A few years back Carla and I took an Elderhostel in Peru and while I wrote several articles about Machu Picchu and Chan Chan I never got around to writing about our stay in their capital city, Lima. Going over my journal and reminding myself of the wealth of interesting sites there, I believe that was a serious omission.
Lima was started in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Pizzaro who is seen by present day Peruvians as a villain because of his brutality to the original peoples and ravenous manner in which he let nothing stand in the way of pillaging the wealth of the Inca Empire.
Lima grew quickly in the 20th century and half of its 8 million people live in shanty towns. While some newcomers came looking for opportunities to find a better life, many came to avoid the brutality of the Shining Path. Shining Path was a terrorist group that used violence to polarize people and in the process forced many people to flee from their homes in the villages into Lima.
When we were there terrorism had been virtually wiped out as a threat. The viciousness of Shining Path, which had villagers fleeing into Lima for protection, caused families to become separated. This left many children on the loose that for survival formed gangs of 10 to 12 members called Piranhas. They made walking in many if not most parts of Lima dangerous. These gangs of preadolescent children would knock their victims down and strip them of all their bodily possessions. This includes glasses, watches, and shoes. Because they didn’t usually attack people who are moving in groups we were admonished to always walk with a number of other people.
In addition we were warned that in a crowd our watch could be ripped off, or the bottom of our backpack slit open. It was recommended that when we went on the streets we take off all jewelry, watches, fanny packs and if you were a man keep your wallet in a front pocket with a handkerchief over it. I had received similar advice in other cities including Karachi and Nairobi.
Downtown Lima, Peru from our hotel room.
When terrorists were active a few years back many people who could afford it built fences, steel gates, electric fences and walls to protect themselves against attacks. It cost so much to remove them so these security items were left in place.
Despite the above precautions we found the city easy to get around in and nobody in our Elderhostel group suffered from any crime.
Among the interesting sights in Lima is the National Museum of Peru. The National Museum is a large concrete and glass monolith built in the late USSR ugly style. It had been the Ministry of Fisheries at the time that business was nationalized. Since the fish business proceeded to go under when placed under government control and no other ministry wanted the building, it was revamped into Lima's Cultural Center and includes the symphony and ballet. The museum displays trace the complete history of Peru's different cultures in artifacts and you can see the ebb and flow of civilization. Separate development of villages and towns and then centralized governmental rule which breaks down and then more separate community
development then centralized rule, etc.
The information cards keep stressing how advanced Peruvian culture was in contrast to every where else in the world. After going through the museum a Peruvian won't lack pride in his ancestors. The museum was packed with families, school kids and others all of whom were creating much din.
The National Museum of Peru
When we left a long line, was waiting to get into the La Dama Del Ampato exhibition. She is a 14 year old girl who had been scarified by the Incas and whose frozen body, almost perfectly preserved, had been knocked lose from its place in the mountains by a volcano in 1995 which melded the ice surrounding her. Juanita, the name they gave her because she was found by a man named John, had been trained to be sacrificed and felt it was an honor to be chosen. She ate only vegetables the five days before she died, drank a mixture of coca and crista before she was killed with a sharp blow to the head.
La Dama Del Ampato
Waiting in line to view the body were many women in identical attractive outfits. It seems that to cut costs for workers that the companies provide uniforms at cost so different expensive clothes are not needed. Checking the Internet I find that the Lady of Ampato is now displayed on the premises of the Catholic University of Arequipa and is a major attraction of that city.
The main square in Lima, Peru is active, day and night.
