A day in Lima

Warm, a hazy sun, very dusty and heavy smog, and the streets filled with honking traffic which winds its way amonst itself in a good natured way. It seems to me that honking is just common practice and reminds me much of Rome. The same smell in the air too - that hot, dusty, dry and smoky smell.
I am staying in the old part of Lima - lots of really fine colonial architecture, enormous church with overblown rococo decoration and what seems to me an overload of Christs on Crosses in agony. Also numerous nativity scenes - more than one in two churches I looked in.
The two main squares at Plaza Mayor which has the Presidential Palace at the north side and cathedral and archbishop´s palace to the east, and Plaza San Martin. Both are surrounded by large grand classical buildings.
Vulture like birds soar in the air. The river Rio Rica is a filthy ditch with a dribble of water and these vultures hopping about in the shallows.
I spent a happy day wandering about. The Limanese are quite short so it makes a change to be able to look over them to watch the mid-day changing of the guard outside the President´s Palace, and then a procession of Three Wise Men on horseback accompanied by a small mounted band. Of course - today is 6 Jan and the Feast of the Epiphany. These people take this seriously with public display.
I had a typical lunch of Cerveche (raw fish, soup and squid rings) - quite good but a bit strong on the chillies.
The streets are busy most of the time and especially in the evenings - very Italian like the evening passagiata. The main squares are thronged - the Plaza Mayor alight with various shapes in many colours.
I went to a wonderful exhibition at the Reserve Bank of Peru of indigenous art and artefacts - some of the pottery dates back to 500BC and rivals anything found in the west or middle east. And the gold, silver and copper stuff is truly magnificent.
Tomorrow the tour begins so I will not be reporting again until after Macchu Pichu.
I like Lima except for the pollution ....
Photos here : http://picasaweb.google.com/Stephen.Couling/Lima?feat=directlink