NEw City, New Sights

I was throughly excited to be in Peru and explore this city I’d always known of, but never thought I’d visit anytime soon. I’m sure I’ll go into more detail in my post about Miraflores and Barranco (coming soon) as that is the region/neighborhood I stayed in to begin my South American journey, but I surprised myself with this trip to Peru.

The short version is that I wanted to travel to South America in 2017, but wasn’t really planning it or taking it seriously until one day I started opening tabs on Google Chrome, doing research about things to do and see in Peru. Two days later, I booked the ticket.

After a short taxi ride, I started to walk the streets of Lima. My first stop, for good reason, was Park of the Reserve. On the way, an old, out of commision gas station caught my eye:

Park of the Reserve

As I just mentioned, my first stop was Park of the Reserve. It was constructed between 1926 and 1929 and named in honor of the last soldiers who fought in the Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos, and the Battle of Miraflores (thanks Wikipedia). This location was of significance to me because they hold a nightly water and light show on the grounds of the park. It’s a photographer’s dream. A link is at the end of this post, but if you’d like to see those images, click here: Park of the Reserve.

Just outside of the Park grounds a common site of the Peruvian streets appeared. It was a dog, which I assumed was a stray despite the clothing, and he was just taking it easy:

Once inside the Park, I simply enjoyed the park’s many sculptures and it’s overall layout by French architect, Claude Sahut, who also designed a few structures I would later seen in the day (below):

I felt like I was practicing. I was getting in a few shots of the place I would return to by nightfall.

It’s always about statues. I’ll forever be fascinated with them. Here in Park of the Reserve, a great one of Peru’s fourth president, Antonio José de Sucre, immediately catches the eye:

heading west

Once leaving Park of the Reserve, strolling along Av. Petit Thouars , I inevitably hit another open space, which was a nice feature in this part of Lima. Park Cervantes introduced me to another great statue. It was of Abel-Nicolas Bergasse Dupetit Thouars (the avenue’s namesake), an Admiral in the French Navy during the 1800’s. Apparently he was a hero to/in Peru, but my quick research online did not tell me why or how. The statue’s expression of gift and reception caught my eye. Both heartwarming and staunch appearance:

Heading across the street, west from Parque Cervantes, I saw a statue of a face I recognized. In Lima there is a park to honor George Washington":

From Parque Washington, I spotted one of my favorite views of the day. The Centro Cultural de España has a west facing wall that apparently is open for artistic interpretation and is painted continously. I use Google Maps to retrace my travel steps (this blog post is coming to you almost two years later in May of 2019) and when using street view to relocate this building, this wall is painted with something entirely different. I liked the shapes and lines present during my visit:

I continued to wander the street with my ultimate destination being Plaza Mayor. I enjoyed the relatively long walk, capturing things that caught my eye along the way:

El Campo de Marte

Along the way, I stepped into the park , El Campo de Marte, which was formally a racetrack in the 1930’s, but has since become one of Lima’s most prominent park spaces. It houses an allegorical statue depicting the war fought between Peru and Ecuador in 1942. Of course I captured every angle possible:

My walk continued towards Plaza Mayor and took me past many more interesting moments and views of local culture:

Again, a recurring, unmissable site throughout Peru were stray animals. While walking the streets this day I came across a few cats…

…and even some wild turkeys:

Paseo de la Republica

I eventually hit Ave. Paseo de la Republica, which was a hub of energy and interaction. Along the way was Lima’s Museum of Italian Art as well as the Palace of Justice:

At the end of Ave. Paseo de la Republic sat a gorgeous building known as the Rimac Building or the Roosevelt House. What’s inside you ask? An insurance company. (I found the same phenomenon true in Barcelona, sometimes the most wonderful architecture on the outside holds something so everyday and mundane inside. Go figure.)

The Palace of Justice:

Continuing down a small street, Jiron de la Union, I found myself behind this lady carrying her load of unknown wares:

I was entering Plaza San Martín, and more great moments of locals began to appear. I was ready to capture it all…sort of.

Great street photography takes guts. You have to be ready to be refused by people or to upset people by trying to get a great shot of them. I don’t have the guts just yet to risk angering others in the name of art, so I go for the sneaky approach. I will often try to get shots while just holding the camera by my side with one hand. My aim is getting better over the years, but could still improve. This one features a dad and daughter? Older brother, younger sister? Either way I was able to get them, blurry, tucked into the side of the frame, waiting for something before school began:

Plaza San Martín

My next stop brought me to another World Heritage Site, Plaza San Martín, named for José de San Martín, an essential General in the fight for South America’s independence from Peru, and the country’s first President. At the time, his title was “Protector of Peru.” That sounds like a much cooler title for a President.

There was very little to complain about while being surrounded by Spanish Colonial Revival details and facades:

The centerpiece of the Plaza was of course a grand statue of it’s namesake, José de San Martín:

Sunshine begins

Just as I left Plaza San Martín, a miracle occurred and the sun came out. Thankful. Just in time to view and photograph the structures of Plaza Mayor:

Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Merced

I’m not a traveling expert by any means, but I’m getting better. To be honest, I use Google to find the best things to do and see in a foreign place. One location that was highlighted on Google Trips was the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Merced. The Roman Catholic church founded in the 1500’s boasted an ornate exterior that was captivating from first glance. This style of facade is known as Liman Churrigueresque, a Spanish Baroque architectural style of the 17th century (thanks again Wikipedia):

The interior of the church, which has undergone several restorations due to earthquakes, was just as captivating:

Plaza Mayor + Cathedral de Lima

After rounding a few more corners, I finally arrived at my destination, Plaza Mayor. The first thing that catches your eye is the Lima Cathedral, a beautiful centerpiece fountain, and the vivid color:

After soaking in the ambiance of the entire plaza, I naturally turned my focus to the exterior of the Lima Cathedral. I can never spend enough time staring at Roman Catholic exteriors and sculptures. This facade had a wonderful depiction of Christ with arms open, welcoming. I loved it, as I am a big fan of Jesus. He did and does good work:

Sitting to the left of the Cathedral (in the image below) is the Archbishop’s Palace, also designed by architect, Claude Sahut who I mentioned way at the beginning of this post. Again, he was the designer of the Park of the Reserve. Gotta love that woodwork:

One of those precious people watching moments…

…and dog watching moments:

These following two images are a head-scratcher. I’ve looked all around in street view on Google Maps to see what facade of what building these images belong to, but cannot find it. It is probably one of the facades of the Governmental Palace based on context, but I still can’t place it. Oh well, beautiful nonetheless:

Speak of, here is the Governmental Palace (another design by Claude Sahut). Where the President of Peru lives:

A quick look inside the arcade of the Casa de Correos y Telegrafos, which is the central post office of Lima. Within the arcade, obviously, is a very cool marketplace worth strolling through:

The severely dried up Rimac River with the Rayitos Sol Bridge:

On my way towards Convento Santo Domingo, I saw a street band perform. Between here in Peru or New Orleans, it’s always a treat to see live music on the streets:

Convento de San Francisco

Again, thanks to Google Trips, I had a few sites on my list to visit one of which was the Convento de San Francisco (another World Heritage Site). How could you not love the golden Spanish Baroque exterior?

The best moments in life are free (minus the cost of some bird seeds):

I’ll end with these two. This view could be better seen from the bell tower of the Convento Santo Domingo, but still great from the ground. A hillside in the distance with colorful houses, resembling something a child would create with building blocks:

Excellent day in a new place. Great memories.

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