You’re Drunk!

November 3, 2008

Today we went on the city tour. We got on a bus around 9 that Jade thought said Peru Invasion and was thrilled to find everyone on the bus looked like foreigners

. We have discovered that here ironically Jade and I blend in much more than Kelly a

nd Earl. Unlike in Uruguay ,Argentina and even Brazil almost all of the native Peruvians are mestizo which means they are mixed with a little of everything making them all caramel. We were in the park today and Earl was standing by a bench and had man came by and looked at him and then simply stated in a very loud voice "gringo" then continued on.

The first thing we visited on the tour was the Plaza San Martín. It was Inaugurated in 1921, at its center is a large monument to the South American liberator, José de San Martín. NOT JOSE ARTIGAS, although ironically he was from Argentina and was later exiled. We then walked to Lima's grand Plaza de Armas (also called the Plaza Mayor, or Main Square), the original center of the city and the site where Francisco Pizarro founded the city in 1535, The disastrous 1746 earthquake that initiated the city's decline leveled most of the 16th- and 17th-century buildings in the old center. The plaza has witnessed everything from bullfights to Inquisition-related executions. The oldest surviving element of the square is the central bronze fountain, which dates from 1651.

The major palaces and cathedral are a pale yellow stained from the smog and dust. On the north side of the square is the early-20th-century Palacio del Gobierno (Presidential Palace), where a changing of the guard takes place daily at noon. We were able to see part of the process begin around 11:20. They had about 5 horsemen ride by playing a tune on the trumpet. We saw La Catedral rebuilt after the earthquake, making it by far the oldest building on the square, and, next to the cathedral, the Palacio Episcopal (Archbishop's Palace), which had an extraordinary wooden balcony in the Spanish style. Its not typically what I would think of as a balcony it looks like a giant wooden box sticking out from the window with amazing and intricate designs. After that we went about a block north of the Plaza de Armas, behind the Presidential Palace, to the Río Rímac and a 17th-century Roman-style bridge, the Puente de Piedra (literally, "stone bridge").

It leads to the once-fashionable Rímac district. Above the district you can see a mountain with colorful houses which reminded me a lot of La Boca in Argentina; unfortunately it is one of the most destitute areas. At the top of the mountain was a cross and the Peruvian flag.

We also visited several churches. This was one of the most interesting parts of the entire tour. The churches were more elaborate than anything I could imagine. We visited several different branches of the Catholic Church. The Franciscan Monastery was by far the most interesting. Below the Monastery were bones from over 25,000 people. These catacombs are still being catalogued.

We also visited a Dominican Church where its patron was the first black saint St. Martin. He is incredibly popular throughout Latin America and Peru. It is also notable to mention that the only people of African descent I had seen thus far were at the church and most were nuns or priest.

We then made our small nostalgic trek back to America by hitting up Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and Dunkin Donuts.

Later that night we went and got some Mexican food at a restaurant called Si Senor's. The food was average but the atmosphere was fun and lively. The highlight of the night was when Earl danced to Gangster's Paradise.

Notable Mentions:

Jade was negatively called "Cheena" ( there pronunciation of Chinese) several times

Kelly got a butt rub and several cat calls

Earl got several stares

I had a man begin clapping when he saw me and then begged me to be the color in his life and then despaired when I refused to speak…calling me his love…he was about 50…yep Good Times

PS. No one was drunk it's an inside joke (mom and dad)