Perú

We have arrived at the port of Callao, Peru, which is the commercial port for the City of Lima. No where near as busy as the port of Valparaiso, Chile and somewhat smaller. There appears to be some construction to extend one of the cargo loading docks so there is an expectation of growth. As the Sunset Seas is nestled into its dock by the tugs a welcome party of brown pelicans too numerous to count are flying about the jetties where they make their home. Quite a site when combined with the unrelenting screech of the other sea birds that live in the area too. Shortly after docking the ship is cleared and we are on our way to a five hour tour of the city.

Our narrator for the tour is Rubin, a handsome man in his 30’s with an interesting accent and very good English. He knows the city well and does an excellent job of pointing out the most important attractions along the way. We have several stops scheduled on this tour and it should be interesting. The first fact that Rubin shares with us is that the area receives very little rainfall during the year and is dependent on the water from rivers flowing from the Andes Mountains for all its water supply. Everything looks parched, except for the planted areas in the squares and along the roadways that must be watered almost daily to give some greenery to the area. The sidewalks and the building have a grimy appearance and look like they could all use a good wash.

The most apparent difference comparing Lima to Santiago is the style of construction for homes. Most are very small and many appear to be constructed by the owners rather than a construction company. This area is also earthquake prone and I would imagine that in the event of a severe shock many of the building will collapse. The most striking thing I noticed is that many of the buildings are incomplete. The tops of the square style houses are unfinished with “rebar” poking up like wild hairs. Building materials are stacked on the roof as though the project will be finished sometime in the undetermined future. We saw a similar situation while traveling in the Middle East. Rubin explained that the reason for the incomplete construction is taxation. Evidently no or low real estate taxes apply during the period of construction of a residential building, thus if you take forever to complete the construction you can defer forever the taxes that would otherwise apply if it were finished. Sounds like a great idea to avoid taxes, but it really looks like hell.

Our first stop in the city was The Plaza de Armas, beautiful square in the historic area surrounded by the Government Palace, a century’s old Lima Cathedral and other government buildings including Lima City Hall. Military and police guards armed to the teeth were very evident. A little cluster of police officers were off to one side of the city hall and they were standing behind their clear plastic crowd control shields. A beautiful fountain was the center piece of the Plaza and many colorful gardens of flowers made it very attractive.

The tour of the cathedral was magnificent. Unlike other cathedral's we’ve recently visited this was made of wood and was covered with stucco to make it look like limestone. It has succumbed to earthquakes several times in the past as was most recently restored about 40 years ago. A notable side altar for devotion is dedicated to the Patron Saint of Lima, “Rose.” I am never surprised by the amount wealth on display in these old churches and cathedrals. In some of the poorest countries in the world, untold amounts of gold, silver and precious gems are on display. The feature that captured my attention the most was a mosaic said to contain more than 5 million pieces of colored stone and tiles. A beautiful work of art depicting the abandonment of the mission by some of Francisco Pizarro’s men. He allowed them to return to other parts of South America rather than stay with him and earn a fortune. It turned out the Pizarro was right. Gold and silver had been mined and collected by the Inca Indians for centuries. Pizarro and the rest of his men overpowered the Inca’s and took the precious metals and jewels for themselves with much of it being.

Next stop on the tour was to visit Casa Aliagra, a former colonial mansion that is now a museum and open to the public. It is said to be the oldest mansion in the Western Hemisphere to be continually owned by the same family. The beauty of the woodwork in the house build in the 16th century is amazing. The craftsmen who constructed it were without question the best of their time. There was an atrium garden in the open courtyard in the center of the house which was beautiful. The wealth of some of the early settlers was extraordinary, no doubt some of the Inca’s stolen gold and silver put to use.

While we were visiting we were served a choice of cold beverages. Coca Cola, an international favorite, and Inka Cola, a local popular soft drink, that is sort of like a mild Mello Yellow.

We walked to see the San Francisco Monastery, a beautiful old building currently in the process of restoration. Significant use of tiles on the wall as an art form which was very interesting, the style was very crude and the artist’s hand did not display a lot of skill, but being more than 300 years old they certainly have stood the test of time.

We continued out tour toward the coast and drove through the residential districts of San Isidro and Miraflores. At first the style of the buildings, which were built in the 60’s and 70’s looked as though they were designed and constructed by the same builders who put up the ugly brown and grey apartment buildings of eastern Europe during the Communist era. It seems that they fired all the architects before they decided to build them. Serviceable no doubt, but absolutely awful to look at. The newer construction of the 1990s and later began to show some style and better use of glass and more modern materials. We arrived at a beautiful shopping center overlooking the Pacific Ocean, had a chance to walk around for a brief time and planned to come back the next day. We took the Ocean Highway road back to the ship, and had a terrific dinner on board in one of the special restaurants.