Lima: Sensory Overload

         Forty-eight hours ago, the flight carrying myself and my H2Passport classmates landed in Lima, Peru.  In the time since, I’ve visited three museums, participated in two city walking tours, given an on-site architecture history speech to our class, and eaten a lot of chicken and potatoes.  I’ve slept very little, but I’ve learned a whole lot!  Our group leaves for Arequipa early tomorrow morning, but I wanted to take some time here to briefly detail a few of the sites and sounds we have experienced so far.

        Our Lima experience began in Callao, Lima’s port city, at the fort of Real Felipe.  The fort, which currently serves a dual function as both an active military establishment and a museum, offered a unique conglomeration of historical exhibits. The topics covered ranged from the Peruvian independence movement to a Pacific war with Chile and a different conflict with Ecuador.  The fort also offered an excellent view of the port at Callao. 

The port of Callao viewed from Fort Felipe Real

        Upon leaving the fort, we took an approximately two-hour walking tour through the historic center of Callao and out to la Punta (the point), a small peninsula that protrudes from the mainland into the Pacific.  I really enjoyed our walk from the fort to the end of the peninsula (probably a 1.5 mile trek) because we started off in a lower class neighborhood, but quickly transitioned to a well-kept upper-classer area where Peruvian navy captains live.  The contrast in infrastructure between the two neighborhoods - namely in the quality of the buildings - was really quite astonishing.  Even more astonishing than the contrast between the neighborhoods, however, is the fact that a large network of neighborhoods even exists in Callao today.  The port was completely destroyed by an earthquake-Tsunami in 1746, and has suffered much damage in subsequent quakes as well.

                Following our walking tour, we went to Museo Larco, which housed a collection of ancient Andean pottery, weaponry, ceremonial adornments, and quipu.  I enjoyed the gardens of this museum almost as much as the art itself, however, as our group rested on a lush green lawn surrounded by tropical flora for about a half hour before entering the museum.  The weather was nice yesterday – cloudy, but very warm.  Unfortunately, most of our group suffered a sunburn despite the clouds.  I, for one, will be lathering on the sunscreen every morning from here on out!

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                I woke up this morning after our first full day feeling both nervous and excited.  I was nervous because I was the first student of the day to present an on-site speech, but everything turned out just fine. As part of our H2Passport curriculum, each of us is required to present a 10-15 minute speech over a specific aspect or structure of the historical landscape in Peru.  My topic of choice was the high Baroque basilica of San Francisco de Lima.  

        My presentation focused on the quincha building material - a pliable wood-rush and plaster conglomerate - which was used to help make San Francisco de Lima earthquake resistant upon its reconstruction in the mid-17th century.  While standing beneath the main facade, I also discussed the difficulties in deciphering colonial architectural style - namely multiple earthquakes and multiple architects - based on existing historical documentation.

San Francisco de Lima near Lima's historic center.  

        Following my presentation at San Francisco de Lima and a very interesting tour of the catacombs beneath the structure, our group took another walking tour - this time in Lima's historic center.  We visited other interesting churches - including Dominican and Augustinian order structures.  The most interesting aspect of this tour for me, though, was a glimpse of one tenement housing settlement in downtown Peru.  The settlement did not have running water and was quite run-down, which I found a little bit disheartening, especially  considering that later on today our group attended an impressively choreographed water-fountain light show set to music in one of Lima's central parks.  Just as the stark contrast between the impoverished and the upper-class neighborhoods at La Punta stood out to me yesterday, the contrast between tenement housing without running water and an upscale show where water was used as a form of entertainment was striking.  

Clotheslines hang above tenement housing establishment in downtown Lima

        We wrapped up our afternoon today with a visit to Museo Mali, where we saw paintings of both the Cuzco school and the Costumbrismo style.  These pieces are particularly interesting because they provide historians with a set of tools to analyze the perceived position in society and the church for native Andeans living in the colonial era.  

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        I have barely scratched the surface here in describing our first two days, but I must end here due to an early-morning flight to Arequipa!  

        Thank you very much for reading!  I will be posting more in the next few days, and I hope to include more details about Peruvian food, and the aspects of Peruvian culture - both colonial and modern - that clash with our western historical perspective.

        —Brock 

            4 Jan 2017