Monday, May 17, 2010

PERU April 2010 #2 Lima



On the second day in Lima, we headed south for a totally different view of Peruvian life. After a bit, we were going parallel with the coast line and came upon a wholesale fish market. This was a sight for 4 senses ….we didn’t taste anything, but the other senses got a real workout. Our guide knew some of the characters at the market and they gave us an interesting view of the different fish.



Most of these fish had been caught in the very early morning by small volume fishermen using their own small boats. It seems that after the fish were caught the women were in charge to display and sell them. There was a great variety of fish, most of which I had never seen….or at least didn’t recognize in their uncooked form.



I’m a great lover of seafood and what a variety there was: squid, octopus, clams, mussels, crab, scallops, lobsters, oysters, sea urchins and so many different kinds and sizes of shrimp that I lost count.



I could hardly resist buying some, but I had no way to cook it and I wasn’t about to eat it raw (chemically cooked with lime) as the locals were doing. I did enjoy seafood at other times in the restaurant.



There were lots of pelicans around and they looked well fed. We watched one fellow clean a bucket of fish by the edge of the water. When he was through he washed the entrails into the water and there was total chaos as the pelicans fought with each other for these tidbits.



Leaving the fish market behind, we headed out to the edge of Lima. As in all cities, there are areas where there is less economic growth, in fact poverty. This was the case for the “shanty town” that we visited. The Lima officials have developed a plan for the people who come to Lima to start a new life. These people arrive from all over Peru because of local economies gone bad, or floods, earthquakes, etc. etc.



There is a lot of acreage around Lima that is undeveloped. The officials plot off an area where about 500 or so people can be placed together. At first the people stay in tents or very simple shelters of found materials. Gradually as the people get work …. and this seems not to be a big problem…they build a better “box” to live in. Gradually water, electricity, schools and public transportation arrives. At some point, after several years, the people are given ownership of the land where they are living which enables them to sell or stay. The people seemed proud of their homes with attractive, colorful paint everywhere and a picked up, well swept area around the home.



As you can imagine, there are lots of children in these areas. In the area that we visited the children looked clean, well kept and healthy. We saw no toys, but the children that were out and about (they were the younger ones, not yet in school) were making up games with found objects: sticks, stones, a bottle lid, etc. etc. And, they certainly seem to enjoy their friends. Later in the day we did see teenagers involved in a volley ball game in another part of the settlement.



We visited one take out “kitchen” where a lady cooks simple lunches for about 40 people each day. Most people are able to pay her something, but she doesn’t turn away people who are temporarily without money. One example of a need for her hot lunch is to feed school children whose mother and father are away at their jobs during the day. She relies somewhat on donations to keep the price low and our group had purchased several sacks of vegetables for her to use on another day.

This home site area certainly had a sobering effect on all of us. But it does seem that the Lima/Peruvian government has a handle on the problem to help the people become a productive part of the city.

PERU April 2010 #1 Lima



It was great to finally touch down in Lima. We felt it was an accomplishment since we had barely made it onto the plane in Newark. We had had a connecting delay when President Obama had landed in Charlotte, NC about the time we were supposed to leave to depart for Newark. But, after we relaxed a bit, we had enjoyed the flight, watching 3 movies (a new record), enjoying some decent food and smooth “sailing”.



We had signed up for 3 different Peruvian adventures with Overseas Adventure Travels: visiting Lima, boating on the Amazon River and seeing Cusco/Machu Picchu. For the first part in Lima, we were bedded down in the newer part of town, the Miraflores. It’s south-west border was the ocean where there is a beautiful beach which can be viewed from the parklands high above the water.



Our first morning was spent in the museum where we were introduced to the many ancient cultures of the Peruvian area. We saw a good sampling of their art, weavings, jewelry, some tools and examples of their daily life.



Next we headed to the main downtown square, Plaza de Armes, which has many beautiful old Spanish buildings and churches.. Most are a golden color, the color of royalty in the Spanish Colonial time. The crowd of people out strolling on the weekend was entertained with several military bands prancing around.



We “people” watched a while and then moved to the Iglesia de San Francisco, an old church famous for the bones of 75,000 people in its crypt. Since we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the “old” people, I’ll spare you that experience!! The church was considered “Lima Baroque” with lots of beautiful paintings, carved stone portals and wooden panels….and an attached monastery with an immense collection of old texts.



A great fish lunch venue gave us a view of the suburbs painted up the hillside. The houses look a little unstable, but since Lima receives almost no rain each year, there is not a problem with mudslides. The guide assured us that there were some roads up there, but I wouldn’t want to be the UPS or Fed Ex delivery person in that neighborhood.



A big surprise, right in the middle of the city, was a pre Incan ruin. The pyramid structures were built of mud bricks arranged in such a way to withstand earthquakes. It is thought to be a place of worship, but since there was no written language at that time, researchers are not for sure what the facility was used for.



Later on, we and a part of our OAT group (Don’s brother, Ray, and Laurie, his wife, and long time friends, Margaret and Uel) made our way from the hotel to some of the park area along the ridge above the beach. Many people were taking advantage of the grassy areas, strolling among the flowers and enjoying the many views….with a bit of art scattered here and there.



That evening we were entertained with some traditional folk dances and a buffet of traditional foods. We learned that night that there are quite different ways to prepare their many varieties of potatoes…some flavored with very hot spices that are enjoyed in this area.

More blog to come… http://redlodgehams.blogspot.com