Lima - A nice city with a bit of history

Parque Central in Miraflores

I waited to post this until leaving, since the descriptions that I had heard of Lima were very different than what I was seeing. I had heard that Lima was just a city; that it was hot, dirty, dusty and very dangerous. The only thing correct about that to me seemed to be the city part. Lima does have a small historical center that is worth visiting. Aside from the historical center, it really is just a city, but I found it to be a pleasant city.

Lima is a huge city, so certainly I did not visit all parts, but I traveled quite a distance in different areas. I did see some dirty areas. For example, on a taxi ride, we turned down a street that apparently is used as a local trash dump. So there are some dirty areas. It is summer here. I found Lima to be surprisingly cool. In the day it was pleasant. At night, I needed some cover for sleep. I did not experience any issue with dust. I walked for quite a few miles around the city and I did not feel like I needed to be overly concerned about crime. Also, people were out at night, which does not happen in a lot of Latin American cities.

To me, Lima is a nice city. It has a lot of very nice areas. It has very good food. I would definitely return to Lima in the future.

Historical Center

Just like most other Latin American cities, Lima's historical center is a plaza (The Plaza de Armas) that has a major cathedral and government buildings on it.

Palace of the Governor

Cathedral of Lima

 The rock below is dedicated to Taulichusco, the last of the native leaders. Taulichusco and his men committed suicide rather accept than Christianity as their religion. Their religion worshipped the earth; hence the rock as a tribute.

Rock dedicated to Taulichusco, the last of the native leaders

San Francisco Cathedral has an interesting history. At some point, people concerned about their prospects in the after life asked to be buried underneath the cathedral with the hopes that being buried there would bless them in their future journey. So many had such concerns that they excavated catacombs. Given the large numbers they also organized the bones. So they stacked femurs together, skulls together, etc. Hopefully, there is no contigous skeleton requirement for the after life.

San Francisco Cathedral

Other Parts of Lima

It is hazy in Lima as demonstrated by the two picture below taken from Larco Mar, essentially a mall overlooking the ocean. I went to Larco Mar to find ceviche a traditional Peruvian sea food dish. I found Tony Romas, TGIFridays, some nice Italian. I did not find ceviche. Notice also that the water did not look too appealing.

Larco Mar view south

Larco Mar view north

There was significant activity on the street at night. I view this as an indicator of security. People do not go out at night in areas of high crime (at least that is my theory).

Miraflores at night