It was great to finally touch down in Lima. We felt it was an accomplishment since we had barely made it onto the plane in Newark. We had had a connecting delay when President Obama had landed in Charlotte, NC about the time we were supposed to leave to depart for Newark. But, after we relaxed a bit, we had enjoyed the flight, watching 3 movies (a new record), enjoying some decent food and smooth “sailing”.
We had signed up for 3 different Peruvian adventures with Overseas Adventure Travels: visiting Lima, boating on the Amazon River and seeing Cusco/Machu Picchu. For the first part in Lima, we were bedded down in the newer part of town, the Miraflores. It’s south-west border was the ocean where there is a beautiful beach which can be viewed from the parklands high above the water.
Our first morning was spent in the museum where we were introduced to the many ancient cultures of the Peruvian area. We saw a good sampling of their art, weavings, jewelry, some tools and examples of their daily life.
Next we headed to the main downtown square, Plaza de Armes, which has many beautiful old Spanish buildings and churches.. Most are a golden color, the color of royalty in the Spanish Colonial time. The crowd of people out strolling on the weekend was entertained with several military bands prancing around.
We “people” watched a while and then moved to the Iglesia de San Francisco, an old church famous for the bones of 75,000 people in its crypt. Since we weren’t allowed to take pictures of the “old” people, I’ll spare you that experience!! The church was considered “Lima Baroque” with lots of beautiful paintings, carved stone portals and wooden panels….and an attached monastery with an immense collection of old texts.
A great fish lunch venue gave us a view of the suburbs painted up the hillside. The houses look a little unstable, but since Lima receives almost no rain each year, there is not a problem with mudslides. The guide assured us that there were some roads up there, but I wouldn’t want to be the UPS or Fed Ex delivery person in that neighborhood.
A big surprise, right in the middle of the city, was a pre Incan ruin. The pyramid structures were built of mud bricks arranged in such a way to withstand earthquakes. It is thought to be a place of worship, but since there was no written language at that time, researchers are not for sure what the facility was used for.
Later on, we and a part of our OAT group (Don’s brother, Ray, and Laurie, his wife, and long time friends, Margaret and Uel) made our way from the hotel to some of the park area along the ridge above the beach. Many people were taking advantage of the grassy areas, strolling among the flowers and enjoying the many views….with a bit of art scattered here and there.
That evening we were entertained with some traditional folk dances and a buffet of traditional foods. We learned that night that there are quite different ways to prepare their many varieties of potatoes…some flavored with very hot spices that are enjoyed in this area.
More blog to come… http://redlodgehams.blogspot.com
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