Colonial Lima
The Historic center is the old Downtown of the Lima Metropolis, and among the most important tourist destinations in Peru. It starts at The Plaza de Armas in Lima, and in the entire district, there is no street, plaza or balcony that is not relevant to Peruvian history.
January 15, 2014
Lima, Peru
Paul our taxi driver (Official Yellow Taxi) was already at the gate when we showed up at 9 am. Our deal with him was; 150 nuevo soles, equivalent to US$60.00 for touring the whole day until 6:00 pm. Our main destination was the main square in Lima, which is called Plaza de Armas. The drive to Lima,which is 20 minutes from Callao, is fairly typical of any city. There are small business establishments, residential houses, lots of motorists, and people going by. Upon reaching a small street close to Plaza de Armas, Paul parked his taxi at a parking garage, and we agreed to meet there after the Presidential changing of the guard was finished. Even if though this was a second time for us, we hastily walked with anticipation from the parking garage, and just a about twenty meters from us; there it was, Plaza de Armas in all its color and ancientness.
This historic center is the oldest public place in Lima. Francisco Pizarro founded the area in 1535 two years after tearing down the Inca Empire. He personally designed the 117 block main square with all the important institutions built around it. He designed it block by block, like a chess board of squares, featuring 40 foot long blocks with 40-foot-wide streets. Thus in the north side of the plaza is the imposing Palacio del Gobierno (Presidential Palace) with its big iron gates. To the east is the Archbishop's palace connected to the cathedral, and on the west is the Palacio Municipal. Then there is the Club of the Union (a favorite lunch spot for businessmen and politicians).
The Plaza Mayor or Plaza de Armas of Lima, is the birthplace of the city of Lima.
When Lima was granted the title of Vice- royalty, the Casa de Pizarro became the first Spanish Governors palace in Lima. At that time, Lima was the wealthy capital of Spanish domination in South America, which stretched from what is now Colombia to central Chile. It has a generous share of Baroque, Renaissance, and Rococo-inspired buildings in bright yellow and white color. They have the most elaborate facades, balconies, ornate gates, and courtyards, all in the area around the square. It is even more spectacular with the bright yellow and orange marigolds planted all around the plaza, in between the palm trees. Although the city has endured several earthquakes, some of the early colonial buildings, were fortunate to have survived. In 1988, the historic district became a UNESCO World Heritage site. In terms of preservation, it is remarkable.
We started our tour at the Cathedral. As was expected, it is the most visited area in the square. This is where Pizarro's tomb lies just at the small chapel at the entrance, on the right. The cathedral is huge and spectacular with its high, awe-inspiring artist painted ceilings. Though it was a bit dark inside, we could see several small altars on each side of the cathedral. The floors were shiny, black and white carerra marble. Pizarro's tomb was an all-encompassing, massive burial chamber, and so decorated that it made me reflect on what it must have been like during his reign. Though he was the founder of Lima, he was also despised for the way he terrorized, and enslaved the natives. I walked further to the next altar, and there was the tomb of the first archbishop of Lima. The altar was also huge, just like Pizarro's. The tomb was glass covered, which let you see through to down below where he was buried. Following the guide, we explored every detail of the church altar, including the intricately carved forty three (43) wooden seats for the choir, and the pulpit for the priest. On the left side of the cathedral were altars with different saints,and in the farthest one, there was a room with prized paintings. Another gem in the city of Lima is the Museu del convento de San Francisco,(the Church and Convent of San Francisco), which is probably the most significant religious complex in Lima, and the most impressive monument of Colonial architecture in all of Latin America. It one of the "musts" in Lima, with a highly recommended tour through the monastery. It gave us an impressive inside look as to how religious life was during Spanish colonial times.
The monastery had a serene courtyard, and a 17th century library with over 25,000 volumes and 6,000 parchment pieces. Here, beneath the church was a catacomb containing the bones of more than 70,000 people. They are sorted into body parts; skulls, femurs,and other bones, which reminded me of a similar catacomb in the St.Stephan Cathedral in Vienna. Another interesting place was the Torre Tagle Palace which is considered to be one of the most magnificent buildings in South America. This unique mansion shows the elegance and grace of the architecture of the early 18th century. It was built in 1730 by José B. Tagle, the Marquis of Torre Tagle, and treasurer of the Royal Spanish fleet. His coat of arms is still visible above the door. Meanwhile,the house of the Aliaga family, The"Casa de Aliaga", is the oldest Colonial mansion in Lima,possibly even in all of South America. The house has been owned and lived in by the Aliaga family, and their descendants; since Franzisco Pizarro granted the land to Jerónimo de Aliaga in 1535. Originally there was a pre-Colombian, altar on that plot of land, owned by "Curaca Tauli Chusco" (the ruler of the Rimac valley).
