easter on the plaza

Our bus from Trujillo pulled into the Lima station at 7 a.m. We were exhausted from the 8-hour ride. Even so, time was precious. Mimi, Carlos's mom, is visiting Peru. We wanted to show her all the important sites and decided on the Plaza de Armas.

(Lima, contrary to its reputation, has many hidden and exposed gems. It is worth visiting Lima for a few days if only to have room in your tummy to try all the fantastic food and first-rate restaurants.)

We took a bus from Miraflores to Central Lima and walked to the Plaza de Armas. Central Lima is dirty, crowded, and noisy. The major throughway, Abancay, is filled with black exhaust from taxis, jitneys, and buses. Rude, ear-piercing honks penetrate the airspace. Oblivious tourists and plodding pedestrians clog the sidewalks. Lights seem to take forever to change.

The stroll to the Plaza de Armas took us past majestic edifices that recalled Lima's past stature as the capital of South America. (Well, sort of. Lima was the center of colonial Spain's South American export ventures, mostly in pillaged gold and other cultural artifacts.) Underneath the grime and past the emaciated beggars, I imagined that Lima's past splendor could be today's reality. Oh well.

Once we reached the Plaza, the din from Abancay died and the air was filled with the soothing murmur of lovers, click of cameras, and woosh of car tires. The Cathedral of Lima was closed, on Easter Sunday of all days, but the small adjacent chapel was open for services.

We admired the intricately carved balconies and exquisite facades of the church and presidential palace. Though, according to the Lonely Planet guidebook, not one original building remains in the Plaza de Armas from its initial founding due to successive earthquakes.

It was already 3 p.m. before we stopped to eat lunch. We started with pisco sours and causa limeña (mashed potatoes layered with crab meat and avocado in this case, but can be filled with chicken, vegetables, fish, or shrimp). I ordered ravioli, Mimi tried lomito with anticucho sauce (filet cut with beef heart sauce), Bello got a pork thing, and Carlos chose the classic lomo saltado (filet cubes sautéed with onions and tomatoes and served with rice and french fries).


By the time we returned to the Plaza, a crowd had gathered in front of the presidential palace. Inside the gates, a navy band played traditional Peruvian ditties. Eventually, they came out of the gates, marched across the Plaza, lined up in front of the Cathedral, and played for another half hour while uniformed men with rifles joined them and did fancy things with their feet and rifles.

We went home after that.