- "If, like me, your read the Paddington Bear books in your youth, Lima in "darkest Peru" may conjure up images of an exotic city in the heart of a lush tropical jungle. Unfortunately this is far from reality. The city, sprawled untidily on the edge of the coastal desert, is mainly modern and not particularly exotic. Despite its many urban problems, most visitors find Lima an interesting, if nerve-racking, place to visit.
Lima is the capital of Peru. Almost a third of Peru´s 24 million inhabitans now live in Lima, making most of the city overcrowded, polluted and noisy. Much of the city´s population growth can be attributed to the influx of very poor people from other areas of Peru, especially the highlands. They come searching for a better life with a job and, perhaps, opportunities for their children. Most end up living in the "pueblos jovenes", or "young towns". These shantytowns, which surround the capital, lack electricity, water and adequate sanitation. Jobs are scarce: many work as "ambulantes", or street vendors, selling anything from chocolates to clothespins and earning barely enough for food. Their chances of improving their lot are very slim.
Lima´s location in the center of Peru´s desert coastline gives it a climate and environment that can only be described as dismal. From April to December, the coastal fog, known as "garúa", blots out the sun and blankets the city´s buildings in a fine grey mist. Unless repainted annually, the buildings soon take on a ghosty pallor from the incessant mist that coats the rooftops with a thin, concretelike layer of hardened gray sludge. The situation is not much better during the few months of Lima´s short summer (January - March) - although the sun does come out, smog makes walking the city streets a sticky and unpleasant activity.
As the waste products of nearly 8 million Lima residents mostly end up in the Pacific, the beaches are overcrowded cesspools, and the newspapers carry daily health warnings during summer.
Having read this far, you might well be wondering how to avoid Lima. However, if you´re planning any kind of extensive travelling in Peru, you will find it virtually impossible to avoid the desert coastline and, in turn, Lima. Despite the city´s drawbacks, having no choice is not the only reason to go to Lima. Its people are generally friendly and hospitable, there are superb opportunities for dining, nightlife and other entertainment and, perhaps most important of all, the great selection of museums includes some of the best in Peru. So it´s worth trying to ignore the traffic jams and the crowds and gettings to know something of the people and the culture of Peru." -
Lonely Planet - Peru
Tar hafid tid tad. Eg vil nu reyndar baeta vid ad i raun eru engar strendur vid Lima, ju tad er strond og upp vid hana liggur halfgerd hradbraut. Sidan koma eiginlega klettar og hamrar sem borgin stendur uppi a. Strondin sjalf er vidbjodsleg, madur fer ekki tangad nema til ad fara a brimbretti. Eg fer ekki ofan af tvi ad straetoarnir eru tad skemmtilegasta vid Lima :)
No comments:
Post a Comment