Historical Lima and bird poop

Today I toured the historical center of Lima as well as the Bay area. My Lima City Tour was by bike. I have a very nice sunburn on my arms because I lack the ability to remember sunblock.  My bad.

Sexy helmet photo again. TripAdvisor veered me towards Bike Tours of Lima today with Jose as the guide for 12 bikers.  It was a good time- highly recommended to see the city this way!

Plaza St. Martin was made to look French.  It really did seem like we were in Europe. The statue is of General Jose de St. Martin.

Next up was Plaza Mayor where Pizzaro first founded Lima.  Here lies the City Hall (building on left),

and the Cathedral of Lima.

Then there were birds at the Saint Francisco Church:

So many birds:

Fun fact: The 1879 the War of the Pacific with Chile on one side and Peru and Bolivia on the other was partially due to fighting over bird poop.  Bird poop was an important fertilizer back in the day and was used in the making of gunpowder.  Bird poop was therefore an important and lucrative natural resource. Crazy huh!?! They fought a war over bird poo (also known as guano).

One more food post coming but this is the end of my Peruvian journey.  It was a quick 10 days but I’m very glad I made the spur of the moment decision to book this trip.