Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Limeños, as the citizens of Lima are called, may rightly be proud of their historic build-
ings and old churches which, to me, were the chief attractions there. Many of them have been
rather neglected, which isprobablyduetothelack offunds,averycommon complaint inLat-
in America.
The cathedral, although not very striking from outside, contains gems of Spanish colonial
art, and ranks among the finest in South America. In one of the wings, on a special altar, are
the remains of Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru. They are in a glass coffin and in a remarkable
state of preservation, even the wounds inflicted by his assassins being plainly visible.
Alongside the cathedral stands the bishop's palace, which is of recent construction, but the
style of architecture is based strictly on the colonial type, as also are the wonderfully carved
balconies and other decorations.
One afternoon, as I was walking near the main plaza, an elderly man, in a spotless white
naval uniform, came up to ask me for some information. His appearance was very striking,
and with his grey hair and general bearing, I could not help thinking what a fine Hollywood
admiral he would have made. He was the chief steward on an American ship that was lying at
anchor in Callao, and as we approached the big government house the officer on duty called
out the guard. As we passed a double file of
soldados
stood to attention and saluted what they
thought must be some important foreign guest. The 'admiral' acknowledged the honour by
giving one of those casual salutes that are common with men who have to do this all day, and
when we were past the soldiers he gave me a meaning wink, and his face wrinkled with the
effort to suppress a hearty laugh.
Lima has its charms, but on the whole I found it to be a 'dead' town, for after nine p.m.
there is nothing to do but to loaf or sit in unattractive cafés. Between six and seven o'clock
every evening it is fashionable among the better class to dress in their best and then to parade
stiffly up and down one of the main streets, but after that there is nothing to do unless one
happens tobefondofmoving pictures orcockfights. Theatres worth calling such donotexist,
and opera houses may have been read about in novels and newspapers. The great attraction
of the year is the official bullfight season, and even the poor find money to attend these gory
but colourful spectacles, and the rich, or their imitators, buy expensive season tickets for the
reserved balconies, just as wealthy people have their private boxes in opera houses in other
countries.
I happened to be in Lima when the bullfight season opened, and as I had never seen one
of these exhibitions before I did not miss the opportunity to go to some. The first time I went
I felt positively ill when I saw the unfortunate horses being gored and ripped open, and when
I saw some of them return into the arena after having been stitched up, I felt like blowing up
the whole place. I have actually seen horses trip over their own intestines as they were being
dragged out to be stitched up, which was done after banana leaves and wet straw had been
stuffedintothetremblingbrutes.Afterthebloodhadbeenwashedoffthemwithafewbuckets
of water they were dragged and clubbed back into the ring, where the bull once more charged
