Day 2: Peru, Lima: Guided Historic Tour (walking portion, lots of pictures)

We pick up the tour at the Basilica and Convent of San Pedro (San Pedro Church). The bus let us out here for a one hour walking tour of the historic center. I wish he had a little more time in Peru so we could have returned to take better, less crowded, pictures.

Built in 1650, San Pedro is still an active monastery. Its highlight is the Rococo-style mahogany altar housing sixty relics from different saints inside its boxes. Eighty percent of the population identifies as Catholic, and sixty percent of them are active. I tried to ask about the other twenty percent, but with the language barrier I did not get very far, or at least not as in-depth as I wanted to be. In Cusco we learned how they blended the Incan and Catholic religions to satisfy most people. It is up to me to do independent research to learn about the rest of the population.

The Jesuits were early evangelists to Peru. Pope Leo is a Jesuit who lived in the north of Peru for much of his life. The Peruvians proudly claim him as one of their own, just as my Chicago friends do, and my friends who went to Villanova. Live your life as if everyone claims you instead of everyone rejecting they ever knew you.

In 1777 the Jesuits were rejected from America. This was the first time we heard the word "America" in reference to the combination of North, Central, and South Americas and not just as shorthand for the United States of America. We both did a little mental gymnastics translating English into American. The Jesuits were in favor of education, and against the crown, that put them out of favor with the leaders.

Electric candles seem safer
than having real flames

Dave lead us through a pedestrian zone. For a city so congested with traffic. It was nice to see spaces separated for pedestrians. I noted they do not have a strong cycling community, even though we did see a bike share program. After a recent trip to Belgium it was nice to not add dodging bicycles to our list of challenges. The language difference was enough.

Historic buildings tend to be in white and black. Balconies were seen as a sign of wealth.

We briefly popped into the Biblioteca Guillermo Lohmann Villena, which David described as a typical colonial home with a private courtyard. Inside they had a photography exhibit on the Truth Behind the Lies I wished I had more time to appreciate. The library is officially a casa al servisio de la cultura.

We passed the first bank of Peru, which is now the Museum of Central Banking. We did not go inside.

David said with the grey skies we were having typical Lima weather. As I was comfortably walking around in a sundress worrying about the at home forecast of one to two feet of snow, I was not in a position to complain. He said the Spanish painted their homes with bright colors to contrast the grey skies. 

Streets in the historic district (and perhaps all around Lima) often have two names. The one describes what the area was in the past, such as what they sold (fish, meat, pineapples, avocados, etc.) with the second being its current name. In the 1680s this was the main market square.

We arrived in the main square. The buildings have been preserved. The area is now home to government palaces that were replaced in the 19th century. The  bronze fountain in the center dates back to 1651 and is still functional.

Picture of how the square used to look

An earthquake damaged the cathedral in the 18th century. It has since been rebuilt. The cathedral is only open on Sundays. The church on the right is the main church. The Archbishop's palace is on the left.

On the other side of the square is the Presidential palace. This was as good of a spot as any to discuss the political structure in Peru.

Presidential elections are held every five years. The next one is scheduled in April 2026. That said, two days earlier the president was impeached. This term there have been eight presidents, many being impeached due to corruption. Two days later they had a new person in place. This tourist did not notice any disruptions, not to say there were not any, but we walked around Lima a lot and did not notice any protests.

The new president leans extremely to the left. There are 36 people running to replace him, of that five to six seem to stand a chance. "Porky" is in the lead. The ultimate winner needs at least a 50% majority to declare victory. There will be a runoff until someone reaches that point. Makes a lot of sense to me.

This square used to house public executions and bullfights. Hard to believe given how clean it looks now.

After answering questions about the emblem of Lima (the three crowns representing three kings (January 6), and two eagles), we continued walking to the Monastery y Convento Santo Domingo.

Palace guard

Original 1651 bronze fountain

Comparing notes with Greg

The Dominican monastery is two blocks long. It was finished in the 1650s (the same time as the bronze fountain). In its heyday it had 200 monks, today that number has decreased to less than 15. We saw the public parts. They are proud that Pope John Paul II visited them twice.

The public parts are stunning with their Seville Spanish tiles, and paintings representing the history of Domingo, the 13th century founder of the order. Starting in the 1980s, the monastery has been undergoing a massive renovation. A few years ago they began restoring the columns, a task that seems endless based on the number of columns covered in paper representing the original tile work, and ones currently being worked on.

As we walked around the monastery I could hear chants. Likely it was piped music, but it added to the quiet, solemn atmosphere, as did the statue of the monk staring out their library's window.

The Dominicans were responsible for creating the first translation of the bible from Latin into Quechua, the local language of the Incans. We saw their library, a room Belle would have fallen in love with. They have over 20,000 books, which they struggle to protect against the humidity. 

In the 16th century they housed the school of art. Along the walls are anonymous works by their students depicting the European ideas of white Jesus. Later in Cusco I began to appreciate what David meant by that. 

The Dominicans are proud of their three saints: Saint Rose (Isabel Flores del Oliva) was born here in 1586, and entered the monastery at the age of 20, and died at the age of 31. She helped people. Miracles of healing are attributed to her. She is the first saint from the New World.

Martin de Porres was a mulatto from Africa, an illegal son of a Spanish gentleman and a freed Panamanian slave who was not accepted. He cleaned and helped around the monastery. In 1962 Pope John named him a saint.

Juan Macias was born in Spain, and died in Lima after entering the Dominican order.

Pictures from the monastery:

The Dominican saints from Peru

As we drove back towards the hotel Carlos and David offered to drop us off along the way. We could go to the Malecon, a place on my list for the day, or to the hotel. We chose the hotel to regroup.