190 



THREE YEARS IN THE PACIFIC 



CHAPTER II. 



Ride to Lima — The Road — Monument — Bellavista — Treasure — Church of 

 Palms — Market women — Sambo de la Legua — Church — Negroes dancing 

 — Mules and asses — Alameda de la Portada — Meet a pleasure party — Lima 

 gate — Entrance to the city — Animas — First view of " the street of Callao," 



The road to Lima is nearly a straight line, drawn over an 

 inclined plane, which gradually rises from the sea, till it is lost 

 in the base of the hills of Amancaes and San Cristoval. Though 

 to the eye the road from Callao appears to be perfectly level, 

 the great plaza of Lima stands one hundred and seventy varas 

 (Spanish yards)* above the sea. It was constructed by the vice- 

 roy, Don Ambrosio O'Higgins, in 1799, and had the original 

 plan been carried out, would have rivaled any thing of the kind 

 in South America. A low brick wall or curb runs along each 

 side of a centre road, whose surface is two or three feet above 

 carriage roads, which are on either sidei This arrangement is 

 not complete through the whole extent, but is interrupted, and 

 a part of the distance is travelled on the lateral roads, which, 

 I believe, were originally designed to be the beds of streams. 

 The greater part of the way is covered with loose pebbles, 

 giving it no very distant resemblance to a shingle beach. 



I joined a party on horseback, soon after arriving in the 

 roads — sorry stumbling nags we found — and set off in the 

 morning for the capital, far farmed once as <«City of Kings,^^ 

 afterwards as City of the Free," but still more widely known 

 by the original name, Lima. We were soon out of Callao, and 

 found the road running in a straight line ; and on the right and 

 behind us, when fairly on the way, was the gate and draw- 

 bridge of El Castillo de la Independencia. Curiosity carried 

 our eyes in every direction. To the right, all round the castle 

 to the sea, was an irregular shingle, and to the left, a broad, 

 green meadow, covered with rank grass, spread itself to the 

 view. Just at the skirts of Callao, and at the beginning of the 



• Equal to 32 English inches. 



