<< Day 14:To Lima, Just Believe
Lima, Pomp and Circumstance
Today was a free day to explore Lima. We said goodbye to Guy at our hotel.
In many ways, Guy was like a little dark cloud that traveled around Peru with us, adding unnecessary tension and stress that detracted from our experience. While Ben and I considered separating ourselves from him and continuing on our own throughout the trip, we hesitated to do so for a number of reasons. Primarily, we wanted so much for our experience to be positive, and we kept hoping that things would get better—and some days were definitely smoother than others. I was concerned that the potential ugliness in making a complete severance would outweigh whatever negativity existed with Guy around. In any event, he was part of our journey, for good or bad. He did provide us with motorcycles that were mechanically sound and performed beautifully, and for that I am grateful. I wish him well.
Here is Ben at the hotel:
Waiting for a taxi outside the hotel courtyard walls:
Our plan today was to head to the main square in Lima, Plaza de Armas, and view some of the historical buildings.
Our taxi driver this morning was an efficient and calm driver (thank you!).
We drove through a large park in which a sporting event was occurring; numerous people wearing bright yellow shirts were running, walking and bicycling.
In the middle of a traffic circle was a pyramid sculpture or monument, with curious winged figures swirling around the sides.
(If anyone has any information about this sculpture, such as the identity or symbolism of the figures, please let me know! I did a cursory search on the internet, using various search terms, and couldn’t find anything.) Another view:
A few blocks from the main plaza, we became enmeshed in traffic that barely moved. We had plenty of time to admire the architectural details of the nearby buildings.
We inched our way past the Naval Museum, which is located in the former home of Miguel Grau—the maritime hero who died October 8, 1879, in the war with Chile (and whose picture we had seen painted on the side of a building on our way to Tápuc two days ago).
More architectural details:
We finally realized that we could walk faster than our taxi was moving, so we continued on foot. We were right next to a pedestrian street, which had an ornately carved church near the corner.
Standing near the church entrance were some people in brightly colored traditional clothing.
We then heard music coming down the street—it was a parade of dancers that flowed into the church!
Many of the dancers wore clothing that we had seen last night at dinner—it was exciting for us to recognize the clothing and to see the dances outside of a “tourist show” environment.
We strolled down the pedestrian street to reach the main plaza.
Ben on the edge of Plaza de Armas, with the Cathedral in the background:
The square is the historic center of Lima—it is the site where Lima was founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador. The square and the buildings that surround it are all designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Palacio de Gobierno, where the president of Peru lives, was on the far side.
Many people in the plaza were looking toward the front of the cathedral, which had military officials standing in front, as well as a wide red carpet stretched out. Now we understood why the traffic was so snarled—all of the roads around the plaza were blocked off.
Along the front left side was a line of soldiers.
People were streaming into the Cathedral at a steady rate, so Ben and I decided to join them. The interior of the church was packed with people, and we moved in a solid mass along the side of the seating area. A church service appeared to be starting. We didn’t plan to stay for the service, so we turned around and threaded our way against the strong current until we popped out the front entrance.
We were standing next to a padded rope that blocked off access to the large main doors. We could see that the movement of the military officers was more intense, with men rushing over to confer with each other in focused conversations. More men in suits were present, scoping out the crowd with darting eyes. “Something” was getting ready to happen.
A few very short, older Peruvian women were standing behind me, so I stepped back and let them get in front so that they could see better.
Ben and I were curious about what was going to happen. Standing behind us was a young man who was dressed very nicely; I turned and asked him if he spoke English, but he shook his head. A few minutes later, he tapped me on the shoulder and said hesitantly that he did speak English after all. He explained that today was the Lord of Miracles festival, a very important holy day to Peruvians. He said that on this day, people believe that miracles take place, and that later today would be a procession in which the entire plaza would be packed with thousands of people. Right now, the Mass of the Lord of Miracles was getting ready to start inside the Cathedral, and the President of Peru was about to arrive.
I later found out that the Lord of Miracles festival dates back to the 1600’s. Some stories say that a slave from Angola painted the image of a black Christ on the wall of a hut near Lima. An earthquake in 1655 toppled all of the buildings in the village, but the wall with the painting remained standing. Some time later, a sick man came across the painting and was drawn to clean it and care for it; he asked God to reward him by healing him, and he was cured. Word spread of this miracle, and many people (mostly from the slave community) came to revere and celebrate the painting. The local powers tried to destroy the painting, but were prevented from doing so by mysterious fainting spells and paralysis. The Catholic church then built a chapel around the painting. In 1687, another massive earthquake hit, and all of the buildings in the village were destroyed; once again, the wall with the painting remained upright, and the painting’s status as a holy object was solidified. Each year, a copy of the painting is paraded through the streets in Lima, accompanied by tens of thousands of believers, as part of a festival in which the people ask for miracles of healing and protection.
A clump of people was moving toward us from the far end of the sidewalk. Then, there he was in front of us, draped in a brown scarf--the Peruvian president, Alan Garcia:
President Garcia was tall and looked well-fed, and his posture was very regal.
The approval rating for President Garcia is fairly dismal—25%. The crowd around us was silent as he walked by and entered the church.
