El Parque Del Amor
El Parque del Amor (Love Park) is along the Malecon. Guidebooks lead you to believe that the colorful ceramic, design is very similar to Park Guell in Barcelona, and it is, but on a much smaller scale. Couples sit on the walls as if no one is watching them. It´s a little voyeuristic. My gringa sensibilities make me a little uncomfortable to show that emotion in front of a bunch of picture taking tourists, but these guys seem to ok with displaying their amor in public.
On Valentine´s Day people go to the park and compete in a contest for the longest kiss. Not really sure what the winners get as a prize, but you can use your imagination.
There are quotes written into the walls of the murals.
Mi sangre esta alcanzando a las estrellas (My blood is reaching the stars) – Jose Maria Arguedas
Some othe quotes found in the park:
Te desvisto como quien pela una fruta
(I undress you like someone peels a piece of fruit)- Jorge Diaz Herrera
A ti como la luz del mundo a las ventanas
(To you like the light of the world in the windows)- Juan Gonzalo Rose
Somos un poco la sombra de lo que fuimos
(We are a bit like the shade of what we used to be)- Oscar Valdivia
In the center of the park is a statue of a couple fully embracing, seemingly pre-coital. It stirred up some contreversy since Peru is a fairly conservative country. The creator of the stautue is Peruvian artist Victor Delfin.
Someone wrote this quote on the ledge of the wall along the Malecon.(The views of a lighthouse are distant. Just like love, it seems far to never return).
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It was 8am on el dia del trabajo (day of work) and the streets were dead. El dia del trabajo is basically a Peruvian Labor Day. One particularity of Lima is the cloud of fog that creeps up from the shore, especially in the early morning.
The Malecon de Miraflores is a park that runs along the Pacific Ocean. I was extremely excited to see the ocean, but as you can see from the picture above, the fog was so thick you couldn´t see anything. It was a strange feeling not being able to see what was right in front of you.
There were tons of people jogging and working out along the Malecon. Everyone was very friendly and stop to smile and say hello. A few people saw me fidgeting with a map and asked if I needed help.
The Malecon is on top of a cliff overlooking the beach.
If you look closely you can see some surfers swimming below.
Lima Smells Like Saltwater
by Elena on May 1, 2009
Finally I set foot on South America! There was so much fog coming into Lima that we could hardly tell when we were about to land. As much as all of us couldn´t wait to get off the plane after sitting still in uncomfortable seats for six hours we were forced to wait before Peruvian doctors (donned in white coats and white medical masks) came aboard and made sure none of us were carrying the swine flu virus. Not sure what they were looking for exactly. I mean I have successfully faked sickness throughout middle and high school. I´m assuming it may be possible to feign health right? As we disembarked we passed by many airport employees each wearing this mask. Ok now I was starting to feel a little insecure. There were literally hundreds of people waiting outside to pick up customers. I look through the crowd until I finally see my guy holding up my name.
In Lima the air smells like sea, salty a little musky and just a bit humid. The airport is near the biggest port in Peru, which may be why there is a slight scent of industry in the air. Fog covers the streets. The cab driver decides to drive along the beach in order to avoid the traffic lights. All we could see was endless darkness. Can´t wait to see it in daylight.
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