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Central Lima a congested big city
Old Royal Road. From our hotel we walked the road to the left of the green building to get to the Plaza Mayor. Immediately after we left the Galápagos Islands, we hopped on a flight to Lima, Peru, from where we would connect to our next flight to Iquitos------the beginning of our Amazon River segment. We deliberately arranged to have a couple of days to rest in Lima, so we were there for two nights. That should be perfect to have a little time to see a magnificent old city with so much history. Well, we discovered that the little time we allotted wasn't little enough! Lima is fading away and is being overtaken by a population explosion, mainly the masses of rural poor moving into the city and overwhelming the ability of the city to support the influx. Consequently there is much incidence of thefts, and every tourist or person who looks as if he could have something is seen as an easy mark. We arrived in the evening, and our taxi driver from the airport cautioned us to have every package locked in the trunk, so as not to be visible to the street people. He said they were known to break out car windows in order to grab a bag or purse. The hotel we selected, The Manhattan Inn, is
Shopping street
Nice shops and colonial buildings line the pedestrian-only street leading to the main plaza. located near the airport and is very convenient for getting back to the airport without fighting the city traffic of Lima. But as we arrived there, we realized it was not in a good area. There were hardly any street lights and most buildings around us looked pretty shabby. It's no place we would go out walking, day or night. The hotel itself is immaculately clean and the staff were sweet and helpful. However, we were destined to leave this place. Our first clue?-----we were on the fourth floor and there was no elevator. Then we found a few more clues: the shower was barely a dribble, the two towels were more like dish-drying towels, the TV was maybe a 12-inch screen, there was no ventilation though it was hot and muggy, and a very large mirror was hanging angled down over the bed. All those plus a noisy square outside our window where the "boys" gathered at night made us say, "We gotta go!" And so the next morning off to the Sheraton we went.
Because we wanted to stay near the interior historic district, which almost always is the most interesting part of a city, we
Cathedral
In typical colonial style, the Cathedral dominates one side of the Plaza Mayor. stayed at the Sheraton Plaza (across from the plaza of the Palacio de Justicia). From there we could walk to the nearby Plaza San Martin, continue up a pedestrian-only shopping street, and finally end up at the old colonial Plaza Mayor. The Plaza Mayor was huge and boasted grand old colonial buildings, as well as the central park with a grand fountain. As usual in a Plaza Mayor, the plaza was bordered by a grand old cathedral, the President's Palace, and several government buildings. But it was surprising to see big armed tank-like assault vehicles parked at each intersection, police or soldiers at every corner, and military canine patrolmen with stocky, ferocious-looking Rottweilers leashed at their side. The dogs were muzzled, but they certainly did strike a note of fear. We tried to ignore all of this and walked about the main square. The majestic old colonial buildings had been freshly painted----this in contrast to sadly neglected buildings elsewhere in town. But everything in the park was fenced off. No one was allowed to approach the fountain or walk on the grass. There were crowds of people in the Plaza Mayor park, but only the tourists seemed to be having
Presidential Palace
A bit of humor - dog is wearing sunglasses a good time. The Limeñans (people of Lima), it seemed to us, were depressed and grim. The atmosphere is tinged with risk and danger. We began to walk to a small and ancient church on the other side of the river. Once we crossed the bridge, a policewoman, maybe 5'1" and with a Baretta that seemed half her size, came over to us and warned, "There is no security past this point." We decided it was best not to attempt the visit (Why tempt fate?) and went back to the Plaza Mayor to get a taxi so we could return to the Sheraton. Bob picked out a taxi with an older driver----his secret for avoiding young rebellious types. The gruff driver was a professional driver and had been doing this all of his life. When we told him to take us to the Sheraton across from the Palacio de Justicia, he countered, "You mean the Palacio of
Injusticia (Palace of No Justice)>" He explained to us, a captive audience, that Peru----especially Lima---was taking a nosedive, going downhill. He told us to beware the "rateros" (street thieves) and not to go into most neighborhoods except in a car with closed windows.
No security past this bridge!
We tried to walk to the church at the end of the road. All of the wealthy people have moved out of the inner old city and have gone to the more posh neighborhoods of San Isidro and Miraflores. These areas we didn't get to see on this first visit, but for now we couldn't wait to return to the safe and secure womb of our hotel (Sheraton).
The second day we tried to visit a couple of recommended museums. One, the National Museum of Archaeology, was closed for remodeling and nobody seemed to know about that. We only found out by walking up to closed doors. The second was the Museo de Oro (Museum of Gold), which was open. The gold museum had incredible artifacts all crafted out of gold, plus many examples of ancient (1400's) and old (WWI) weaponry. They also had fine examples of memorabilia and uniforms from well-known historical figures, such as Stalin and Simon Bolivar. The whole museum is actually a large vault. It used to be located in central Lima, but it moved out into a safer neighborhood. Well, sort of safe---all of the houses have iron fences and bars over the windows. Many homes and businesses had armed guards as well. To us the
general atmosphere was very intimidating.
Some three weeks later we returned to Lima to await our plane flight home the next day. Once again we were at the Sheraton, and we took advantage of a free shuttle service the hotel offers to take people to the beachside area of Miraflores-----what locals refer to as the "modern Lima." As we approached, we could immediately see the changes: wider streets, less traffic congestion, well-kept condominium buildings with nice landscaping, large homes, atmospheric restaurants with pleasant outdoor seating, and numerous upscale shops----especially along the beach esplanade. As we meandered along the walkway on the bluff above the beach, we met several others strolling carefree and admiring the scenery. At one point along the cliff there is a launching area for hang gliders, and we enjoyed watching the gliders soar past us on the bluff. We could also see surfers out in the ocean waves, waiting for the perfect set. This area would look very familiar to Southern Californians. I swear Miraflores is a mirror image of Santa Monica, a popular beach town not far from Los Angeles. Even the roadway coming down from the bluff to the oceanfront highway, with its
Night View 2
Cathedral at night tall buildings and palm trees, reminds me of Santa Monica. But there is one major difference-----the armed guards at homes and businesses, the bars on windows, are still ever present. I'm glad we had the opportunity to see both sides of Lima. Always to be imprinted on my mind is the contrast and comparison between the old and the new. Miraflores is happier and newer, yet one feels the encroachment of the "other" lifestyle in old Lima. Without a doubt both old and new Lima are experiencing the pangs of over-population. Lima's glory has faded.
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