Spread around Lima is a series of attractive colonial mansions.
After photographing most of the incredibly well preserved houses, and cathedral; we waited for the changing of the Presidential guard which occurs daily at 11:45 am. We witnessed the Presidential band, rehearsing behind the palace. “Senor, por favor, uno fotographia, “ I pleaded to the guard.
“No,Senora, No pwedo,” he replied.
With that reply, I gave him a very sorrowful look and then I showed him the Canadian key chain hanging on my backpack and explained that I came all the way from Canada, and I would be very happy to have just one picture. With my persistence, it didn't take long for the guard to allow me to pass the barricades, and soon the band members were posing in front of my camera.
“Mira! Gracias!” I asked them to look toward me, and they gladly posed and smiled. Soon after that, they started to march toward the front of the Palace. There was a crowd that had already formed in front of the iron gates. People were not allowed to get past the guards to stand about six feet before the gates. I searched for a spot, and then elbowed my way forward. The band came into the courtyards first, followed by the flag bearers. Then the guards marched in, all dressed in striking red and white gleaming metal helmets in silver and gold color and with a long black mane down to their waists. They were marching goose-step style, with the occasional high kicks similar to the New York Rockettes, all precisely in unison. It was very dramatic, incredible to watch, and rivaled the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace.
Everybody stopped to watch and listen, including vendors selling small llama key chains and chewing gum. Three presidential security guards dressed in their black uniform jackets, continuously paced back and forth making sure that nobody broke the line. Presidential guards stood in each corner of the massive black metal gates with their AK 47's. The one guard in front of us had a tough severe look, with a slight narrowing of his eyes. He had dark brown skin, high cheek bones and Mickey Mouse ears. He was constantly avoiding eye contact with anybody. As soon as he turned around to walk to the right, a small toddler who was probably two-years-old broke free from his parents and rushed to the metal gates.
“Oh my GOD!!! we have a security breach!” my husband Bert exclaimed somewhere behind me.
I started to laugh and the locals beside me started to laugh too. The tough guy didn't know what to do. The parent of the boy, shouted in Spanish and the boy with one hand cupping his mouth as if indicating, he messed up, ran back to his parents. He was barely back in his parents arms when a few seconds after, from about twenty feet away to our right, another boy, but perhaps slightly older, did the same thing. He ran toward the heavy metal gate and peeked through the slats to get a glimpse of the marching band and platoon. Now, the girl in a pink shirt standing beside me wanted to follow suit. She moved a few steps forward, looked back and hesitated.
“Oh my God, now another security breach! Now, what are we going to do?” Bert shouted even louder this time.
Upon hearing that, the people in the crowd broke into laughter. Some forced themselves not to laugh, but they were grinning. The band was playing Peru's El Condor Pasa. The platoon (42), all twenty one (21) on each side from the left and right side , were now marching to meet in the middle of the palace square.
“Are we changing the President or the guard?” another question from Bert.
“Not yet!” a local student answered tersely beside me. “Perhaps next year during the election in November,” she finished.
I gave her a smile and a thumbs up indicating that I liked what I just heard from her. After watching the kids running, and the changing of the guard, we met up with Paul, and he drove us to another grand European style plaza called Plaza San Martin. The plaza's garden were adorned with beautiful pink and red geraniums. People were yelling loudly in one corner in support of a political protest, while some kids were chasing flocks of pigeons behind the big monument. There were vendors selling maps, and postcards, and some native Peruvians were wearing their characteristic black hats, and colorful dresses.
Next, Paul took us to the Polvo Azules market for a cut-rate shopping experience with Peruvian delights. It was an enormous, authentic, and bustling place where locals do their everyday shopping, and eating. It offered a great selection of food, for surprisingly low prices. A wide range of fresh Peruvian fruit,vegetables, herbs, meat, fish, seafood, and even harder to find ingredients awaited us. From there, we headed to Miraflores to take some pictures at the Parque L”Amor.
Lima overlooking Pacific Coast.
At the park, there is a giant sculpture of two people making love on top of a platform. It is kind of an “x-rated sculpture,” depending on who is looking, but it has become symbolic of Miraflores and people flock to the park, especially lovers (for inspiration and guidance???). They spend time laying on the grass, holding hands while whispering “sweet nothings” in each others ears. Standing in front of the colored tiled walls at Parque L'Amor, I could seethe Pacific ocean in the distance and I could hear the roar of its crashing waves. It gave me a panoramic view of where we are heading next - to the middle of nowhere, Easter Island.
P.S.Paul 's contact : Tempor(Paul) Decilos Pintado Garcia- Official Yellow Taxi email : temporpintado@gmail.com Tel: 01- 4587876 cell: 995838804