Monday, November 8, 2010

A slice of Lima

My flight from Cusco arrived in Lima at about 3.30 this afternoon and I had about 9 hours to wait before my flight to Santiago, so I took a cab to the Plaza Mayor (which I incorrectly referred to as Plaza de Armas since every other Peruvian town/city seems to have one) to have a look around. The ride took about 45 minutes in fairly heavy traffic, and cost 45 soles ($16).

My impression is that the taxi drivers are not as aggressive as in Arequipa, but the pedestrians are daredevils. To some extent, so is everyone who walks the streets of a Peruvian city: you just don't have as many rights (or lights) as back home and you can't just step off the curb without being very aware of what the cars in your vicinity are doing. That being said, I never saw any accidents. You do learn to adapt fairly quickly. One thing in your favour is that the streets tend of be narrow (in Arequipa and Cusco anyway) so you don't have as far to run.

Back to Lima. Once I got let off at the Plaza Mayor, I headed for the safety of the Cathedral. not physical safety so much as it being a familiar kind of stopping place. Though not religious myself, I do enjoy the artistry of Roman Catholic churches in Latin America. Those in Cusco were particularly impressive--it's a pity that no photography is allowed. Lima's cathedral was not as spectacular as those, but has a number of interesting chapels, including one that holds the remains of Francisco Pisarro. I didn't get there until 4.30 and the place closes to tourists at 5.00 so I had to motor and make the most of my 10 soles entrance fee.

After that I just walked around for a while. The main street emanating from the Plaza is Jiron de la Union, which is a pedestrian street for about 8 blocks, containing mostly uninteresting shops. There are also weren't particularly inviting restaurants, with an emphasis on bland eatery chains. I finally picked a place that seemed to have the most local traffic. The waiter copped a bit of an attitude when I asked for the "menu del dia" (the less expensive option) rather than ordering from "la carta". Nonetheless, I had a very tasty antecucho (beef heart) starter and then tallerin saltado criollo (chicken cooked with tomato and onion and embedded in a mass of noodles) and fresh papaya juice.

I don't think I saw enough to really form an opinion of Lima, but I will add it to my list of cities visited.

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