A Head in a Box and 70,000 Corpses

Today was our first full day in Lima. We slept late to recover from the flights down and then enjoyed showers in which the water was only slightly warmer than glacial run-off. Now fully awake and ready to start our day, we took a taxi into the center of Lima to the Plaza San Martin. After munching on some rather dubious appearing (in my opinion) empanadas from a streetside vendor, we made our way to the Plaza de Armas and toured La Catedral de Lima. Most interesting were the remains of Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish explorer who conquered the Incans. A coffin containing his remains was on display, but apparently until the 1990´s the coffin contained the remains of some random church official from the 16th century. It wasn´t until the 1970´s, when Pizarro´s head was found in a box in the catacombs beneath the cathedral, that everyone realized the wrong person was in the coffin. The rest of him was found about a decade later, he was reassembled and is now properly boxed up and on display for all to see. To the left you´ll see the Head Box.

Then, we made our way to the Monesterio de San Francisco. The monestery itself was very impressive, with wonderful architecture, paintings, library, blah, blah, blah. However, the reason we went was to see the catacombs. Beneath the monestary are the remains of an estimated 70,000 people, about 25,000 of whom have been excavated and are on display ¨bargain bin¨style. The bones of the skeletons have been sorted according to type (femurs, skulls, etc.) and are piled in large pits throughout the catacombs.

We saw a few more things that weren´t as interesting and then we went to dinner in what appeared to be Lima´s Little Italy, which I find to be fairly ridiculous. We sat down at a place and after perusing the menu, I told Chris what I wanted and, upon being asked what we should get for an appetizer, I told him to pick whatever he wanted. I then went to the restroom while Chris orded for us. The appetizer he ended up ordering was a combination of beef, tomatoes, onions and french fries. Then, our main courses arrived. Chris had ordered the Peruvian version of Steak and Eggs, which looked great. I had ordered a combination of beef, tomatoes, onions and french fries. In other words, the appetizer that Chris had ordered for us was exactly what I had selected for dinner. So, I got to enjoy the exact same meal twice in one sitting. It was neat. For the record, the menu did describe the appetizer and entree versions of the dish differently, but I still blame Chris and now he has to buy me a candy bar.

And so went our first full day in South America. We had some issues uploading photos today, but we should get it fixed soon. Tomorrow, a torture museum and a statue of the mother of Peru with a llama on her head. Stay tuned.

-Sean