Lima

Our first stop in Peru was Lima.

Lima is by the seashore, but does not have any natural sea shore, because it is situated on a sheer cliff 154 meters high. (i.e. 500 feet). The city of Lima has now created an artificial strip of sandy shore along the base of the cliff, which few people use. After all it is not easy to climb down 500 feet just to go to the beach and then climb 500 feet up again.

Needless to say that normal tourist does not go to see the Lima harbor.

Follow the link below to see the cliff formation of the Lima city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima

This unusual formation of Lima leads to unusual experiences.

The whole cliff side has many up-end hotels, food courts and sports clubs. All these buildings have one feature in common, i.e. glass front towards the sea because it is such a scenic setting.

We were having lunch in one of these posh hotels on the top of the cliff. Our guide had managed to get us seats very near the glass front through which we could see the vast Pacific Ocean shimmering in the sun and stretching to the horizon. I was looking at the infinite emptiness of the ocean when suddenly two legs descended outside the glass front from above, followed by the full man in a skydiving equipment. He grinned at us and then his parachute changed course and he sailed away, but not before giving me a moment of fright that he was going to crash into us.

Yes, the sports that people indulge in are more in the nature of skydiving or parasailing.

Our guide was very good. He was not only knowledgeable, but also alert and took good care of us while we were sightseeing in Plaza de Armas. Three Afro-Peruvians (descendents of slaves) had designs on Avis camera and wallet, but the guide told them off and they slithered away. Petty crime is fairly common in Lima.

The Presidential Palace and the Cathedral which have replaced the original Inca royal palace and the Inca royal temple are worth a see. The bright yellow ochre walls of the Presidential Palace with the black bronze fountain in the foreground makes it quite charming.

The pigeons are not very obstreperous either. They actually coo.

The city of Lima has the same problem as Rome. Archeological excavations keep on unearthing Inca ruins which are then cordoned off. All the city amenities like water pipes, sewage lines, and electric cables then have to make a detour and go around the ruins. Many developers have suppressed the information of finding Inca artifacts from the authorities.

In our photos, you will see a bronze, equestrian statue of the notorious conquistador Pizzaro, which is not actually the statue of Pizarro at all. Our guide told us a very funny story about how there was a statue-making competition and this entre of conquistador Chavez, (who conquered Bolivia) won the competition. Later it was given as a gift to Bolivia, but Bolivia, in a fit of patriotic fervor, refused to have it on the ground that it represented oppression. So it was palmed off on Peru as Pizzaros statue. After all, one conquistador on a horse looks exactly like another conquistador on a horse.

The GoldMuseum, which is privately owned, is worth a see.

On the way to the GoldMuseum, the guide showed us the shantytown creeping up the hills of Lima. He was rather apologetic about its unsightliness, but to our Mumbai eyes, it was nothing new. These shantytowners have to BUY water. Lima, being in coastal desert, has no water resources, but just a few kilometers away, Andes has more than enough meltwater, which is supplied to Lima.

The coastal desert supports people only because the seas are full of fish, because NOTHING grows on the land.

Of all the touristy sights of Lima, the catacombs under the church of San Francisco intrigued us most. For general information on catacombs, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs

For the specific photo of the Lima catacombs spooky formation, click on the link below:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/hosting/showphoto.php?photo=31384

A LOT of people have been buried in those consecrated grounds over and over again because there was always a shortage of space. Glass-topped boxes of skulls, thighbones, or ulnae in the dim light give an eerie feeling. However, the above picture is a masterpiece in creepiness and of the stuff nightmares are made of.

A thought startled me when I was looking at the skulls and bones arranged so neatly. On the Day of Judgement, I thought, there is going to be a fine melee here on this spot.

Hey! Where is my pelvis? Who has got it?

This is highly unfair. How come I am having this old, crumbly, 17^th century fossil of a ribcage on my brand new, 20^th century skeleton?

Somebody has pinched my jawbone with all its teeth intact and foisted this toothless jaw on me.

I did not have arthritis, why I am having this bent leg?

Excuse me brother, but that is my fibula.

Thank God!! Being a Hindu, I will be cremated. I do not want my bones to clutter this earth waiting for the Judgment day.

Why is burial a more prevalent custom than the more hygienic cremation? I suppose because it is the easiest method to get rid of a dead body, apart from the religious beliefs. In many parts of the world, firewood was not always available and electric crematorium is a more recent luxury.

As we came out of the catacombs and into the sunlight, we managed to get rid of the morbid thoughts of mortality and were able to enjoy the peace of the cloisters and the treasures of the library.