On the road to somewhere: Lima - my entry point to the Peruvian adventure

It was a short flight from Ecuador into Peru. Lima was my first stop before I headed to Cusco and a tour of the Inca culture. Lima is a city of some 9 million people. Traffic congestion is everywhere....as one could imagine. Upon arrival at my hotel I checked in and set about on a tour of the city.

I was picked up at the hotel and shuttled to a park area with about 7 other buses....I was directed to the bus where English would be spoken on the tour. Little did I know that there were only 2 passengers on the bus - well make that 3 with the guide - who spoke English. The other 14 or so spoke Spanish....I knew I was in trouble. A lot was lost in the translation I am sure...since the Spanish descriptions were about 2 to 3 minutes in duration and the English less that 30 seconds.

This then is Lima...in English!! First photo stop was the historic ruins of the Pucllana and their temple. The area was being restored so there was limited views of the ruins which date back to 500AD.

These ruins are located in the Miraflores district of Lima. This area contains many fine homes and many condo buildings...a look at some of these homes....

It was not a "home tour"...I realized that when we arrived in a square containing government and museum buildings...

This art museum caught my eye with paintings revealed on the outside walls of the structure....

These are the outside windows of what is considered the oldest residence in the Americas. It was built shortly after Francisco Pizarro founded Lima in the mid 1500's....

A short distance away is the former Central Reserve Bank of Peru....now used as a museum of Peruvian artifacts but still retaining some of its "bank" decor....

The artifacts were a mixture of those recovered from ruins as well as pieces depicting the culture of the Peruvian and Inca culture. This piece was the most interesting to me. It was used to provide not only census of the city....but also to determine tax payments that were paid and received. It involved moving up and down the various strips of yarn...the colors of the yarn depicting the various amounts and type of count that was made. It was indicated that only 2 people in each village knew the system and it was passed down in their culture.

...well let sleeping dogs - sheep lie.....as this sculpture in the museum seems to indicate...

Next up...the Church of San Francisco....what a bummer...no pictures on the inside!! This was most disappointing since this church is most famous (well not only for all the pigeons) but for the catacombs which contain the bones of some 75,000. I can tell you it was quite a sight....they are buried in various open pits that are several feet deep....sorry I could not photograph any of that. But here is the Church...constructed in the baroque style of the 1600's....

Opps....I forgot there were no pictures...:)....well they caught me....

Then the Government Palace and the changing of the guard. The Palace is the home for the President of Peru. Each day at Noon the changing of the guard occurs...It began with the band playing and marching in review....

The troops then enter the Palace square - a square that is fenced in and well guarded...
these troops exhibit a number of high kicks and march steps (including a side step seen in this first photo)

the kick....

Now...one would think...that they would parade out on the street...much like in Athens for the changing of the guard...or in London at the Palace....and with this police presence as seen here....it never happened...