After the Walking Tour, More Centro Histórico

 

Wedding bells were ringing for someone at the Cathedral of Lima

After the free walking tour of Lima's Centro Histórico, I was free to walk around the historic core of Lima on my own.

We left off the last post at the Parque de Muralla, the city park where part of the old city walls of Old Lima may be found. The free walking tour ended looking down on Francisco Pizzaro. Actually. Not metaphorically. So let's wander down and get a closer look at Mr. Pizarro, conqueror of the Inca Empire.

On a horse. Of course.  The men of heroic stature from the past have nearly always been depicted on horseback. On transportation. It makes you wonder if, a few hundred years from now, the heroes of today who are remembered in those future days will also be depicted on transportation. A motorcycle. Or a car. Of course the car would have to be a convertible. The popular hero riding in a convertible with the top down. That would work. Well, not for JFK. (Too soon? It's been over 60 years. If not now, when?)

Back to the Plaza Mayor.

The Government Palace of Peru would be interesting to tour. But it's not open for tours. It's sealed shut.

El Presidente is very unpopular, apparently. There was some civil unrest about a year ago, which has calmed down (for now). Not sure if the presidential unpopularity is the reason for the building being closed tight, but it would make sense if it was.

And on the Plaza Mayor is the Cathedral.

Pizzaro is in there. Let's have a visit.

But, first, a picture of a Limeno street dog outside the Cathedral.

There's always time for dog candids.

And here, right inside the Cathedral, is Mr. Pizzaro, conqueror of the Inca Empire:

This is his crypt. His remains are in there. You may detect a lack of respect for the Inca in my commentary here. And you would be right. Two quick reasons for this. One, the Inca were harsh to the people who they conquered, so their conquest by the Spaniards was the meting out of cosmic justice. Two, several thousand years of history in Peru prior to Spanish conquest and the Inca represented only a little more than 100 of those years. Yet in the western world we only know and care about the precious Inca. Not the Moche. Not Sipan and Sican. Not the Lima or the Nazca people. Inca this. Inca that. The Inca were, in a word, over-rated. Rant over.

Now, with Pizarro and the Inca off our minds, let's look at the rest of the Cathedral.

The interesting thing about this last one is that this is probably the most hispanic looking Jesus I have ever seen depicted.

Continuing ...

This is a series of nativity scenes:

There were catacombs underneath, which I did not photograph. Bones were exposed and I do not think it appropriate to take tourist photos of the deceased. Just a rule I live by. But there still was a whole lot of the cathedral that was appropriate for photography.

You could even climb up into the choir loft.

So what else is there in the Centro Histórico?

Lima's Centro Histórico is much more tourist-saturated than I expected. I had heard that tourists to Peru usually bypass Lima and head straight for Cusco and Machu Picchu, with maybe a day (at most) in Lima. But the area within a few blocks of Plaza Mayor has all the trappings of a typical tourist district, including restaurant barkers trying to get you to come in to eat the Peruvian food they are offering. There are even people in costumes posing for pictures for tips.

But you do not have to get far to be away from the tourist horde. Even if you are a contributor to said horde.

 

I was walking south, toward Plaza José de San Martín, when I got there, across from the plaza, was what I thought was an interesting-looking building.

Teatro Colón, across from Plaza José de San Martín.

There is a lot of interesting architecture in the Centro Histórico and the nearby areas. But it is not all colonial era architecture, which is what I was expecting, because the city has been destroyed so many times. It's a jumbled mix of architectural styles.

The Plaza José de San Martín is the final stop because all this walking around in the near-equatorial sun has me worn out. Temperatures are quite mild, despite the proximity to the equator, probably because of the cold Humboldt current that flows up from Antarctica to the coast of Peru. The Humboldt Current also is the reason why the Peruvian coast is the richest fishing grounds on Planet Earth.

José de San Martín is the true liberator and founder of Peru. Not Simon Bolivar. San Martín. He is the hero to Peruanos.

Probably right up there with the man who invented ceviche in the Peruvian pantheon.