October 5, Wednesday, October 4, Tuesday

October 5, Wednesday

Breakfast at 9:30, then out to visit areas in Lima that I’ve not been to before, so I caught a taxi (12 Soles) to the Pueblo Libre area of Lima to visit the Museo Arqueologico Rafael Larco Herrera which contains a private collection.   Rafael Larco was one of the first archaeologists in South America to establish a chronological order based on depth of layers  (1920s)  and these “were remarkably accurate and to this day are still used by modern archaeologists”.   Approximately every 18 to 25 years, torrential rains are produced on the Northern coast of Peru as a result of the El Niño phenomenon.   Layers of mud alternating with layers of sand on archaeological sites were therefore helpful in identifying  how many years ago the finds were from.   So everywhere in past blogs where I mentioned “La Niña”  read “El Niño” instead !

He was quite the collector.  The displays in the museum itself are numerous, but there are still stashes of ceramics warehoused beside it.   No wonder tombs they are finding now are empty !

Golden head and neck ornaments

Beautiful head-dress

Quite different ceramics

As in other museums, the art works are from different zones within Peru, different eras, and different tribes: Moche, Nasca, Inca, etc.   The Inca had a system used to record a variety of information.  It was called the Quipus,  a type of string collar with different colors and knots, where the distance between the knots were also of significance.  It was an Inca counting system and was used to identify objects, products, population, work produced,  etc.

I left the museum and caught another taxi (10 Soles) to take me to a different area of Lima to visit the Museo de Historia Natural.  Finally found a great explanation of the differences between llamas & alpacas, and (Andean or pre-Incan) vicuñas & guanacos.  Although they are all ‘camel-like’  the alpaca is a descendant of the vicuña   and the llama is a descendant of the guanaco.   Although there are still   vicuñas around today, the guanaco is in danger of extinction.   

Vicuna at the back, alpacas in front

Yvette:   I saw a piranha today !    Just a little bit bigger than the one you caught when we  went to the Puerto Maldonado area.   This one was 6 or 7 inches long and yours was about 4 inches.  Still wouldn't want either one nipping at my body parts !

Caught another taxi from there to take me back to the Miraflores area of Lima (8 Soles), where I am staying; but on the drive there I spotted the Indian Market / Inca Market, which I had not gone to 2 ½ years ago.  So I got the driver to drop me off there and had a bit of a walk around.  I’m trying not to buy souvenirs since my bags are heavy enough already, and I am trying to travel around the world, but I decided to treat myself to a small token:  a tiny silver Tumi pendant.

Started walking back to El Parque Central, but made a slight detour to Avenida José Pardo to find a travel agency and get info on a side trip to see the Nasca Lines.  Well THAT took over an hour !  Everything takes so much time to do, even when they are using computers.   I’ve got a 2-day side trip booked:  Tourist bus from Lima to Nasca, 1 hour flight over the Nasca Lines,  tourist bus to the city of Ica for an overnight stay, bus from Ica to Paracas, boat ride to view Islas Balletas, time to walk around Paracas, bus back to Lima.   Quite expensive but I’m getting to see a lot so it’s worth it.   Also keeping my room at the Ibis while I’m away, since I can leave my HUGE suitcase here and travel with just my small backpack for 2 days (Friday & Saturday).   

It was about 5:30 by the time it was all booked, and my 9:30 breakfast was long gone.   I remembered seeing this really nice deli from 2 ½ years ago and wouldn’t you know it…..  I FOUND IT AGAIN !

Yvette:  Does this picture remind you of anything?    So I stopped in and had one of their nice sandwich creations:  the Olympica (middle, top shelf).   It looked huge but was mostly veggies and bread.    Finished my walk back to the hotel.  Extended my stay here for an extra 3 nights.   Bought a nice glass of wine, which I am sipping as I type my blog tonight.

CHEERS !

Oct 4, Tuesday

Flight to Lima went as planned.  Ended up going to the IBIS Hotel in Miraflores, on Avenida Larco.  My 12^th floor room has a  view towards the ocean and the hotel is only two long blocks away from LarcoMar (Yvette:  the big shopping centre on the Pacific Ocean !)  I’ve got three nights booked for now.   Just staying in and resting today.  It’s cool and cloudy in Lima today.

Grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant; they were offering a “taste of Peru”,  three sample (small portion) traditional Peruvian dishes for $38 Soles.  So, I finally bit the bullet and ordered Ceviche (raw fish – must be a salt water fish vs fresh water fish I’m told) that has soaked in Lime juice and is therefore ‘cured’.  I can’t say I enjoyed the Ceviche, although I did find it quite palatable, I would not rush out to have it again.    But at least I tried it !   I decided to have a cream soup after that, just in case my stomach couldn’t tackle the fish dish.  The cream of asparagus soup was velvety,  buttery and yummy.   I followed that with Arroz con mariscos (rice with sea food).  And with a nice glass of wine of course, I think it was a Merlot!   That’s it; no dessert tonight.

Speaking of tasting, I bought an Inca Kola today (soda pop) I had forgotten that it tasted like cream soda!