We came out of customs without incident and through the airport until we found a motherly looking woman, about 65, 5'2", 180 lbs, holding a Judith Hamilton sign. We followed Maria to her car where she began to welcome us to the city and talked about the airport and our trip. As we came closer to the parking lot, she indicated that she needed to pay for her parking, asked us to stay put on the sidewalk and walked towards a queue of men at a ticket booth, where she just went straight to the front of the line and paid her ticket. I didn't see any complaints from anyone in the lineup. We continued on and I couldn't help notice she was in the closest spot in the lot. It might have been a handicapped spot and she might have a handicapped sticker since she did walk as if she had arthritis. We loaded our luggage into her trunk and proceeded to our hotel, Casa Andina Private Collection Miraflores. As she backed out of the parking space, I began to be concerned about her driving skill, but she did eventually get us to the hotel unscathed. She is picking us up tomorrow morning to take us back to the airport as we're flying to Puerto Maldonado to a wildlife lodge at one of the rivers feeding into the Amazon River.
On the way to the hotel, Maria talked about the city and weather. Lima has a population of 9 million, about half of he total population of Peru. The temperature is pretty consistent the whole year round, but is colder than you would expect due to the cold Humbolt current that swings up the coast from the Antarctic. When the cold current hits the warm air around Lima, it forms mist and clouds. Most days are cloudy and misty. It hardly ever rains in Lima; apparently one of the driest big cities in the world. But the humidity is in the mid 90's so you can feel the mist on your face as you're walking around; cars need to have their windshield washers on.
We we tired and went straight to bed. Our room is modern and spacious with Windows on two sides and a large bathroom.
The breakfast buffet was crowded when we came down at 9:00. It had lots of variety, but I thought it pretty average. We went for the morning walk recommended by Maria before we were to meet up with our guide for the afternoon city tour. The first thing we noticed was the cool design of our hotel.
Miraflores is one of the many town areas of Lima and means look at the flowers. Our guide indicates the name came from English and German settlers who decorated their outdoor spaces of their homes with flowers. This was a stark contrast from the Spanish and French settlers who built courtyards without plants for their outdoor spaces.
We walked towards the ocean along Avenue Jose Larco to a large shopping mall built at the water's edge at the Pacific Ocean. It's a pretty mall with lots of park space at the street level. The stores are located below the street level down the cliff side. The picture shows how overcast the day is. Apparently there isn't a lot of sun here.
We can't help notice how many American chain stores are located in Lima. KFC, Starbucks and McDonald's are everywhere. One of the guides tells us that there is a single company that owns these food franchise rights. Clothing brands include The Gap, the North Face, Brooks Brothers, etc. We walked the street level park area where you can watch the surfers below and end out finding this statue.
Paddington Bear! He originated in Peru; this statue was a gift from England. We
head back up Larco and end up at Parque Central, a local park that's known for Pokemon Go players and for its many many cats. Here's the route we took:
Ignore the stats on the link, but you should be able to see a satilite view of our wanderings.
Judith couldn't help pet one of them. We find out later from one of the guides that the cats started to appear as people would leave their litters there. One day a cat was seen at the top of the local church tower and when some cat lover group approached the church to go and rescue the cat, the priest refused access saying that the staircase was unsafe. The cat group was able to get the police involved and when they went up the tower, the cat was no longer there and the priest was accused of killing the cat. It was a PR disaster for the priest. The cat group subsequently formed a society and they care of all these cats and have a booth set up at the park for adoptions. The cats seem well taken care of. The park is also know for its painters who sell their art along Benevides Diagonal roadway side of the park.
The afternoon tour was very interesting. It was conducted by Marguarite, who we later discover has travelled extensively thoughout the world. We first check out the Palacio Torre Tagle a Spanish baroque palace built in 1730. It's known for its two Moorish inspired carved wood balconies. We then see the Cathedral of Lima by the Plaza de Armas, the main square in downtown Lima. Unfortunately the central fountain is under repair. The cathedral was begun around 1535, but has been built and rebuilt many times because of earthquakes. It holds the tomb of Francisco Pizarro who was the Spaniard who conquered Peru from the Incas.
Next up was Iglesia de Santo Domingo built in the 16th century on land granted to the Dominican Friar who accompanied Pizarro during his conquest of the Incas. It is famous for being the resting place of three of the most famous Peruvian Saints. On our way to the next stop we pass by the former post office and the guide points out the first mail box. It's cool. I get Judith to pretend she's mailing a letter.
The last stop was the Museo Larco, a privately owned museum housing one of the largest collections of ceramics from various Peruvian cultures dating back 4000 years. This was the most amazing piece I saw.
The museum is known for its erotic pottery collection. I can't show you any pictures of these -- I didn't take any, but I did want to show that the museum has a such a collection, so here's my proof. I'm not sure what would have been in the gift shop. We didn't go.
Judith chose the restaurant. It took us back to the park with the cats. We went through it on the way back home so she could check it out again after hearing the story from the guide this afternoon.
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