We actually got to wake up whenever we wanted today. It felt so good to sleep in. We woke up and took our time getting ready. After eating a leisurely breakfast, we went across the street to the market. After a while, the markets all start to look the same. This place was indoors, which was slightly distinguishable. After an hour of shopping, we got on the bus to the airport. We flew back to Lima, where we checked our bags for the our flight to Iquitos later in the evening.
At the airport in Cusco, Dad realized he had left his debit card in the ATM machine by the hotel. This caused some drama as we than had to tried to figure out what had happened to the card. He ended up canceling his card though it was no easy feat and took several minutes on the phone since it was Labor Day in the USA.
After our bags were checked and we had our boarding passes, we headed to the Catacombs in Lima. This was Catholic cathedral that had tons of bones stored in its basement. Anciently, they buried the the bodies (25,000 in all) underneath the church. They'd put 9 or 10 bodies on top of each other with limestone in between to speed up the decaying process and absorb the odor. Now they've sorted the bones with all the skulls in one bin and all the femurs in another, etc.
Outside the church, there are thousands of pigeons in the courtyard and on the building. Tons of cute children, chased the pigeons, with smiling faces. We then had to get on the bus back to the airport to fly to Iquitos.
We got to Iquitos and noticed an immediate change in climate. Extreme heat and humidity lead to lots of sweating and hot people. It is impossible to get to Iquitos by bus or car because of the the many surrounding rivers and the lack of money to pay to build bridges. The only way in and out is either by boat or plane. If you choose to take a boat from Lima it is a 7 day journey. Motorcycles and motortaxis are the preferred mode of transportation for everyone trying to get around the city.
When we got to our hotel, the air conditioning hadn't been turned on and our room was hot and humid. But I was tired and ready to sleep no matter what the conditions were.
At the airport in Cusco, Dad realized he had left his debit card in the ATM machine by the hotel. This caused some drama as we than had to tried to figure out what had happened to the card. He ended up canceling his card though it was no easy feat and took several minutes on the phone since it was Labor Day in the USA.
After our bags were checked and we had our boarding passes, we headed to the Catacombs in Lima. This was Catholic cathedral that had tons of bones stored in its basement. Anciently, they buried the the bodies (25,000 in all) underneath the church. They'd put 9 or 10 bodies on top of each other with limestone in between to speed up the decaying process and absorb the odor. Now they've sorted the bones with all the skulls in one bin and all the femurs in another, etc.
Outside the church, there are thousands of pigeons in the courtyard and on the building. Tons of cute children, chased the pigeons, with smiling faces. We then had to get on the bus back to the airport to fly to Iquitos.
We got to Iquitos and noticed an immediate change in climate. Extreme heat and humidity lead to lots of sweating and hot people. It is impossible to get to Iquitos by bus or car because of the the many surrounding rivers and the lack of money to pay to build bridges. The only way in and out is either by boat or plane. If you choose to take a boat from Lima it is a 7 day journey. Motorcycles and motortaxis are the preferred mode of transportation for everyone trying to get around the city.
When we got to our hotel, the air conditioning hadn't been turned on and our room was hot and humid. But I was tired and ready to sleep no matter what the conditions were.
Comments