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Published: October 31st 2006
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I arrived in Lima just after midnight, and had pre-arranged people to pick me up (although they didn’t have me on their list so I was lucky they didn’t leave me at the airport) and take me to the hotel. The drive was crazy, the cars go all over the place taking no notice of the lanes and beep constantly. There where kids doing rap dancing and juggling at intersections to earn some money despite the fact that it was late at night. We also passed a couple of guys dressed all in black with hoods over their heads sitting by buildings, I presume they where security guards. It was a bit of a culture shock! The guys beeped their horns until the hotel opened its doors for me, so I had arrived in style.
Lima is the capital of Peru with a population of around 8 million which is almost a third of Peru’s entire population. It was founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, the same guy who defeated the Incas by capturing and murdering their leader after first promising to release him for a ransom of gold (which was delivered). Lima became the riches and most important Spanish
town in colonial times in South America.
Later that day after getting some sleep I caught a taxi to the Plaza Mayor (or Plaza de Armas) or down town as it is known locally. The Plaza is surrounded by bright yellow buildings, the Cathedral is on one side and the parliament on another side. I had a look for the statue of Pizarro but could not find it, it has been moved from the Plaza to a different spot.
My next destination was the Monasterio de San Francisco, this was a highlight and is not to be missed. Highlights in the monastery included the library with shelves filled with ancient books, a huge domed ceiling carved in Arabian style, a painting of the last supper with the main dish being a guinea big (these are a local delicacy eaten on special occasions), and the catacombs filled with skulls and bones. Photographs where unfortunately not permitted in the monastery.
Next I returned to the Plaza as there was supposed to be a changing of the guard at noon, but for some reason it did not happen so after waiting for half an hour or so I gave up.
Celebrity for a day
These people asked to have their photo taken with me (so I got them to take one with my camera too). On the first day another three groups of people wanted me in their photos. I lost my touch after that since for the rest of the trip I had no further requests. I then had a look inside the cathedral, the highlight here was the tomb of Pizarro and a mural depicting his landing in Peru (see photos).
I finished my time in the old town by having a look at the colonial mansions. Most are colourfully painted and have Arabic influences particularly around windows. I visited Palacio Torre Tagle (great), Casa Aliage (not much to see from the outside), Case de Oquendo (great), Casa de la Riva (ok) and finally Casa de Riva-Auguero.
In the afternoon I visited the Huaca Pucllana. This pyramid is made out of clay bricks by the Lima culture around 400 AD.
Early the next morning I headed to the National Museum, it was still closed but soon opened after my arrival. This is housed in a huge black high rise. Highlights inside included Nazca pottery (the painted designs on them are very colourful and cartoon like), three mummy heads found in the Nazca region, my favourite was the Moche pottery which is shaped into quite life like designs of people, animals, fruits etc. There was also a safe with some Inca gold within it. Quite a large number of the Inca displays where
Moche pottery
These guys lived between 100 AD and 700 AD in the northern coastal part of Peru. cordoned off unfortunately.
Next I caught a taxi to the Larco Museum, this had a comparable amount of pottery but generally there where more labels in English where in the National Museum the first floor had good English labels but further along the displays these stoped. There where a number of rooms in the Larco museum just filled with shelves full of pottery! In the Larco museum there was also a separate room filed with Moche pottery depicting various sexual positions, including stuff involving skeletons, quite odd.
In the afternoon I went for a walk to the sea side in the Miraflores suburb, the sun even came out for a little while. The weather had been a constant foggy overcast grey before this point. While at a lookout a young street vendor approached me, he was very polite and quite a contrast to the pushy vendors in Egypt.
In the evening I met the group with which we would later do the Inca trail and we ended up having dinner together. I tried some ceviche which is raw fish served in lime juice. It was quite good except it would have been nicer if there was something
else served with it like a salad and potatoes (later I found out that it is usually eaten as an appetiser and not a main meal).
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K
non-member comment
thank you
Thank you for sharing. I appreciated the photos.