Wednesday, December 06, 2006

The Modern Capital of Peru: Lima

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Thursday we boarded a flight in the morning from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital, back to the modern capital of Peru, Lima. We found a kosher deli in a part town where most of the embassy’s are located, Then we came to our hotel, which is in the middle of Flores, which first of all, is a very pretty part of town. It’s right on the coast. Our hotel overlooks the eastern cliffs.

 

Juarez is one of the beautiful neighborhoods of the presidential neighborhoods in Peru that’s were we stayed from there we went to Lu Pacra which was build in 1995 on Valentine’s day. I have some pictures of that.  All around, there’s this park which sits on the Pacific Ocean.  

 

From there we took a tour of Peru. We saw ancient adobe quick alters from a giant pyramid made by pre Inca civilizations coming back to the 2^nd century A.D., and then after that we came to Old Lima founded by Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador, in 1532. The city square is called Plaza Mayor.  At the presidential palace, we saw the changing of the guard.  I took a video of it that you can watch.  We saw the bishop’s palace, Convento de San Fransico, which dates 1546.  Inside you have catacombs with 50,000 skeletons and you walk by and bones are manipulated into giant heaps and I mean giant collections of bones.  Then you come to the skulls, and I really couldn’t handle it. I’ve never been so close to thousands of skulls looking at me, and I really thought I was going to vomit at any moment. I just couldn’t take it. 

 

We also went to the The Museum Of Inquisition where they really had an inquisition in Peru in the catholic church, and it’s just haunting to go there because even to this 500 year old dungeon you see the torturous things sicked on people and the most inhuman and grotesque torturous. To make it even more haunting there’s 500 year old walls that has graffiti from people who were in prison there. And you see the actual graffiti. Yeah you see the actual graffiti of the people that were being condemned.

 

We saw the Parliament, which is called a Congresso. What’s interesting is that all these government buildings, presidential palaces, parliament there are tons of police in riot gear and then they have these giant water tanks, water cannons, to disperse any kind of demonstrations. It all gets you thinking.

 

Dictated from Peru and unchecked prior to being posted on-line.  Please excuse any errors or omissions.