Callao was founded in 1537 and quickly became the main port
of Spanish commerce in the Pacific. The merchants suffered English raids from
Drake, Hawkins and others until the 1746 earthquake caused a massive wave that
completely destroyed the port. Callao is located six miles from the capital
city of Lima. The lemon colored Convento de San Francisco was built over a
century starting in 1673. The Plaza Mayor was laid out under the direction of
the conquistador Francisco Pizarro. The Cathedral of Lima was built starting in
1535. While it seems construction has never quite stopped, the church retains
its colonial façade. These structures and more form the historic center of
Lima, which UNESCO has collectively designates as a World Heritage Site. The
grand old buildings attest to Lima’s longtime role as one of the queen cities
of the Spanish empire. Today Lima is an economic power, a financial center and,
thanks to Spanish, Andean, and Asian influences, one of the gastronomic
capitals of the Americas.
Lima is the capital of Peru and there are over 10,000,000
inhabitants today. There major industry is mining (gold, silver and copper).
The Pacific Ocean here is only 45 degrees as it is fed by the Humboldt Current,
which comes from the Artic. There is no income tax in Peru, but they do have a
18% sales tax.
We arrived in port early in the morning as it apparently
takes a long time to clear the ship.
Today we took an all day tour in Lima that I had set up; and
it was successful. Tour buses cannot come into the port as it is a working port
and there are three sets of gates you need to go through to get to where our
tour bus was waiting. We had 19 on our tour.
On our way to Pachacamac, we saw most of the suburbs of
Lima. They were interesting if not a place where you might want to stay.
We drove down the South Pacific Coast Highway to Pachacamac,
the most important ceremonial center in the Peruvian coast during the pre-Inca
and Inca times. Pilgrims went to the large complex to pay homage to the creator
god Pachacamac. Pachacamac was considered the Lord of the Earthquake and was a
furious god. To make sure he was happy they sacrificed animals, dogs and
vegetables. They also showered him with gold and silver. Throughout the
centuries Pachacamac was occupied by many different Andean civilizations such
as the Lima’s, the Wari’s, the Ichma’s and finally the Inca Empire. However,
the Pachacamac Oracle always remained a religious center. We saw several
pyramidal temples and enclosures from the different time periods such as the
Adobitos Temple (I C. AD), the Old Temple (I C. AD) the Painted Temple (VIII C.
AD), a pyramid with a ramp (XIII C. AD) and the Temple of the Sun (XV C. AD).
Here is a picture of our guide, Carlos, and they whole tour
group.
We then drove back down to Miraflores along the Pacific
Ocean. It was cold in the water, but there were plenty of people in the water.
We had lunch at a traditional Peruvian Restaurant in
Miraflores called LaPanka. There we enjoyed a lunch that included potato balls
stuffed with meat, scallops, fish, tenderloin and for dessert, rice pudding,
cheese ice cream and a doughnut made with yams.
We continued our tour by visiting the modern suburbs of San
Isidro the San Isidro Golf Course and Olive Grove Park. In this area there were
also many embassies and very upscale housing.
Then we visited downtown Lima’s historical center,
designated by Unesco as Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1991. The next stop
was the San Francisco Monastery and Catacombs. There we were able to see the
underground crypts known as the Catacombs; however, you could not take any
pictures inside the Convent or the Catacombs.
From the convent we walked over to the Cathedral of Lima. Here
we saw what once was the center of the 16th century Spanish colony.
We saw the Plaza Mayor, the Presidential Palace, the City Hall and the
Desamparados Train Station, which is now the library.
It was built in the 1500’s but was not opened till 1672. They
had issues with the material they were using for the roof and it collapsed each
time. Then once they did open in 1668, they had a major earthquake and had to
restore it.
The Cathedral was located on the Plaza de Armes, which is
the town square. You will also see a picture of two friends that we made, Helen
and Diego from Sydney. Helen and I communicated before the cruise and have had
a good time with them and the others. They are pictured here.
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