Lima

Lima

Click picture for access to group.

October 25^th, 2006 - Lima

We stayed in a beautiful Marriot hotel room overlooking the sea and situated in a very upscale district of Lima (quite unlike the Melodia in our previous stay in Lima!) We met the non-Amazon part of our group, namely Agnes Chigwin, Bob and Susi Hebblewhite, Janet Sanford, Roger and Lenore Gaire, and Sharon Colson after they deplaned from an all night flight from Miami early in the morning. We had an incredible buffet breakfast and some free time in the morning. Mary Lynn & Nancy went to a classy shopping district across street from the hotel. Mike opted out because he was feeling queasy. Jim searched for internet cafes and found a cheap one in contrast to the Marriot’s outrageous prices. Their laundry prices were similarly outrageous.

Reuben boarded us on to a luxury bus to the Museo de Rafael Larco Herrera through beautiful residential areas as well as the poorer districts. Here, we got a taste of Lima driving etiquette – or more properly, the lack thereof. Someone, perhaps Reuben, said that driving carefully in Peru could cause an accident. It was similar to driving in Iquitos, but jostling with cars and buses instead of motorcycle-driven surreys. We had a luxurious lunch at the museum café after which we toured the museum rather hastily. We first visited a gallery of pre-inca erotic sculptures which made some of us (men) feel quite inadequate!

We then visited the a part of the Museum with thousands of gold, sliver and copper masks, pots, and utensils from the dry N Coast of Peru . These had apparently escaped the greedy Conquistadores. We saw a gorgeous ancient tapestry surprisingly preserved by the dry north coast and quipus ( knotted strings indicating a record of events or quantities of various items.) The museum made it clear that advanced civilizations held sway in Peru long before the Incas.

Reuben gave us a short political history of Peru. We learned that Peruvians MUST vote or can't cash checks, leave the country and will pay a fine for not voting. Political advertisements in advance of the elections were ubiquitous.

We took the luxury bus to the Plaza de Armas where we observed the Government palace built on the site of a previous palace which Pizarro founded. We toured the beautiful Lima Cathedral holding Pizarro's remains and containing beautiful statues and paintings, most by indigenous artists taught by the European masters. Most of the art was beautiful, and some was beautiful but bloodily grotesque, which seems to be a characteristic of much indigenous Latin American art. There we learned that Susi was a descendent of Pizzaro. We visited the San Francisco Church with its musty catacombs (which I was only too happy to leave) and the 16^th century Santa Domingo church (once a convent – still a convent?) (I’m not too sure I have the churches right. Corrections welcome!)

We finished with dinner at Jorge 's & Antonio's restaurant. We had a Pisco sour (before I realized they were made with raw egg) and a great dinner and desert.