Ben and I were excited to be part of that moment. “Wow! We just saw the president of Peru!”
Here I am back in the middle of the plaza:
Looking around at the rooftops, we spied a number of armed soldiers. Here is a close-up of the one next to the tower (behind me in the photo above):
In the middle of the plaza stands the bronze fountain that was placed here in 1651—the figure on top was a popular resting spot for pigeons.
Ben and I decided to venture a few blocks away from the plaza. Looking down the street:
A church and its tower:
A woman stood quietly in the church courtyard:
A bronze sculpture of a shoe-shine boy:
We wandered down to the river area, where this tank was standing guard.
A nearby soldier:
The river:
More soldiers stood guard across the bridge:
The distant hilltop was enveloped in smog.
This covered mall area seemed very popular:
Families were lined up to take photos in front of this fountain:
Back at Plaza de Armas:
The young soldiers up front had been standing there for at least a few hours. Some older women had managed to squeeze into the middle of their line.
We realized that the church mass must be drawing to a close, and the president would be emerging soon. We stayed to watch.
President Garcia, in his brown scarf:
It was interesting to watch the security personnel around him—what a stressful job that must be!
As the president walked toward his palatial home, a group of police were ready to protect him with their crowd-control shields. However, the only people rushing at the president were media personnel who were trying to shove microphones in his face.
The president’s small children were riding their bikes inside the palace gates.
The president’s home sweet home:
We found a wonderful little restaurant called Supay, a block from Plaza de Armas—excellent food and service!
The woman hosting and serving us was from la selva (the jungle) between Cajamarca and Tarapoto.
During our lunch, an artist named Apu came by with his paintings. If you visit my home, you might see this one hanging at the top of the stairs.
After lunch, we decided to take a long walk around Lima. We passed the central post office, which was constructed in 1897.
Nearby, we met a man who wanted to know where we were from. He pulled out a big notebook with maps, and we pointed to where we lived. He then asked us if we had any children. When we said yes, he pulled out a small replica coin with a llama on it and gave it to us, saying it was for our kids. Then he asked if we had a coin from the United States for him. The light bulb then went on—he was trying to earn some money! We thought this was a really ingenious (and positive) technique on his part. We don’t carry U.S. coins or small bills with us, so we didn’t have anything to give him. We offered to return his llama coin, but he insisted that it was a gift from him to our children.
The police women looked very stylish in their skirts (although the boots probably wouldn’t allow them to run very fast if they needed to catch a criminal).
We walked back down the pedestrian street. In front of the ornate church (which had marked the ending for the parade of dancers this morning), some artists were creating a design made of flower petals.
First, they meticulously created a black border, then spread water before covering the interior space with petals.
About five blocks south was the Plaza San Martin:
In the middle was a statue of Jose de San Martin, an Argentinean who fought to liberate South American countries from the control of Spain. (Peru officially declared its independence from Spain on July 28, 1821.)
This building on the edge of the plaza had a Kentucky Fried Chicken on the bottom floor (without the red and white striped bucket sign spinning around outside).
The streets of Lima were clean and fairly quiet.
Here are some buildings that we passed:
We reached the Parque Italiano, and saw the large courthouse in which the Peruvian Supreme Court sits:
Outside the courthouse was a sculpture of a man with two oxen.
We took a taxi back to our hotel, which was located along the Pacific Ocean in a neighborhood called San Miguel. Taxi drivers generally don’t use meters in Lima, so you need to negotiate a rate before starting. We would have a general idea of what the price should be beforehand, and we never had any problems. Today, we flagged several taxis before we found one that would travel to San Miguel; I had a little card from the hotel with a map on it that I would show to each driver.
Our taxi driver this afternoon was from an area north of Trujillo, and he was very curious about our visit and our life. He asked us a lot of questions, and I found myself wishing that I spoke better Spanish so that I could elaborate and answer with more depth.
San Miguel was a peaceful area. Ben and I walked down to the ocean and were surprised to find a sculpture in memory of John Lennon.
In front of the memorial was the word “Imagine.”
The back of the statue:
San Miguel is located on a small cliff area, above the beach. A view to the south:
Out in the ocean, some large rocks rose above the waves:
We caught another taxi (not an easy feat in this neighborhood) to the area of Miraflores. Some pretty buildings along the way:
Our first stop was Starbucks (so much better than the instant Sanka served at breakfast this morning).
Miraflores had a large art market set up in a central park, and we strolled around and looked at the paintings.
Colorful flowers in the park:
Our plane departed close to midnight. We had told our kids that we would be home in time to pick them up from school the next day. We barely made it after a series of delays, including a missed-by-30-seconds connecting flight in Houston and a dead truck battery in the airport parking lot.
Genevieve and Sebastian threw themselves in our arms with huge smiles and squeals. They had even created a big sign for us:
If one is going to leave Peru—with its never-ending squiggly roads, soaring mountains, lush jungles, warm and friendly people, jaw-dropping scenery, diverse climates and delicious food--it certainly soothes the heart pangs to have another kind of paradise waiting at home.
<< Day 14:To Lima, Just Believe
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