Finally got wifi! Here's a post from our day in Lima!
We spent the majority of our day in
Lima before hopping on a flight to Piura. We woke up around 7 to head to the
breakfast served at the hostel at 7:30. I don’t think it’s hit me yet that I’m
in Peru and not the states. Our breakfast consisted of coffee, bread, and fried
eggs. The eggs tasted really fresh and it was nice to get some energy before
venturing out into Lima with our tour guides. After breakfast we packed up our
stuff so that we’d be ready to go once we got back to the hostel before heading
to the airport. We saw a church dedicated to Sister Rosa. She’s known to have
healed many people and to have done many acts of penance to please God. She’s
done the stations of the cross, placed a crown of nails on her head, and prayed
for hours on end. We were able to see her church as well but we didn’t stay
long because a service was going on with the military and what looked like some
dignitaries. We were able to see the catacombs beneath the church though.
Pictures are below! There’s a well at this church that’s around 14 meters deep.
Visitors throw letters, prayers, and intentions into this well but the well
never seems to become full. Kind of interesting! The well is found in a
beautiful garden area.
We then saw the many attractions of
Lima such as the President’s building or palace, the Hotel Bolivar, and others.
We then drove over to a Franciscan Church that is known for its catacombs. It’s
home to 25,000 bodies which are unknown and unclaimed. There was no
documentation of who was buried there and the Franciscan monks who excavated
the area decided to make it into a museum so we were able to see all of the
bones that have been discovered beneath the church. It’s weird to think about
how all of these bones were connected to breathing people at some point. People
who had memories, relationships, and daily struggles and accomplishments. It
was really incredible to experience.
We were able to explore Miaflores
as well today. The city is near the West Coast and is usually overcast and a
bit chilly. Being near the West Coast has been somewhat disorienting due to the
simple fact that usually when I see water, I’m facing east instead of west.
Good thing we’re headed to the desert where that directional problem won’t be
an issue. We caught glimpses of the Andes Mountains as well which was a sight
to see, mostly because I’ve only ever seen pictures and shows about them and it
was cool to see them with my own eyes. Miaflores has an exercise park in it,
which is interesting to say the least. The town was bustling with people
running and biking everywhere and it wasn’t as congested as Lima. As a little
side note: the driving here is almost as crazy as it is in India. Our driver
today was great though and I felt safe most of the time! Sometimes he would
drive into traffic and I wasn’t always sure the other cars would stop but hey,
we’re all still in one piece! The edges of the town were covered in walls of
mosaics and sculptures. It’s a beautiful town and I would consider living there
if I ever decided to up and move to Peru, but knowing me, that would probably
never happen.
We had lunch at a restaurant called
Mangos. It was buffet style and all of us tried every dish they had to offer. The
restaurant sits on top of a cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. There are
two islands near it—one of which used to house criminals in a jail! We left
stuffed and almost fell into a food coma but we were dropped off at the Inca
Market—a half block of land filled with little booths and shops with people
selling items. I bought myself an alpaca blanket and a cross for my parents. We
then headed back to the hotel to grab our belongings and headed to the airport.
We’re currently en route to Piura where our nursing adventures will begin
shortly and I can’t be more ready or excited to get to know the people of
Piura.
Here's the ceiling of the Grand Hotel Bolivar
Here's the ceiling of the Grand Hotel Bolivar
The Wishing Well
Our first group shot in Peru
Lunch at Mangos!
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