Limalicious

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Monday morning was the beginning of the end for me, as I started my long journey home back to the US. Catching a plane out of Buenos Aires at 6:30 in the morning (meaning no sleep that night), I suddenly found myself in the bustling, very "South American" city of Lima, Peru. I say "South American," because while being in Argentina and especially Buenos Aires, it's so incredibly easy to forget where you are.

Lima is a combination like any old, large Latin American city, full of modern businesses and colonial architecture, great little local restaurants and suspiciously abdundant KFC/Pizza Hut joints. By day, the old cathedrals, government buildings, and plazas show off their beautifully ornate craftsmanship, but by night, they are lit up in truly amazing fashion, giving the old buildings a brilliant new energy and majesty.

I spent a bit of time, walking around the city, checking out some of the (very spread out) museums. If you're ever here, some of the musems can be expensive and a bit difficult to reach, but they are far worth your time and money. In particular, the Museo Larco and Museo de la Nación are fantastic. The former is an enormous collection of pre-Incan pottery and art and is impressive for its sheer volume of pieces and the condition of the artifacts. Also, some tourists simply go there because of the collection of "erotic pottery" that the museum houses. The Museo de la Nación is an enormous government-run museum that does an amazing job of presenting history and information of pre-Incan art and deserves about three hours in itself. Spending time in these museums has made me realize how much I really must come back here to properly explore this amazing country. The breadth and advances of these cultures is hard to fanthom until you're faced with them directly. Sometimes we forget what unbelievable things existed here in our own Americas.

As for modern Peru, one of its best part are the people. I know I say that about every country, but they really are something special here. One bit of evidence is that here, when people catch a cab, they sit in the front seat with driver. Doing so, I've had some great conversations with them, because they are always curious to know about you; they talk with you rather than at you as Argentine driver sometimes do. They are also very gracious and instantly warm people. I literally cannot count how many times in the past three days I've been told how well I speak Spanish . . . I think they may have happened once in two months in Argentina. After a few minutes of conversation one taxi driver even asked me if I was Spanish. (Do I sound like I say "platha"? Still, I was flattered.) That is one thing though, appearance-wise, I'm not fooling anybody here, even though I would usually pass for Argentine or Brazilian elsewhere.

It's always odd to be presented with a new culture so quickly and have to adapt. I've seen some really weird things since I've been here. Lots of dogs hanging around the steets that have shirts on (including one with a t-shirt, sunglasses, and hat). On the way to this internet café, I saw a policeman with a gun holster with bullets strapped to the outside but no gun. Was he going to try the bullets at somebody if they tried anything? Coffee is served as a big mug of hot water and then small jar of very strong, cold espresso that you mix in to your liking. Goats being stored in the luggage compartments of buses, so that you can hear them "bahhing" for six hours during your trip. It's just the little things that that make this experience interesting. More to come along those lines . . .

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Photos

Durmiendo
Sleeping on the "job" in the streets of Lima

Catedral por la Noche
By day some of the buildings in historic central Lima are gorgeous . . . and by night, they're stunning.

Catedral San Francisco
A beautiful cathedral right around the corner from my friendly hostel, a perfect place to hang out if you're really into pigeons.

Grafiti
Colorful murals in el centro

Cerámicos
Lima is the place to go if you want to see indigenous pottery. After hundreds or thousands of years, these pieces are still masterpieces.

Lots 'o pots
The Museo Larco is full of them. Take this picture an multiply it by about 80. No, really.

Funeral mask
Pure gold, this mask is jealously guarded in the enormous Museo de la Nación.

Girl and street
While waiting outside the Museo de la Inquisición de Santa Ana, I saw this young girl suddenly do a handstand in the middle of the busy street.

Lost in translation
This figure of Madre Patria is below the statue of General San Martín in a major plaza of the city. Commissioned to a Spanish artist, the limeños asked for her head to be covered in flames ("llamas" in Spanish). The artist, assuming they were talking about the famous Peruvian animal, instead placed a llama on Madre Patria's head. (Look carefully.)

El perro en ropa
I told you I saw a dog wearing a shirt, hat, and sunglasses . . . two days in a row now.

Comments

[Will]

Hi-larious
The dog picture has got to be a classic. Plus, reading your latest post, I'm totally jealous. I've seen pictures and video of people doing the high-wire thing over a jungle, but I've never known a person to do it.

[Oscar]

Funny the way you look at this
The guy playing the acordion on the top. "Durmiendo" isn't sleeping. He is blind!!! Im from Peru and I've seen a lot of handicapped people who plays music instruments!! take care