Lima - a whirlwind tour
Trip Start
Sep 13, 2004
1
3
82
Trip End
May 06, 2005
Lima,
Peru
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
My one-off taxi yesterday is turning into a trend: count of taxis taken now up by 100% to 2. The buses (micros) stop anywhere, a man leans out and shouts out where it´s going, people bundle on and it shoots off again, weaving in amongst the rest of the traffic. Not good if where you´re going isn´t in his list of 3 or 4 places and you´re not sure if they´re anywhere near where you want to go or not.
Having done my tour of the excellent Museo de la Nacion (pre Spanish invasion civilisations) I once again abandoned the bus idea and walked the few blocks along a road not unlike the north circular to the bus staion to buy my ticket to Huaraz for tomorrow. A small victory: with a little assistance I finally managed to grab the bus I wanted back to Miraflores. The traffic works because everyone is doing the same: the left hand lane is for turning right, the only way to cross a road is to push into it and look suitably invincible (this applies equally to pedestrians); but everyone is expecting it so it all hangs together somehow. And amongst the madness there seems to be a strict adherence to the law requiring seatbelts to be worn.
By Wednesday I´ve got it sorted: one meaningful look (or should that be quizzical?), the right micro stops and I´m speeding towards downtown Lima. Along the way there are lots of people with clipboards doing a mighty fine job of filling pages with little marks.
Museo de la Nacion
Geography field work? Consultants? My guide later reckons they report to the micro owners on how many of their micros are going past. They are paid 0.10 soles a time by the ´conductor´, approximately 2p.On arrival at the Plaza Mayor, or Plaza de Armas, there is a large scale police presence for a small scale protestor one. Police with riot shields are standing at the entrances to the plaza but wave me through with a smile and a buenos dias. The changing of the guard is at 11:45 so I go off for a wander. When I return I start to cough but put it down at first to the concentration of traffic fumes being higher than usual. Then a policeman tells me to stand back for a while because of the gas, and it turns out I´ve just missed the dispersal of the protestors. A crocodile of schoolkids crosses the road not looking at all concerned. After 4 years in power Toledo is not popular, I am told that the gap between rich and poor is widening and it turns out this is a pretty regular occurrence. At the changing of the guards the tourists and schoolkids are allowed back to the gates for a better view, it being deemed unlikely that either group will handcuff themselves there.
I agree to hire a guide to take me round, and if anyone is here and meets Luis on the steps of the cathedral I recommend him. Being on my own it made me feel safer and I saw much more than I would otherwise have fitted into a day: Chinatown, the mercado central (with live turkeys - the meat here really is fresh!), the museo de la inquisicion, various public buildings and churches, and more than anything experienced the hustle and bustle of the streets. There was a further demonstration outside the congress building. Luis explained that I was perfectly safe since anyone harming a Peruvian can go to prison for 5 years, but this is extended to 8 years if it´s a tourist. To finish the tour a trip up to the Cerro San Cristobal, a cross on top of a hill towering over Lima. The views were spectacular, even with the mist that is common at this time of year. Luis did this bit for free, which suggests I should have haggled a lot harder.
Must dash, off to Huaraz this evening...
*Later estimated at a more conservative 5-6 million.
