Lima Sights
In the afternoon, we returned to the city to see colonial and modern Lima, including the Palacio de Gobierno, Plaza de Armas, and the Cathedral. Colorfully uniformed solidiers with shiny helmets stood guard at Palacio de Gobierno, the seat of the President of Peru. I especially recall Pizzaro's tomb in the Cathedral. His full remains could clearly be viewed through a window in the tomb, though I'm told they no longer are on public display.
The Torre Tagle Palace, a colonial strucutre dating from 1745 featured an elegant courtyard. There was also a musuem of colonial artifacts, including a very large and elegantly decorated coach. The guide was focused on the potty seat built into the coach, however. He delighted in taking off the seat cushion and showing it off. "Like the Greyhound!" he announced.
Although we saw many impressive sights in Lima, poverty was very much in evidence. A strking sight just off a residential area was a hill, adjacent to San Cristobal Hill, encircled half way up by shacks built of found materials. When I saw it again some years later, the barriada had greatly expanded, taking over more of the hill.
