Shama & Lima Central

At Shama Boys' Home

Guinea pigs (dinner, not pets...)


Girls vs. Boys in a soccer game

The main plaza in Lima Central with Christmas decorations

Nativity in front of presidential palace

Nativity at park

Another day, another adventure. Yesterday we went to a boys’ home where they care for “piranhas”, or boys who live on the streets and survive by whatever means necessary. They have about 30 boys living there at this time. If you imagine my brother’s house (with 4 boys) multiplied a few times, you might get an idea of the chaos found at Shama House. The boys were very interested in the visitors, asking if we brought presents. Once I brought out my camera, I had a group of boys who wanted me to take their pictures. They were funny. Just like my nephews, they wanted to see the picture and then take more. I finally had to put the camera away! At Shama, they raise guinea pigs for food and profit. They also have a large garden which raises food for the guinea pigs. Before we left, there was a football (soccer) game between the girls of Pat’s Place, and the Shama boys. I am happy to report, the girls won, 10-6.

After visiting the boys’ home, we met Jimmy (Blanca’s son) and his family in Lima Central. This was my third visit to the downtown area. It is very crowded there. According to Heather, it is always crowded, but it is even more so due to Christmas. We met Jimmy and crew on the steps of a large Catholic church in the main government square. We then went to a riverfront shopping area which was actually not too crowded, especially when compared to other shopping areas. We had bread with caramel sauce and rice pudding for a snack while we were walking around. Then we went to another park which was built around ruins. After walking around a bit more, we took a taxi back to Pat’s Place (7 passengers…).

In the central plaza, there was a nativity display in front of the president’s palace. There were guards prohibiting you from getting close to the fence to have a good look or take pictures. The presence of heavily armed (by my standards) guards and tanks of the corners surrounding the palace made me uneasy. I guess I have not been to Washington DC since well before 2001, so it might be similar. In my world, policemen carry nightsticks, and a small revolver, not machine guns.

One other funny thing: there are Christmas lights all around in Lima Central. The funny part is that each light set has a tinny, computerized Christmas carol going, and not at the same time as the strings of lights next to it so that the end result is like when you go into a toy store and start all of the music boxes one after another, playing different tunes out of synchronization. Chistoso (funny)!