Lima

We arrived to Lima on an overnight bus from Huaraz. We spent 3 days here touring the city and it’s amazing coastal views.

Day 1
The first day consisted of visiting the city center called Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor. Located here is the Catedral de Lima, Government Palace of Peru (Presidential Palace), and other government buildings. Everyday at noon in front of the Presidential Palace is the event “Changing of the Guard,” which can be seen in the video below.

Plaza de Armas

Catedral de Lima

Presidential Palace

After visiting the Plaza de Armas area we took a short walk to the Basilica de San Francisco (Monestario de San Francisco). It is famous for it’s catacombs and Harry Potter looking library. We were unable to take photos of the library, but did snap some photos of the bones still in the catacombs.

Next, we grabbed a quick bite in the China Town district before walking South to the Parque de la Reserva to check out the Magic Water Circuit.
Fuente Magica (Magic Fountain)

Tunel de las Sorpresas (Tunnel Fountain of Surprises)

Fuente Arcoiris (Rainbow Fountain)

The last stop of day 1 was at a small park (Parque Combate de Abtao) to see a statue of Manuel Villar who is a distant relative of our Chicago friend Matt Bonnstetter.

Day 2
The second day in Lima we rented bikes and went to check out Huaca Pucllana (ruins of an adobe pyramid built in AD 400).

Next we took a long bike ride along the beautiful coast of the Miraflores district. It was lined with parks, workout areas, and of course restaurants and shopping.