We are getting a city tour today. Turns out that Lima sits high on
a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean...along most of its length It is so high
up that it's official elevation is 453 feet. That is for a city right on the
ocean. Talk about dramatic cliffs. The city is also called Grey Lima because of
the almost constant ocean mists that lay over the city. For being so close to
the equator it is very like San Francisco, CA...rather cool, if not cold. Take
a sweater but be ready for humidity because of those mists.
Our first stop on a city tour was a park overlooking the cliffs. The park is Parque del Amor (Love Park). It looks like the baby brother of Parc Guell in Barcelona, Spain...the tile work is very similar to that of Antoni Gaudi's, who designed Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
And a love park wouldn't be complete without the requisite hundreds of padlocks placed on a fence by couples...to symbolize their everlasting love. And there was a statue, called El Besso (The Kiss), of a gigantic couple kissing. We should have visited on Valentine's Day. Or maybe our Anniversary.
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More Love Park
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We had some views of the ocean front and the cliffs …very dramatic.
Nearby was a valley that cut through
the city. Since the city gets very
little rain they have been able to plant and build in this valley. Very pretty.
Next stop was the monastery and Church of San Francisco, monastery
and catacombs. No photos allowed in the
monastery or catacombs, unfortunately.
There are currently about 35 priests that reside there.
We bought post cards of some of the interior places where we couldn't take pictures.
By the time we finished the tour the service had let out so
we wandered through the church a bit. It
is pretty much red and white…apparently common in the Andes. The red is Andes Red.
We finished just in time to make it over to the Government Palace
for the daily changing of the guard. While
some elements are comment to others we have seen…military band playing, two troops
of soldiers facing off…it was a bit different in a number of ways from others
we have seen. The troops occasionally
did yells, there was much twirling of the rifles and it seemed more “choreographed”
than others. Occasionally they kneeled
or stood in waves, arms did some flapping, and other things. They also marched or marched in place almost continuously for 20 - 30 minutes or so. Saw a few women in the groups too…good for
them.
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Changing of the guard video 1
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Changing of the guards video 2
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Changing of the guards video 3
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We are very glad we were able to see this.
The street scene in Lima was rather
lively. It was Sunday so many were out
but with the Covid we are sure the numbers were down.
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| Peruvian Hairless Dog |
Next stop was Huaca Pucllana, a massive
ancient clay brick pyramid in the middle of the city. It was first built by the Lima culture
somewhere between 400 and 700 AD, expanded by the Wari and Huari Cultures and
eventually taken over and expanded by the Inca.
It is currently under a massive excavation project and much has been
exposed. But it is a massive pyramid and
there is still a lot yet to be excavated.
In some
places they have discovered burial sites.
The dead were wrapped up in fetal position, with many layers of wrapping. They were placed in holes in the pyramids
along with goods they would need in the afterlife such as food.
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More Huaca Pucliana
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Then it was off to the Larco Herrera Museum and Gardens. The gardens and building were absolutely breathtaking with bougainvillea, geraniums and may other flowering plants blooming profusely all over the grounds.
When Rafael Lorca Hoyle (1901 - 1966) returned to Peru after studying abroad, he developed an interest in the ancient artifacts of Peru. His interest turned into a passion that he passed on to his offspring who have continued collecting. The collection, now 45,000 artifacts, is incredible. And he purchased a gorgeous building expressly for housing his collection. The museum is named after his father, Larco Herrera, who contributed much to the collection.
Peruvian archaeology was in its infancy and during his studies of his artifacts he eventually recognized many distinct cultures from various parts of Peru. Based on these studies he developed the first Peruvian chronology of ancient Peruvian cultures that remains in use today.
One of the photos here is of a 3,000 year old tapestry that looks like it just came off the loom...such is the quality of this collection.
Another special feature of the museum is the storage vault. Museums rarely allow visitors into the vaults containing the collection pieces that are not on display. But we could tour the vaults and the collection is absolutely massive.
What a great museum visit. We know next to nothing about pre-Columbian art and artifacts but we both still really enjoyed this visit.
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More Larco Herrera Museum
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After the tour we were dropped off in Kennedy Park for lunch at a sidewalk restaurant. Had a lovely lunch and then headed into the park where there were a lot of artists displaying their work
Would loved to have bought some but we just have no wall space. From there we found the hotel just fine and settled in to rest and work on photos.
Later in the evening we found a small place not far from the hotel and had a light dinner. And we both had dessert. Yummy.
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