LIMA PERU 2012 BLOG #4

LIMA PERU 2012 BLOG #4
Imagine getting ready for a Sunday drive. You get the kids in the car, load in the picnic lunch(there aren’t many McDonalds outside of Lima) and the fishing rods (just in case you pass a promising looking stream or lake) and then you get the tank of oxygen and place it conveniently where all in the car can reach it. This is real life according to an account shared with a new Peruvian friend. Less than two hours east of Lima the road climbs from sea level to over 12,000 feet and even the locals admit to having problems with altitude sickness. The sudden change of altitude does strange things to most of us and the tank of oxygen is the most effective means of saving the day. I recall our recent trip to Macho Pichu w here we found “oxy-shots” available at the airport and at our hotel.
Not many of the nine million residents of Lima would make such a trip. As a matter of fact, there’s not much to be seen or do if you do make the drive. There’s plenty to do in town and if you’re a Lima resident you’re too spoiled by the weather to chance getting cold for nothing. Limans are used to two seasons; summer and winter. Since Lima is situated in the desert (Lima is the second largest desert city in the world. Do you know the largest?) , one would expect high temperatures in the summer. Actually, summer temperatures range between a high of 89 and a low of 69. Winter on the other hand is wet. Locals complain about the constant “rain” although no one owns an umbrella or a raincoat. The “rain” consists of an almost constant fog that locals call a drizzle. Now that sounds pretty wet but in actual measures the drizzle amounts to an annual average of 2.4 inches. And oh yes, the winters are “cold”. The daily highs and lows are about ten degrees lower than summer readings.
By the way, L:ima is the fourth largest city in South America. Can you name the other three. If you you add Mexico City, Lima is the fifth largets city in Latin America.
Lima, and this part of the world, has a long history of devastating earthquakes. Historical accounts list some major quakes that “leveled” the city on several occasions. One local friend told me that “…we know that every four years there will be an earthquake” with a certainty that made me a believer. The city center has many buildings that appeared to be built in the middle to late nineteenth century suggesting that something big must have happened th. No one tell me what happened and all seemed not to care. The hospital where we are working is one such building. It is old and not in good repair but it does provide the primary source of health care for poor people in the area. Several modern hospitals exist where services are available for those who can afford it. Patients in “our” hospital spend the night in open wards with forty or more beds side by side
While I was impressed by the number of cars on the streets, I was surprised not to see a parking lot for patients’ cars at the hospital. I was told that most who are served by the state operated hospital don’t own cars. Some of our patients came from homes that were hundreds of miles from Lima; usually by bus
Archeological studies indicate that the Lima area was inhabited as early as 14,000 BC. On Sunday I visited an archeological site that once was a city built of mud bricks dated somewhere around the 5th or 6th century. Spanish explorer Francisco Pizzaro sailed into Callao Bay in 1535 and named what was the beginning of Lima “La Ciudad de los Reyes”, the city of kings. Pizarro immediately defeated the Inca leader Atahualpa and took over his empire. Spain ruled the country until 1821. During the next several centuries, Lima played an important role in supporting the sea trade routes from Europe and the far east. Because of the valuable cargoes carried to and from the city, pirates and privateers roamed the coast attacking ships at will. The problem was of such an extent that the Spanish built a wall around Lima in 1687-89 to protect inhabitants from attack from the sea.
Peru is another of the South American countries that gained its independence from Spain in the 19th century. In 1820 a group of Argentine and Chilean patriots, led by Jose de San Martin, decided that Peru should also be free so they traveled to Peru. Fearing the worst, the then Spanish Viceroy invited San Martin into Lima hoping to save his loyalist guards from harm. What the history books call the War of Independence drifted along for several years but was officially ended on July 28, 1821. The next several years where unsettling but the new country got its feet on the ground by 1850. About that time, guano exports became a big thing and Peru’s economy was off to a good start. Why guano? Guano was an excellent source of nitrate and an important ingredient in gun powder.
Lima is the home of the oldest higher learning institution in the new world. The National University of San Marcos was founded on May 12, 1551 and is the oldest continuously functioning university in the Americas.
I had an opportunity to spend some time at the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia, Anntropologia e Historia del Peru. Well organized and maintained exhibits tell the story of Peru and its people from its known beginning in 14000 to the present. Artifacts are displayed that show the growth of skills and products as the country grew. A book I recently read hypothesized that when people became farmers instead of hunters and gatherers they had time to devote to things artistic and political. The pottery displays effectively demonstrate this idea as household pottery changed from functional things made to do a particular job to jugs and bowls that were intricate in their design and color. The concept I read about seems proven by these exhibits.
Like almost every place in the world, there is more to see and do than time permits. The few days I’ve spent in Peru were a marvelous learning experience that I found very enjoyable.
Love to all,
Bill, Grandpa Bill and Dad