A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 8)

 And they're off. Week 2 begins with our last day of relative freedom for a while. Tomorrow it is lockdown again and Monday I am back at work. Walking during work days will have to be local and mostly in the dark and so finding items of interest may be a challenge. Still we can see what presents itself.

Today we went to the other upmarket district adjacent to Miraflores known as Barranco. It is very popular with loads of eateries, cafes, and bars (not that I ventured into any of those you understand). It has a big mix of old and new and some completely run down.

The first thing to see is the last tram carriage. Aptly called the 97. The tram line still exists although it last functioned in 1965 (according to Wikipedia and my Spanish translation). It opened in 1878 and had 4 lines. The overhead line is still there for a distance of at least 100 m.

A short walk from here brings us back onto the Malecon just much further south than yesterday. Still a clifftop walk with pretty gardens being lovingly tended by teams of obreros (workers).

The Peruvians are pretty big on health and safety so they have cleverly planted a 2 foot hedge along the cliff edge. Go too close to the edge, fall over and you die. Simple. We stayed at least three feet from the edge at all times, which is pretty much the width of the path.

Back into Barranco and across the famous Bridge of sighs. A traditional meeting point for lovers but actually a reconstructed bridge which is strategically placed crossing a gorge. It was originally opened on 14 February 1878 but was destroyed a few years later by Chilean troops in January 1881. Those of you who have been paying attention will remember that date attached to one of the statues. It was a big battle that day clearly. It was recently fully restored and opened again to the public in 2014.

So at the far end of the bridge is a statue of a woman apparently singing. It turns out that she was a local singer called Chabuca Granda. She was a very famous Peruvian folk singer and wrote songs but especially wrote a song about this bridge and that is when it was renamed the Bridge of Sighs (Puente de los suspiros). You can check her out on Youtube. There are much better recordings of her than that one if she tickles your fancy.

Anyway we are just over the bridge and I see a massive mural on the wall of a building just a short distance from the bridge.

You cannot tell easily from that video link above but if you check out her other videos you'll realise that it is the same woman. Her hands are characteristically waving about.

OK I will keep some of the other pictures for the days when we will be bereft of new stuff. I better finish with my strava though because that's the whole point of the thing. Another 5.44 km to add to the tally.

Take care from Big Dave in Lima saying over and out.