plenty of moisture in the air, though.
We toured the capital city today. The traffic is heavy and the drivers are aggressive. I don’t think I could drive here. I’m too polite. However, they are dealing with 3000 city buses in a city of 9 million people. There are no freeways and no public transit aside from the buses. They also mix in pedicabs that are powered by a man on a motorcycle or bicycle.
Our favorite bicycle powered vehicles sell ice cream. Our guide bought some cups of ice cream with a mix of vanilla and Lucuma, which is a Peruvian fruit. It’s a burnt orange color and is somewhat like orange flavor but heavier. Very tasty. Our
guide also described a fruit called chilimoya which sounds intriguing but we didn’t find any to sample.
Ice cream pedicabs are abundant because Lima has a moderate climate. It’s warm but not hot and it doesn’t get very cold. Because of the lack of moisture, there are few annoying insects. There are no screens on the windows.
Buildings in Lima tend to be low. Those over five stories are required to have elevators, so most apartment and office buildings are only five stories high. One interesting feature is the rebar that sticks out of many townhouse style homes. The idea behind the rebar is to add another floor sometime in the future. When the children grow up, you can just add another floor for them. Or you can build a new level and rent it.
We visited the beautiful San Francisco Convent which is actually a Franciscan monastery. Only 33 priests live there currently but the building covers almost a city block. Again, we could not take pictures inside. It is three centuries old and has a heavy Moorish influence. The walls are covered with gorgeous old Spanish style tiles. The ceilings are dark inlaid wood. The walls look like stucco and are covered with murals and old paintings.
The walls are hollow. They are made of “Peruvian concrete” which consists of wood surrounded by sugar cane and some kind of plaster. They deform pretty easily during earthquakes. It’s unsettling to see wavy walls and columns that are obviously out of plumb. I worried about the next earthquake occurring while we were inside. It seemed to me that the building was moving. But it was probably because I have been on a ship too long.
The library full of ancient books had round ladders that go back on forth to access the shelves. It reminded me of Harry Potter and Hogwarts.
The most interesting part of the convent was the catacombs. For over a century, everyone who died in Lima city was buried there. Archeologists separated all the bones so that they could count the bodies. So far, they have counted more than 30,000 people. Apparently, this location satisfied everyone’s desire to be buried under the altar of the church.
It is creepy down there. Add in the low ceilings and the low light and you have a ready-made horror movie. Actually, it strikes me as a comforting thing to be mixed in with everyone else. But I don’t like being that far underground. Six feet is enough. We bought our grave sites where we have a chance of seeing the fireworks in Murray city. A small chance.
After that, we went to the city of Mira Flores which has an upbeat vibe. It is in a gorgeous setting, overlooking the beach on a cliff. There is a striking statue reminiscent of Barcelona called “The Kiss” in the center of the main park. It depicts a giant bronze couple hugging on the beach. There is low wavy fence with built-in benches that is painted to look ceramic. There are myriad flowers both on the ground and painted on the fence. People parasail off the cliff next to the park. Just as we were leaving, a new bride and groom arrived to have their pictures taken. It’s quite the place. Wait until you see the pictures.
All in all, I think I have become a fan of Lima. It has a spectacular location in a moderate climate. It has the potential to be a fabulous city. The economy is improving because of increased investment by Chileans. The new buses use natural gas, which helps but they really need a mass transit system.
The war with The Shining Path rebels in the 1980’s really set them back economically but it looks like things are improving. Rebellion is always a possibility when society becomes too unequal. My mother used to say, “If we don’t share what we have with the poor, they will someday come and take it.”
Education is mandatory but only for six years. After that, you have to pay. There is no old age supplement. Health insurance is not universal.
One of the major problems is that two thirds of the population or six million people live in the shanty towns. The government has given up trying to relocate them and is working on providing services. Many have electricity but most don’t have access to water. They buy water from trucks which we also observed in Mexico and on the Navajo reservation.
It’s very difficult to get around in the shanty towns because they are built on hills. The government has started building steps up the side of the hills. The people shop by using the pedicabs that are everywhere. They shop at smaller stores. No
superstores like Target or Wal Mart. We did see brands we recognized, especially KFC.
Tomorrow, we are going outside of the city to see more archeological digs and the slums.
