San Francesco

A week ago, we took the Mirabus tour. You know, those two-decker hardcore-tourist buses? That one. Its purpose is to serve the ultimate 3-hour Lima tour, including a long stop at a cathedral/museum called San Francesco. The place is huge, and I mean massive. And it was filled with people, since it was time for Mass. I can't imagine what it's like to go to pray and all these tourists rush in and take pictures. I tried my best to take as less as possible but the decoration and architecture was so interesting it was hard to resist. But I must say, the beauty really lied in the Peruvians faith. In a country where christianity is still strong, it is heartwarming to see them show such a continuous dedication. Like this one time, I was riding the combi (local buses that will be explained later) and the route in question passed in front of a church. Both coming and going, the guys sitting next to me would always make the sign of the cross. Such superstition! And although, the cathedral was spectacular, it wasn't even the best part! Under the cathedral were these enormous piles of bones! The catacombs of San Francesco are quite famous here and in my opinion, kind of creepy. We got to walk around in these very low, tiny tunnels (beware claustrophobes) and on each side were boundles of bones. Most of them only had femurs and humeruses, but there was this one deep hole filled with skulls and other bones and they were arranged to form some sort of pattern. The whole time, I kept thinking "I hope my glasses won't fall in one these bins." In a way, this whole display seemed somewhat disrespectful if you ask me. Those people remains just lying there to be gazed at by any given tourist. Besides, how gross would it be to be the guy who had to place all of that. Ew.

Other highlights of the bus ride : awesome ruins in the middle of downtown Lima, being wacked by branches at pretty much every street, locals waving and smiling at us, my glasses being driseled by the sheer humidity of the air.