Thursday, July 07, 2011

The Last Day Part II

After lunch we walked down to the harbor to see the ocean. We stood at the lookout pavilion enjoying the sounds of the waves, the sight of the water, and the smell of Tony Roma's until it got too chilly.

I'm going to miss it being chilly.

Next we hopped in a cab to go to the Plaza de Armas in the center of town. We took a tour of the Cathedral first, which was beautiful. I haven't been too impressed with the cathedrals here and the Catholic artwork has been downright creepy, but this was worthy of a national cathedral. Among the highlights were the carved wooden choir seats; a carved ivory crucifixion that was so delicate and so skillfully done the guide assured us it was the most beautiful ivory sculpture in the world, and I believe her; and Pizaro's grave, which included the box his head was found in. We know it's his head because the box was labeled, "Here is Pizaro's head." Very handy, that.

We stepped next door to the Archbishop's Palace, which is beautifully designed with arches and yellow walls and dark wooden banisters. We declined a guide for this one, opting instead to look at the chapel, the various rooms, and the artwork at our own (faster) pace.

We then walked around the Plaza a bit more before heading back to the Miraflores area to souvenir shop at the Indian Market. I have not been inspired by the souvenirs we've seen here. Sadly, although finished products abound, it is surprisingly difficult to find alpaca or vicuña wool raw form.

From there we walked to the Swiss restaurant for dinner, then found ourselves with an hour to kill before we needs to go to the airport. We asked at our hotel's front desk if we could wait in their lobby. The clerk offered us instead a terrace on the second level with chairs, an outlet, wifi, the greenery of their patio, the sounds of the city in the distance, and a cool breeze.

Who could ask for anything more?

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