Some of you have asked if the continuously gray sky is a result of the rampant air pollution. Actually, it's just winter. Winter here means gray coastal fog that covers the area for months. I don't expect to see the sun in Lima again until December.
Although I would love to blame the deisel fuel and the inefficient motors of everyone's car...
However, it only takes a short trip outside of the city to find the sun again, as I discovered in my readings yesterday at the Community Liaison Office at the embassy. Maybe Anthony and I will be taking some weekend forays once we figure out our own neighborhood.
Speaking of which, we attempted to view the famous Plaza de Armas, Plaza San Martín, and the famous Jirón that connects the two over the Independence Day holiday (Jirón is a 5 or 7 block stretch of pedestrian walkway, lined with stores and restaurants). There were so many people, however, that we didn't see much. The holidays here are meant for Peruvians to take their whole family to the streets in search of a good time. I don't think I've ever seen so many people eating ice cream in one place in my life. Jirón was completely full of ice-cream eaters. It's too bad my guide book advises me against eating the ice cream here (boo!).
Since we had the dog with us, we didn't go into any stores, but that didn't stop aggressive tattoo artists from stopping Anthony (not that it's hard to pick him out of a crowd - he is easily head and shoulders taller than 98% of the people on the street) and attempting to convince him that he needs more ink on his body. The most popular suggestion was to have Grace's face (the dog) tattoo'd to his arm. I think I am perfectly justified in registering my loud and emphatic "NO."
The next couple of posts feature pictures from the Plaza San Martín, the Jirón, and the Plaza de Armas. For you historical buffs, there are also some excerpts from my Lonely Planet Peru guide (6th ed., Feb. 2007) that explain more of what you are seeing.
Starting with this lovely picture of the Jirón:
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1 comment:
Ok...I'm a little slow in the updating. However, I completely understand the grey skies all the time. Michigan has grey skies all winter long; needless to say I hate the month February in MI. Anyway...way more important; what's this no ice cream thing?!
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