- we had such a great time with them!  The last supper was at a beautiful restaurant with a view of the ocean, and we got there right at sunset.  Margaret, Kirk and I bolted from the bus and RAN to get pictures of the sunset!

So pretty!

Really stunning!

The last night, the perfect sunset.

Cathy and our new friend Margaret!

Our meal for the last supper was delicious, but the company was even better.

Margaret and her parents, Christine and (Uhhhhh....Margaret, e-mail me!)

Ziggy told Kirk that he had to try Chicha.  It's a corn based beer that was sacred to the Incas. Kirk tried, Ziggy, he really did!  Our tour guide laughed (like, long and loud) when asked about it.  He was told that it is a religious drink and is not generally avaliable.  However, the last night we were able to try Chicha Morello.  It's made of purple corn and tastes like juice. (Dangerous!)  Margaret was brave and tried it too.  Cathy took a few sips, but left most of it to Kirk!

Unflattering shot- but it really captures the mood of the evening!  Margaret and I are toasting with the Chicha now.

Cathy's dinner- beef with onions and rice, topped with fries.

Kirk and the Chicha.

That's all we had in Lima!  We ran back to the hotel to get ready for our 4:30 wake up time so we could get to the airport.  We will be flying back to Miami, then staying overnight.  Back to Wichita on Friday- it's hard to believe that it is almost over!