Lima, briefly

Cathedral in Plaza de Armas, Lima
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We got to Lima at 11 p.m., and took an long cab ride to our pension in San Isidro, which is one of the ritziest parts of Lima. The pension, a very small boarding house we were sent to by friends, was located next to the rather diminutive embassy of Malta. We had the luck to arrive during Fiestas Patrias, so much of the city was closed.

On first impression, Lima didn't have much in the way of charm. Generally, the traffic was terrible and the manner of driving terrifying. I saw a combi, the name for the vans that run like private buses, smash into a wall. Driving through, Lima combines a lot of American commercialism with third-world poverty. There is a Chili's that looked like it dropped out of any suburban U.S. shopping center, and two blocks later there are rows of buildings with private security guards with machine guns. Many buildings and most of the nicer homes are hidden behind walls; the most draconian of these have shards of glass jabbing out of the concrete. Effective, I'm sure, but not very aesthetic.

This guard, outside the Palacio del Gobierno, didn't get the day off for Fiestas Patrias.
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After a short night of rest, we did as much touring as the national holidays would allow. While sitting in a taxi in the Plaza de Armas, we had the honor of being passed by President Alan Garcia's motorcade, on just his second day in office (well, for the second time, that is). The plaza is very nice, though if you've spent much time in Spain, it seems a bit second-rate.

It never rains in Lima, but its never sunny either. I think that's part of the reason why the city seemed so dreary to me. Much of Lima is a gray as its sky (the locals told me that it's overcast every day, all year long), and it lacks the bright colors that somehow make many poorer Latin American cities still seem cheery. Lima seemed to take itself too seriously, if a city could do that.

The San Francisco monastery in Lima boasts catacombs that hold the remains of about 20,000 people.
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We couldn't get into the Museo de la Nacion because it was closed, and we didn't feel like watching the six-hour military parade. Museo Larco Herrera was open, though, and it was fantastic (see review for lots of details and photos). We also went to the San Francisco monastery, which is worth the price of admission for its ghoulish catacombs. It is estimated that as many as 20,000 people are buried in the catacombs, and the tour includes piles and piles of bones (sorry, no creepy photos, pictures aren't allowed inside the complex). The bones of the poor were thrown into giant cisterns as the catacombs became more crowded. Worth the visit.

Overall, though, Lima probably isn't what you're looking for when you're planning a trip to Peru. No beautiful mountains, no charming traditional Andeans (though the Limeños were generally nice), no ruins. You wouldn't miss much by catching the next LAN flight to Cusco or Arequipa and skipping Lima altogether (sorry Lima).

Since Lima is home to the embassy, this seems like as good a place as any to dispense a travel tip. You know the little white slip of paper they give you when you enter the country through customs. Hold on to it. Whatever you do, don't lose it. I heard horror stories about people not being able to leave the country, then having to pay a couple hundred dollars at the U.S. embassy to get new exit documents. I didn't experience this, but I heard it enough times to believe it. Also, a lot of hotels will ask for it (along with your passport and a form) to photocopy. I'm not sure what they do with all of this, but I was sometimes vaguely told it is sent to Lima. Most everything regarding tourism (especially the money) seems to be sent to Lima and largely pilfered. People in the rest of the country speak of this with great disdain.