My last Saturday in Lima (for now), I returned to the Centro Histórico de Lima. In my first weeks, Lavie had been kind enough to introduce me to his father-in-law, a retired police officer living in Lima. Along with his sister, he had picked me up from my apartment and took me around Lima for the day.

We started with lunch at a local cevicheria before he brought me to visit the Centro Histórico, the fountains and light show of the Circuito Magico Del Agua, finishing with a stroll in the area around the Puente de los Suspiros in Barranco. It had been a full day.

Unfortunately, everything he tried to show me in the Centro Histórico had been closed: the smallest church in Lima, the catacombs, the square itself. Still, it was great to be introduced to the area and to get a feel for the streets. And I had time to return.

Lunch.

My first stop was El Cordano. Meliza had recommended it to me when I had asked her about places I should try in Lima, and I had had it on my list since my first week. The Uber had to let me off on one side of the main square due to construction, and I crossed familiar paths on my way to the restaurant.

El Cordano sits on a pretty corner across from the Presidential palace. It’s said that every president for the last 100 years has been served by the cafeteria, and I was eager to sample the dishes that had been kitchen stalwarts.

The sidewalk tables were spoken for and so I selected a table in a spillover room by the door. I ordered tacu tacu with seafood and delighted in it when it came. It was simple, excellently executed, and delicious.

Basílica y Convento de San Francisco de Lima.

After lunch, I walked few steps to the Basílica de San Francisco. The catacombs reside underneath and it was one of the sights Roberto had wanted to show me. Unfortunately, we arrived just as they were closing.

Upon paying my admission I was told to wait; a tour was starting soon that would cover the building as well as the catacombs. A small group of people had assembled on the benches in the lobby and I joined them to wait for our guide.

The guide met us within 10 minutes and invited us to follow him on the tour. He said it was a special tour as it was to be his last. His contract with the basilica was up and he was moving on to another institution. He was gleeful; excited about his future, and full of enjoying about performing his duties for the last time.

During the course of the tour he stopped at one point and asked us if he could take a photo with us to document his last tour. We all happily obliged.

We first round our way through the basilica, where our guide showed us the key rooms and art. At one point he paused before a painting of a “last supper.” He pointed out traditional foods that were drawn on the table to tie the event more closely to the local people through the traditional repast depicted.

Our tour ended in the catacombs. Our guide told us to watch our heads as we took the stairs down under the basilica and made our way past various arrangements of skulls and bones.

When it was over, we bid our guide adieu and wished him well. He waved to us and then was gone.

La Basílica Catedral Metropolitana de Lima.

Back in the square, I stopped in the catedral. At the ticket counter, they asked if I was interested in a combined ticket, but I wasn’t in the mood to do a lot of sight-seeing and I demurred.

Francisco Pizarro himself laid the first stone in 1535, having assigned the plot of land to the church. It’s built on the site of the Inca shrine of the Puma Inti and the palace of the Cuscoan prince Sinchi Puma, and Pizarro made the prince renounce his assets on paper.

A chapel now holds Pizarro’s remains. A mosaic depicts an episode when Pizarro refused to leave Peru to return to Panama saying: “There lies Peru with its riches; Here, Panama and its poverty. Choose, each man, what best becomes a brave Castilian. For my part, I go to the south.” Thirteen men chose to stay with him, now honored as the “Famous Thirteen.”

Outside the basilica, I had a change of heart and decided to visit the Archbishop’s Palace, just to the north. I had passed it before but neglected to enter. Retracing my steps I passed a wedding exiting the church. The guests had spilled out onto the steps and had drawn a crowd of onlookers and well-wishers.

I had to retrace my steps once again to purchase a ticket for the palace and lamented not purchasing the combined ticket. Inside, I admired the stained glass ceiling and altar. I had the place almost to myself when I arrived and took advantage of the relative quiet to explore at a relaxed pace.

From an upper balcony, I could see members of the wedding party setting up for photos and I watched as they assembled in various combinations for the photographer.

Back outside I texted Roberto to ask about the sandwich shop we tried to go to when he had brought me to the center. He wasn’t sure but he urged caution while I was there. Not only for the petty theft but for what protests might bring. And as I walked to the edge of the square I saw a group of police with shields at the ready lining one of the streets.

I stopped by the Gran Hotel Bolivar Lima, thinking I could get a drink if they had a nice rooftop bar. They had a patio, but it was full, and the bar didn’t look like a place I wanted to spend time in. Outside, it was too nice, and I wanted to enjoy the outdoors as much as I could.

I called an Uber and asked it to take me to Barranco. I decided to look for a cafe for a drink and snack and found one near the bridge of sighs, La Bodega Verde. I ordered a panini and a kombucha and relaxed in their leafy courtyard.

Leaving the cafe, I walked along the Malecón, taking in the sunset. Passing Kukurucho, I bought an ice cream cone for the walk.

By the time I made it back to Miraflores, the sun had set and the skies glowed orange. I walked through the parks that ran along the side of the cliff, one to the other. I had walked this path many times already, but was far from tired of it. I was still enthralled by the mosaics in the Parque del Amor and how beautiful the sunsets can be.

It had been overcast for the better part of the past few weeks and I was happy to experience once again the sunsets that had welcomed me when I had first arrived.