Happy 475th Birthday to Lima

It was our first weekend in Lima, when deciding to visit the old colonial center of the city, we happened to stumble across a rather magnificant parade in honor of the 474th anniversary of the founding of Lima by Francisco Pizzaro.  It featured people in costumes from all of the regions of the country as well as dancing, giant puppets, stiltwalkers, and Chinese dragon, and more.
We've stumbled across a few other parades since then, particularly in Cusco, where they seem to be a weekly event.
Still, the Lima birthday bash parade remains a favorite, and Valerie was determined to catch it again this year. Britt begged off. And Addison was in a plane returning from the US. So, Valerie went by herself.
Unfortunately due to a glitch, she arrived not in time for the parade itself, but rather for a series of festivities that followed. Luckily, there were still plenty of people around, including a number of parade participants, so all was not lost.
And on top of that, the Cow Parade (see earlier post) is still going strong. So, she managed to catch a bit of both. (Stay tuned for more cow photos, later.)

One note about all of this. A wise friend of ours, who is married to a diplomat and has lived in numerous different countries as an expat for over 20 years, told us that it is when you start repeating rituals and holidays in a country that you start to settle in. There is something to that. It helps you take the measure of how many things that seemed so new and different are beginning to seem more familiar.