Lima, Peru

We got up around 8:00 and had another leisurely breakfast. We formulated our plans for the day and headed out to do touring on our own. First stop was the Handicraft market right around the corner from the hotel. Lots of nice-looking things but not knowing if the prices were good, and not having practised our bargaining skills, I decided to pass on buying anything and would wait until Arequipa or Cusco. Next stop was to go to Scotiabank to take out more Soles the currency of Peru. First,I took a ticket to stand in line for a teller, when my number was called, I asked that the teller break down my larger bills into smaller denominations, no problem. Then I asked for more money in small bills. Well they couldn’t do that for me. I had to go to the ATM machines and take the money out there. That went fine except now I again had large bills, so I had to take another ticket, wait until my number came up (about 8 minutes) then go through the exchange procedure once again. I think we spent at least ¾ of an hour just getting our money sorted out.

Our next item on the list was to go to the Huaca Pucllana Pyramids. We decided to walk back the 3 blocks to the hotel through Kennedy Park which is famous for its cats. We saw a number of them for sure but more interesting for us was all the large posters about the aid Canada has given through various organizations to help Peru such as, schools, women, ecology, and water systems. Don and Mike met an elderly man who had lived in Toronto on Keele St. and he seemed to want to talk to them for the whole day, but we finally moved on.

Back to the hotel to get rid of some of the extra money, change to lighter clothing and then head out again.
The walk to the remnants of the Pyramids was about 4 KM along main roads and some residential areas. The temperature was around 18C and sunny, so it was very pleasant. It pays to be a senior as our tickets were half price. We were with English only tourists and our guide was very easy to hear and understand. The pyramids are in the heart of Lima but until 1981 were under many layers of sand and mud. The excavations started in 1981.The houses that they are unearthing were all built on top of each other. They were originally started in about 200 AD. But over the centuries they would get flooded out and the Incas would build on top of the existing buildings. They are all made from Adobe type brick layered on their sides, to give better stability and strength. This form of architecture also allowed for movement during earthquakes as they left some space between the bricks. The area around Lima is virtually all desert and the only water comes from the rivers formed in the Andes that flow through the area during the wet season. The Incas used to walk 3-4 miles to the river to get the water for daily living and for use in building the bricks.
We were shown all different areas of the Pyramids that had been excavated. We saw an area where they are growing a garden to replicate what agriculture they may have had. Lots of potatoes-there are over 3000 types of potatoes in Peru. We saw various types of squash and grains such as quinoa and corn. We then saw guinea pigs which are considered a delicacy, llamas, (pronounced Yama) and Alpacas all domesticated centuries ago, also a large bird called Holca that looked like a turkey, the locals cook and eat it with corn bread and beer.

We were shown the sacrificial area used to bless a new site before building on it. We started the climb upwards over nine floors or levels of living. The pyramids cover an area of 6 Hectares, and they estimate it will take another 30-40 years to unearth it all. We saw the hall of small holes where they made sacrifices of food and animals, then the banquet hall with some pottery and this area had large tree trunks to hold up a cover over the eating area. It does not rain here, just drizzle so everything was outdoors. They did do human sacrifices including babies (hole in the soft spot -instant death) rest were burned, to show the way back from the afterlife and to honour the gods.

The next part of our adventure was to walk down to the ocean and have lunch at a seafood restaurant we had seen the day before with our guide. This part of our walking tour took us through lovely tree lined residential streets, for about 20 or more blocks. We finally came to the Malecon walkway and headed, we thought, towards the restaurant. We were quite mistaken as to how far we had gone the day before as we were driven from point to point. We finally made the decision to eat at a lovely café looking over the ocean. It was 3:00 when our meal arrived. The boys decided to take a taxi back to the hotel and Judy and I went with them but got out at the Lorcamar Plaza to see this famous shopping area. The shops and eating areas are built on 3 levels all looking out to the Ocean. Everything was laid out in curves which made walking around very picturesque. Most shops were American brands such as RipCurl, Solomon, Patagonia, Hugo Boss, etc. There were several shops selling Alpaca clothing and scarves, but we felt they were probably overpriced due to the touristy location.

Judy and Lee then started for home walking the 20 or so blocks back to the hotel. When we got back, we found that we had walked a total of 14km for the day so we had earned the right to feel tired.

Don was not feeling well so Mike, Judy and I decided to go out for dinner. The hotel recommended a Swiss restaurant just a few blocks away. It was wonderful and the staff were so pleasant. Mike had a seafood chowder, Judy had a shrimp salad and I had grilled sea bass with a Thyme sauce, served on a bed of Pesto Risotto. Judy and I had a lemon sorbet for dessert and Mike had a very large espresso ice cream and chocolate dessert. The whole meal and experience was wonderful. We had a pleasant walk back to the hotel and gave Don some lovely chicken noodle soup which he enjoyed. Lee spent time packing and organizing for our departure in the morning to the Nazca Lines. Jacuzzi tub and lights out at 12:00.Read more