20240609 Celebrity Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip, Day #11 - Lima, Peru

Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip - Lima, Peru touring

Not getting to bed until after midnight last night made us appreciate not having to be anywhere before 11 AM this morning. We awoke, showered, and grabbed breakfast in the hotel restaurant, compliments of Celebrity.

Our itinerary for the week is:

Sunday (today): Lima city tour

Monday: Early departure for Cuzco and a transfer to The Sacred Valley

Tuesday: More time in The Sacred Valley with a horse show and other activities

Wednesday: Vistadome train ride to Aguas Calientes and a bus to Machu Picchu plus tours and a luxury Hiram Bingham train ride back to Cuzco

Thursday: Cuzco tour and leisure time

Friday: Early flight back to Lima with more tours

Saturday: Homeward bound

Today's weather was in the mid-60s with clouds and no rain - perfect for a tour.

We started with a bus ride around parts of the city that were fairly close to the hotel. The first thing we passed by was a big archeological site right in the middle of the city. Huaca Huallamarca is an ancient solid pyramid where mummies were found. It is one of over 300 archeological sites located throughout Lima.

This site is pre-Inca, perhaps between 200 and 500 A.D., and is in the process of being restored.

Next, we passed Plaza Bolivar - Plaza de Los Libertadores - a city park with a large bust of Simón Bolívar. We missed the bust. Peru gained independence in 1821.

Our first stop was to tour through Mercado Bolivar - a fresh food market.

At the entrance of markets like this, you can always find a shrine to a saint where people will stop and offer a prayer - this one honored Saint Martin

The selection of fresh food was amazing

The corn kernels were huge

The whole place was super clean and everything looked fresh

Peru produces over 3,000 types of potatoes - not all were available here

The meat looked equally fresh.

Those white things hanging are cow stomachs

In case you've never seen the inside of a chicken

Pig head, anyone?

This is a cherimoya or custard apple - we sampled one and it was very sweet and tasty

We got back on the bus and headed to our lunch stop.

Lunch was at the Larco Museum - a local museum with a large restaurant in a beautiful setting

The directions for choosing a side in the restroom - ha!

Urceoline amazonica - native to Peru

We continued our tour after a nice lunch. We passed by another huge archeological site from the 1100s - the Archaeological Complex - Matthew Salado.

It was interesting to see the contrast between the archeological sites and the modern city in such close proximity.

Next, we cruised past the May 2nd Square near the historic center of Lima. It was built in the 1870s to commemorate the Battle of Callao in 1866.

Next up was a drive-by of Saint Martin Square.

A celebration was underway and multiple groups of local dancers were performing in the square.

The National Library

It's easy to forget how big Lima is, but the traffic will remind you that there are 11 million that call Lima home - Lima is the 4th largest city in South America

Cerro San Cristobal or Saint Christopher Hill

This 409m hill features a huge cross at the top and multicolored homes

This statue was relocated from central downtown - it was a Spanish statue and once Peru gained independence, the Mayor determined it shouldn't be in central downtown and moved it here

The status is located in the Muninet Parque La Muralla

We walked to the Basílica and Convent of San Francisco, Lima.

It was fascinating inside. Unfortunately, they do not allow any photography or videography inside. It is too bad as there were many beautiful works of art inside. The building had survived earthquakes. When art fell from the quake, it revealed other art on the wall behind the paintings. They are working on restoring everything. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was the catacombs below. The bones of an estimated 25,000 people are down there. Researchers have sorted and organized bones, trying to estimate how many were there. They believe that the area we saw is only one-third of the remains housed there. 

We continued walking, taking in the sights of the old town area.

We continued walking to Plaza Mayor de Lima.

This guy wanted to pose for a selfie

The Peruvian flag

Across the street, we find the Lima Cathedral.

The Vatican flag, flying over the Lima Cathedral

The presidential palace

Our walk continued. Our guide told us of the Tapada limeña or covered ladies of Peru. Dating back to the 1500s and thought to be of Moorish origin, the women would dress in long dresses with head coverings designed so that only a single eye was exposed.

This statue honors that old tradition

Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo, Lima

Casa de Osambela - a cultural center dating back to the 1800s

We met our waiting bus and made the trip back to the Westin, Lima. Celebrity arranged dinner for us at the Westin. We met up with other passengers around 6:00 for dinner and conversation. We were happy to call it an early evening as we have an early morning tomorrow. Breakfast will be at 6 AM. Checked bags must be outside our rooms by 6:30. We leave for the airport at 7 AM. We will make the one-hour flight to Cuzco (altitude: 11,150 feet) tomorrow, immediately followed by a bus ride to The Sacred Valley of the Incas (altitude: 9,200 feet). We will have lunch in the mountains and transfer to our hotel. This easy day is designed to help us acclimate to the altitude before activities start on Wednesday.

Time to get my bags packed and catch some shut-eye before tomorrow’s travels.