This shoeshine man has his stand on rollers, umbrella to protect from the sun, and newspapers and magazines for the gentlemen to read. His stand is across the street from the Dominican Cathedral where the first university in the Americas was established in the mid 1500s.
This picture is of two MTC missionaries contacting a street artist who stopped them to sell them his water colors. They called me back from across the street to help them tell the man where he could find a chapel. He told the Elders he is Catholic but he would like to attend our meetings. He gave us his cell phone number. Later he chased the missionaries to the San Francisco Cathedral (about three blocks) where our bus was waiting. He recognized me and gave me his wife's business card (she has a artesania shop near the cathedral) and another copy of his cell phone number. He is serious about being taught the Gospel. The wonderful thing about this day trip with the North Americans is that they gave away seven copies of the Book of Mormon. They did more contacting than shopping--something we hadn't seen before on our trips to Old Lima.
The guards in front of the Governor's Palace enjoyed all the attention. They allowed the missionaries to have their pictures taken with them. We had heard the streets around the Plaza de Armas were closed and that we may not be able to go into the city center. When we arrived downtown, however, we learned the meetings were adjourned. The guards were quite relaxed.
This is a picture of the Governor's Palace through one of the ornate iron fences. The picture shows a group of men rolling up the red carpet.
This is a close up of the red carpet being rolled up. We had never seen this before. We were there at a good time. At noon every day the ceremonious changing of the guard takes place. We want to see that before we leave Peru.
This narrow street, originally a carriage way, is the route the bus takes to the coast. The bus nearly fills the road. I love this stretch because of the ancient Spanish Colonial structures, the beautiful balconies, and the varied colors of the painted stucco and brick.
This shot was also taken from the bus. This old building still functions as a home with businesses on the street level.
The street entertainers are a common sight in Lima and in every district for that matter. This college aged student juggled knives while the light was red. Then she made her way between the cars collecting change.
Sometimes we think we have seen everything. This was quite a sight--a guy walking his bike down a busy highway. The basket is loaded with cans. His bike chain had broken. We followed him for five minutes or longer because there was no room for the huge tour bus to get around him.
One of the many street vendors who come through our neighborhood on bicycles is the knife sharpener. He blows a kazoo-like whistle to announce his presence. Dad ran down with a half dozen very dull knives.
On the way home from the North Mission clinic last Friday, I shot this picture of two men playing a card game on the highway. We had just come through the toll booth where the traffic is quite heavy. I had a clear shot for just a moment.
At the corner of the Governor's Palace these missionaries found two quite friendly guards. After the Hermana left to walk across the street to the artesania shops with her companion, who was also taking a picture of her, the guard asked the Elder what her name was. She is a music major at the University of Arkansas. She plans to teach in a bilingual school.
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