Saturday, February 17th 2018

After a silent night in a huge bed we get a Courtyard Miraflores breakfast. It is fantastically civilized.

Eggs benedict! and they are really poached. We are overwhelmed.

Somehow preparation for the Inca trail.

Then we do the Inkan Milky May – Downtown walking tour Lima. They meet in front of our hotel, so we will learn how to use public transport (the Metropolitano) here as well.

There is only buses in Lima, no other public transport in the city. There is an public rapid bus network called “El Metropolitano”. You need a card to go with it. Everytime you go in the card is charged and there are machines at every station to refuel the card with money. Every ride is 2,5 soles flat, weekend 3 soles. It is easy to go without a card, give somebody 3 soles and he lets you in with his card.

We have to hop on/off at “Benavides” station. And we always take the green line to “Jirón de la Union” close to La Merced Church at the city Center.

It is a little bit crowded and you must not be shy. Peruavians have a different optionion of intimacy in the bus. It seems like they look for contact. No air condition.

We arrive in downtown after paying the fare to the guide who pushes us through the gates with his metropolitana card (1 ride 2.5 SOL = 60 eurocent).

We walk through the city center:

Plaza mayor (former Plaza de Armas) with the Cathedral and Presidential Palace.

They took our flag and put it on a stick the wrong way.

They guide, Elvis, explained a lot about catholizism, the saints of Peru, history and architecture.

Santo Domingo Church

Suddenly in the church lightning striked me:

I was hungry …

Palacio de José Bernardo Torre Tagle

The change of the guards at Plaza Mayor:

We ended the tour and went to a Starbucks for an espresso in reliable quality and WiFi and clean toilets. All there. Then we walked to back to the monastery of San Francisco to make a tour of the catacombs. No cameras, no pictures. Huge. 25.000 buried under the church in three levels. All sorted to make it nice as a museum.

Afterwards we go into the church.

Then we ride home on the Metropolitano (give any lady 5 sol to top up her card and let us go through – first lady does so), get our laundry back and walk to Barranco district along the coastal walk for dinner to Isolina. They only serve meat and bowels, christina strikes.

We walk around and look for another Restaurant we like, find nothing, go home with a Uber (8 sol = 2 eur). Reliable.

In the hotel the advice us to go to Saqra. What an advice!

perfect octopus on potato mash:

Less than 50 eur, what a bargain for this food

Another nice day in Lima. We go home to Courtyard Mariott and fall into our huge white bed.