Expat Diaries: A Little Look into Lima

Well, hi there! I think it's a good time to hop onto the Expat Diaries link-up with Rachel and Chelsea. The idea is to share travel tips or expat stories. I was going through my brief photos I've taken here in Lima (all taken on my hubby's mini video-cam) and realized I haven't shared many. AND, as I'll be away visiting California for an uncertain amount of time, I want to start re-appreciating Peru for everything its been. So here are some recent pictures and a little bit of the the stories behind them. 

A nice thing about Lima is that it's right on the coast. And we live about 15 minutes from the beach. A very stone-y beach, as you may be able to see, but it's the ocean nonetheless. It's been nice smelling the fresh ocean air and not being at a crazy high altitude. 

Catholicism is a big thing that's expressed all over the place, in all kinds of ways. On the bus a few months ago, I overheard a woman tell her friend they just past a church and the friend responded by a frantic sign of the cross. This little shrine (or what else would you call it?) has become something so second nature to see, which kind of bothers me actually (I won't go into why here though). But I'm very amused by the contradiction of a beautifully adorned figure amidst graffiti...or say a well decorated saint off the deserted highway. 

These two pictures (above and below) are in Park Kennedy, in a nice area of town, where we've been living for the past few months. It is a big tourist area, so it also has a lot of cultural charm - museums, fairs, art exhibits in the park. Above is the torito de Pucara, which is actually a very Andean tradition (from the mountain-region). Small ceramic painted bulls are placed on tops of houses to bring abundance and protection. This huge version was just really cool, since the real ones are very small. 

Playful bundles or sleeping balls of kittens are sure to be found in this park. Several years ago people started leaving cats that couldn't be taken care of at the park. Since then they've reproduced and they inhabit the park. There's probably at least 25 cats! I've made a few friends :)

This picture was taken one day Rafa and I were exploring the center, at 

Paseo de los héroes navales (Walkway of Naval Heroes). I'm not sure what the big official building is in the background - but they aren't an uncommon sight to see. I like the perspective of the photo. My Rafa's a talented one :)

Thanks for stopping by and happy almost-weekend folks!

Abrazos <3