We met our local guide Jose who gave us a tour of the archeology museum in Lima. To arrive there we drove through San Isidro, another district in Lima, where most of the embassies are located. The Japanese embassy was well fortified with walls and guard towers and machine gun towers. This was in response to terrorist takeover of the embassy. Commandos dug tunnels for 4 months to rescue the hostages. At the museum we learned about of the stages of history. First being a well advanced society, the Paracas people, pre Incan. Next came the incas which was less than one hundred years followed by the Spanish. Last stage is from Spanish takeover til now. From the museum we went to city center where the government buildings are located. The buildings were the neo colonial style. Our last stop was the San Franciscan church. We visited the library which was truly amazing, lots of books handwritten. Also under the church were the catacombs where 25000 people were buried. We walked through the grave sites where you can see the piles of bones, mainly femurs. On the way back to the hotel we learned from our guide about low unemployment rates in Lima. If you don't work you starve. Everyone works a whether you are entertaining rush traffic drivers with acrobatics or selling fruit on the street. These people pay no taxes and receive no benefits. We also learned about bus transportation in the city. Until very recently, buses were solely owned by individuals with no predetermined routes, stops or fares. You could get on a bus after asking the route and it could change while you are the bus. They have been testing a regular bus system (right before the election ). For lunch we had chichoron sandwich (pork, sweet potatoes and onion). For dessert we had churro de leche dipped in melted chocolate ! Tonight is the welcome dinner. Tomorrow we fly to Cusco