So nice to sleep in a quiet environment ! Went to sleep at 11 pm, got woken up at 7 am by some kind of noise, but managed to get back to sleep until 9 am. GREAT ! Went for breakfast at 9:30, got maps of Chiclayo in the front lobby, as well as directions to the nearest Lavanderia to get most of my clothes washed. Dropped those off only one long block away from Hotel Costa del Sol, where I am staying. With the city map in hand, I took off to explore. Down Avenida Balta to the main square. Surprise; it was not called Plaza Bolivar ! La Iglesia Santa Maria Cathedral and Municipal building were here. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and had beautiful stained glass windows.
Publication bans, posted outside the church on a bulletin board, just like a wanted poster !
I then visited the “Municipalidad” building. Originally build in 1920, it partially burned down and had to be rebuilt. Beautiful restoration work by artisans for all of the wood and plaster decorations. There was also some art displayed in some of the rooms.
Maquette for rebuilding
Finished product today
Publication bans, posted outside the church on a bulletin board, just like a wanted poster !I then visited the “Municipalidad” building. Originally build in 1920, it partially burned down and had to be rebuilt. Beautiful restoration work by artisans for all of the wood and plaster decorations. There was also some art displayed in some of the rooms.
Maquette for rebuilding
Finished product todayKept walking on Balta Avenue until I reached Avenida Pedro Ruiz, but somehow missed the Mercado Herbolario, where the shamans have their herbal shops. DARN. Will have to try to find it either tomorrow or Friday night. Walked back to the main plaza, then 90 degree turn to Avenida Luis Gonzales and south to Avenida ?? forget the name, it wasn’t on the map. Another 90 degree turn to go west to see El Paseo de las Musas. Never did see the Muses, only a shrine to the virgin Mary. I felt kind of lost at this point because I could not find ANY street names anywhere (not on buildings, not on signs !). But my sense of direction is pretty good, so I did another 90 degree turn towards the north and figured I would cross Avenida Bolognesi at some point with Avenida Pena as a cross street. Could not find it although I knew I had to be close. So I decided to take a cab back to the hotel. Turns out I was EXACTLY where I thought I was, only a few blocks away from my hotel. It only cost me 3 Soles to get there (less than $2. J ) Oh Well ! I was tired anyway, and needed to rest. I surfed the net for the next part of my journey.
Oh ! I forgot to add that during my LONG walk, I stopped at a tourist info wicket to book two trips: Tomorrow I go to Huaca Rajada, el Museo Tumas reales del Senor de Sipan (Royal tombs), and the Bruning Museum, all to the north of Chiclayo.
Friday I go to Sican Museo, los Bosques de Pomac, and Tucume Valle de las Piramides all to the southwest of Chiclayo.
Saturday, I will check out of the hotel and take the bus (transporte) to Trujillo, in order to visit the archeological site of Chan Chan. Check this one out on the Internet! It should be quite an experience.
After my rest at the hotel I decided to go out again in search of a small grocery store to buy some water and juice for my trip tomorrow. Ended up stopping for dinner: Pollo de Limon (Chicken in a lime sauce) DELICIOUS ! with a salad and papas fritas (literally ‘potatoes fried’ or our French fries) I also treated myself to a small pitcher of Sangria. Small but VERY potent ! No idea what type of liqueur they add, but it was VERY VERY good.
I was sitting in front of the ‘Postre’ display (that’s Dessert) and decided to indulge my sweet tooth. Chocolate Cake with a Café Latté. Could not finish the cake it was so heavy and moist, but not too sweet; so it is sitting in my hotel mini-fridge for tomorrow night.
Other experiences earlier this morning: Cold water & cold water shower ! Does not matter which tap I use, the temperature from both are the same ! OK. And I also have acquired a swelling on my forehead from some type of bite from a “biche”. (That’s BUG, not BITCH !) It is either from the hotel in Armenia, where there was a very tiny window in the bathroom, that did not have a glass pane or screen and where I remember hearing a mosquito flying around my head during the night, or from the overnight stay in Los Balcones in Bogota where…. Never mind; you don’t want to know !
Tonight, after I found my disinfectant to treat the bite, I actually got some HOT water out of the tap ! EUREKA; it does exist !
Well, that’s it for today. May not be able to post to my blog tomorrow or the next day if I’m too tired, so don’t worry.
No comments:
Post a Comment