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The Bus Journey from Lima to
Huaraz
We got on the bus at one, leaving the amazing modern
part of the city behind. Once again as soon as we moved off from the bus
station lunch was served, chicken and rice, jelly and water or Coke.
Lima is the capital
and largest city of Peru.
It is located in the valleys of the Chillon,
Rimac
and Lurin
rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the
Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao,
it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima
Metropolitan Area. With a population fast approaching nine million,
Lima is the fifth largest city in Latin America, behind Mexico
City, Sao
Paulo, Buenos
Aires and Rio
de Janeiro. Lima is home to one of the largest financial centres in
Latin America. It has been defined as a beta world
city by GaWC
international rankings.
In the pre-Columbian
era, the location of what is now the city of Lima was inhabited by several Amerindian
groups under the Ychsma polity, which was incorporated into the Inca
Empire in the 15th century. In 1532, a group of Spanish conquistadors
led by Francisco
Pizarro defeated
the Inca ruler Atahualpa and took over his Empire. As the Spanish
Crown had named Pizarro governor of the lands he conquered, he chose
the Rimac valley to found his capital on January 18, 1535 as Ciudad de los Reyes (City of the
Kings). In August 1536, the new city was besieged by the troops of Manco
Inca, however, the Spaniards and their native allies defeated the
Inca rebels.
Over the next few years, Lima gained prestige as it was designated
capital of the Viceroyalty
of Peru and site of a Real
Audiencia in 1543. During the next century Lima flourished as
the center of an extensive trade network which integrated the Viceroyalty with
the Americas, Europe and the Far East. However, the city was not free from
dangers; powerful earthquakes destroyed most of the city in 1687. A second
threat was the presence of pirates and privateers in the Pacific Ocean, which
led to the building of the Lima
City Walls between 1684 and 1687. The 1687
earthquake marked a turning point in the history of Lima as it
coincided with a recession in trade and economic competition by other cities
such as Buenos
Aires.
In 1746, a powerful earthquake severely damaged Lima and destroyed
Callao, forcing a massive rebuilding effort under Viceroy José
Antonio Manso de Velasco. In the latter half of the 18th century, the
ideas of the Enlightenment
on public health and social control shaped the development of the city. During
this period, Lima was adversely affected by the Bourbon
Reforms as it lost its monopoly on overseas trade and its control
over the important mining region of Upper
Peru. This economic decline made the city's elite dependent on royal
and ecclesiastical appointment and thus, reluctant to advocate independence.
A combined expedition of Argentine and Chilean patriots under General José de
San Martín managed to land south of Lima in 1820 but did not attack
the city. Faced with a naval blockade and the action of guerrillas on land,
Viceroy Jose
de la Serna was forced to evacuate the city on July 1821 to save the
Royalist army. Fearing a popular uprising and lacking any means to impose order,
the city council invited San Martin to enter Lima and signed a Declaration of
Independence at his request. However, the war was not over; in the next two
years the city changed hands several times and suffered exactions from both
sides.
 
After the war of independence, Lima became the capital of the Republic
of Peru but economic stagnation and political turmoil brought urban development
to a halt. This hiatus ended in the 1850’s, when increased public and private
revenues from guano
exports led to a rapid expansion of the city. The export-led economic expansion
also widened the gap between rich and poor, fostering social unrest. During the
1879 - 1883 War of
the Pacific, Chilean troops occupied Lima, looting public museums,
libraries and educational institutions. At the same time, angry mobs attacked
wealthy citizens and the Asian population; sacking their properties and
businesses. After the war, the city underwent a process of renewal and expansion
from the 1890’s up to the 1920’s. During this period, the urban layout was
modified by the construction of big avenues that crisscrossed the city and
connected it with neighboring towns.
 
In 1940, an earthquake destroyed most of the city, which at that time
was mostly built out of adobe
and quincha.
In the 1940’s, Lima started a period of rapid growth spurred by migration from
the Andean regions of Peru, as rural people sought better opportunities for work
and education. The population, estimated at six hundred thousand in 1940,
reached one point nine million by 1960 and four point eight million by 1980. At
the start of this period, the urban area was confined to a triangular area
bounded by the city's historic
centre, Callao
and Chorrillos;
in the following decades settlements spread to the north, beyond the Rimac
River, to the east, along the Central Highway, and to the south. The new
migrants, at first confined to slums
in downtown Lima, led this expansion through large-scale land invasions, which
evolved into shanty towns, known as pueblos
jovenes. Today, around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in the metropolitan
area. The population is around nine million.
The bleak looking Pacific coast part
of our journey was not aided by the on board Bollywood movie
The incredible, vast sand dunes
disappeared as dusk fell for the deserted high mountains
Huaraz in the early morning light, next
morning
ALL IN ALL PLEASED TO BE IN HUARAZ AFTER A LONG DAY
ON THE
ROAD
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