“It is,” said Mr. Holton. “It’s the capital of Peru.”
In the distance, beyond the plaza, a line of lofty mountains was plainly visible in the thin air. No doubt they were many miles away.
The explorers sat down idly on the wide steps of the cathedral.
“Now,” began Mr. Wallace, “we should make plans for the next two weeks. Mr. Lewis, we know, will arrive in Mollendo in about that time. What do you suggest doing—stay in the vicinity of Lima and take in the sights here, or fly on to Cuzco and the heart of Inca land?”
“I’d rather stay where we are for a while,” spoke up Karl. “There’s so much to see here that it will be worth it to spend a good bit of time in this section.”
“That goes for me, too,” came from Joe. “We’ll go to Cuzco later anyway, so why not see what we can around Lima?”
As everyone was in favor of doing this, they agreed to find a hotel and engage rooms.
“If I’m not mistaken, we won’t regret staying in this region,” said Bob Holton.
And they did not. During the next week and a half they spent their time taking in the sights of Lima and the rugged country surrounding it. They visited the botanical gardens, the various plazas, public buildings, streets, and the national museum. They toured the fascinating country about the city, seeing the ancient Inca highway, the mines of Morococha, the lifeless native huts that were everywhere, the marvelously engineered railroads, and the interesting city of Callao, located near by.