Lima vs New York

Today is our third day in Peru.  We are in Lima and just getting settled.  Lima is very different from New York City.  For one, it’s in the middle of a desert.  So there is never any rain and it's very hot and dry all day.  Another difference is that there are ruins in the middle of the city.  One minute you will be walking by skyscrapers, and the next, by old pyramids being excavated.  We went to visit one of these ruins on our first full day in Lima.  We arrived just as the tour was starting.  Our guide showed us all around the excavated part of the pyramid.  He also showed us all the crops and animals the people who lived there used and ate.  We learned that they sacrificed children to the gods and it was a great honor to be sacrificed. They were called the Lima people, and they settled there ten thousand years ago, before the Incas.

Pocoyo dancing Gangnam Style in Lima's Chinatown

New York City and Lima are also built differently.  For one, Lima has lots and lots more casinos than NYC.  If you take a taxi ride around the main streets, you’ll see a casino about every three blocks.  I've actually never seen a casino in New York City.  Another difference is that there is much more graffiti in Lima.  I know you might be thinking, “but New York has so much graffiti!”  Well, so does Lima.  And the graffiti here is all murals so it’s much nicer to look at.  Last, Lima is poorer than New York.  About one million people do not have running water because they live in slums.