Day 13 SA Lima Bound

Day 13 was pretty much a travel day. We got up for an early breakfast then back up to the room to pack and then on the bus for 9:30. We would take the bus to Juliaca (the Ugly City we passed through on our way to Puno to catch our flights to Lima. Again the travel arrangements were seamless and by 2 we were checking into our hotel in Mira Flora area of Lima. This was the same hotel we had stayed at at the start of the trip.

As a group we grabbed food at the bite at the grocers so we could tour around down town Lima with our guide Eduardo. This was the night night for many of our tour colleagues were leaving for home the next day. Eduardo had hired a van and driver from a friend so we were 13 people in a Hyundai H1 van. We were very cosy but had become friends along the way so no problem. Doug and Ruth were at the front so enjoyed a front row seat to the "interesting" driving technic employed by Lima's drivers. We visited the two main plazas of Lima, the 1st one featured the oldest operating hotel in Lima with a great bar which beckoned us all in for a Pisco Sour. From here we headed over to the Palacio del Gobierno with the Presidential Palace along with a large cathedral with a number of black vultures in residence. From here we crossed the Rio Rimac to a bit Edouardo dodgier section of town where we visited a "holistic" medicine shop and watched the owner mix up a health drink. The concoction include frog, beer malt, cane suger and a bunch of other stuff. The frog was killed, skinned and gutted all before us and then boiled. Once the frog was cooked it was added to the mix and the whole thing mixed in a blender. The mix was then strained and the drink offered up to us. All this for 15 Sol (about $6 CDN). It tasted like a sweet glass of Guinness. After the frog drink we headed to a downtown park for the "water show". The show featured a laser and projection of figures on the fountain water spray. The show lasted about 1/2 an hour after this we walked around the rest of the park which features a number of fountains, one of which was a water tunnel. From here it was dinner near the hotel and then off to bed. It has been a very busy 2 weeks.