Yesterday I rode on the Metropolotina public transportation bus with 5 Aussies (Ben, Marshall, Asia, Brad and Phil) and one Swedish girl, Jakova into Central Lima to go to the Catacomb Museum. This method of public transportation is similar to the concept of the metro rail in Washington DC in that you can load money onto a plastic card and swipe it against a machine that deducts the fare from your account. It costs 1.5 Soles each way, no matter how many stops you make. If you miss your stop, you can also get off and then back on going the opposite direction for no extra charge. Which happened to me twice after my adventures with Astrid in Central Lima 2 weeks ago. We stepped off the bus and proceeded to walk about 10 blocks in the direction of the museum but decided to stop for lunch before heading into the museum built underneath of a cathedral which was initially used for burying catholics in unmarked tombs. My six travel buddies for the day chose to grab sandwiches from Bembos; the Peruvian version of Mcdonalds, just with juicer-looking hamburgers that look closer to the pictures that advertise them than Mickey-Ds. Their sandwiches came with skinny french fries, or chips as the Aussies call them and Inka Kola on tap- Peru's national soda that tastes like bubble gum. It's neon yellow and in my opinion, absolutely disgusting. I went the less unhealthy route and bought myself pollo a la brasa which is Peru's traditional rotisserie chicken and boy is it succulent no matter where you get it. My lunch came with steamy french fries and a delicious salad. We sat in the nearby Plaza and ate our lunch under the mostly cloudy sky and talked about our worldly travels, where we're from, and where we want to go with each of us giving advice to the next regarding their future destinations. After lunch we strolled on over to the museum which is behind a gated plaza where hundreds of pigeons reside and wait for tourists to throw them a snack. Asia and I decided to go for a run through the crowds of birds to get a reaction and encourage some flight by these rats of the sky. It was fun until I slipped and bumped my knee by breaking my fall. It all happened in slow motion and I bet it resembled someone sliding into 2nd base. I'm fine, mom- just a little bruised.
The seven of us entered the museum at 7 Soles per person and were led to the English-speaking guide who went from having two tourists following her to 14, including the 5 other tourists who came along just 2 minutes after us (hahaha that was a lot of numbers in one sentence). Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures so I made sure to soak it all up and asked plenty of questions. Our group made our way into the catacombs of the cathedral where archeologists had excavated thousands of bodies worth of skeleton bones! It was perfectly appropriate considering Halloween is just around the corner! After the Catacomb Museum, we made our way to the Museo de Congreso y Inquicision. Unfortunately, they didn't offer any English-speaking tour guides and because Spanish-speakers speak at a million words a minute, I could only catch about 60% of what was being said since I can't ask them to repeat their shpeil. The tour was lovely, especially the part where I saw a mother and her three year old child sitting on a step, in the museum, with the three year old's hands grasping the mother's right breast as she suckled on her nipple for milk in plain view of the other tourists. After the tour and the free show, we walked through Chinatown looking at and smelling all the questionable street food. After our browse, we changed our direction and walked about 16 blocks to see the famous water fountain show in downtown Lima. After paying 4 Soles to enter the park, we casually strolled around the glorious water fountains decorated with neon lights and took glamour shots in front of the aquatic architecture. The show began at promptly 7pm and lasted for approximately 35 minutes! The water shot up into the air from the fountains to the beat of familiar classical music tunes. The finale took off with a laser light show that shined through the misty water wall including a ballerina, Irish dancer, and traditional Peruvian dance. The show ended with the Peruvian laser flag and a loud applause. This destination is considered romantic as we were surrounded by mushy couples. When the show ended, we walked around a bit more looking at the other water fountains when I eventually realized that I had to work in 30 minutes! Marshall ever-so-kindly offered to ride back in a taxi with me instead of the 45 minutes bus ride followed by the 10 minute walk to the hostel as he was the biggest person in our group, tired of walking, and willing to split the 10 Soles fare with me. Thank goodness for Marshall because otherwise it would have been too dangerous for me to ride back by myself at 8pm. At work last night, we decided to play beer pong for the first time since i've been here which was a huge mistake. It was a mistake because I kick ass and take names playing beer pong so naturally, I dominated and all the boys swooned. What can I say? I'm a heartbreaker.
I woke up today and chatted with the Aussies on the patio while they shared their fresh pineapple with me. I then took a shower and headed to Mercado Surco with my Irish bar manager who's really my friend; Rob. We went on a mission to find supplies for our pirate party tonight; a surprise party for Salvador, one of the Peruvians who works in reception. It's going to be grand! We're making pineapple jello shots and decorating with eye patches and pirate hats- ARGHHH. After buying supplies, Rob and I went to the park across the street to take naps in the sun. We ended up chatting the whole time and bonded quite a lot. I'm technically not scheduled to work tonight but being behind the bar is so much fun so i'll end up hanging out with Rob and flirting with the cute traveler boys.
