First Day in Lima  – April 7, 2018
By Margaret Dickson

(New View Tours is delighted to post segments of Margaret Dickson’s Travel Journal. Pictures are from our shared album. The travelers: Margaret Dickson, Marty Spry, Michael and Ramelle Pulitzer)

Gardens at the Muse Larco

After a hearty buffet breakfast at the Holiday Inn by the Lima airport, off we go in a car with driver, hired this morning by the hour for the day. We are attempting to see as much of Lima as we can on our “early arrival” day on the itinerary.

Gardens at the Muse Larco

First stop was the amazing Larco Museo, named in honor of a Peruvian archeologist who discovered thousands of ceramic and metal artifacts from Peruvian history and realized that many of his finds came from cultures that predate the Incas; many of these peoples were dominant when Europeans arrived in the 16th century.  The museum features ceramic pieces, as well as gold, silver, and alloy armaments worn by the ruling classes. The objects and clothing showed their power and added color to religious ceremonies that sometimes involved bloodletting and throwing people off mountains, among other human sacrifices.  Apparently, all the gear was worn only by men – surprise!

Most famous and most arresting is the Larco’s collection of erotic pottery from the Moche period (1 AD – 800 AD),housed in its own section, and which I can describe only as XXX!  The setting at the museum is beautiful, walkways bordered by extravagant bougainvillea, hibiscus, succulents, and other tropical plants even in Lima’s dry climate.

San Francisco Cathedral

Crucifix in San Francisco cathedral

Next, we drive to the historic cathedral in Lima’s main square.the Plaza de Armas.  I was struck by the very Spanish presentation of Christian stories, with Jesus’s wounds and blood prominently featured.

We also ducked into the San Francisco monastery, which features remains of 70,000 people in its catacombs.  There we also saw a large crucifix on which Jesus’s knees dripped blood, presumably from stumbling with the cross on his way to his crucifixion.  He also sported a skirt and shoulder-length brown wig, whose tresses were waving lazily in the breeze from a fan!

Art in the public library

We made a quick foray into the public library, the biblioteca, which was formerly the train station and which has a lovely stained glass barrel ceiling. Local art exhibits are scattered in all of the rooms.

Flagging a bit, we popped into the Museo de Pisco (the national adult beverage of Peru), which was not a museum at all, but a bar where we had a delicious lunch of tapas and hummus. Ditto for the Museo de Chocolat next door.

Lima – ocean views from boardwalk

Our patient driver picked us up, and off we went to Milaflores, an upscale area of Lima with lovely old homes and much new development, including condos overlooking the Pacific.  We strolled above the shoreline, then had a glass of wine overlooking the water, then headed back to the Holiday Inn on a multi-lane road. We were shaken by a motorcycle accident that had apparently just occurred.  It appeared that the rider, lying in the middle of the road, had been struck by a vehicle or perhaps he had lost control of his motorcycle.  A truck had stopped to help, but the fallen motorcyclist did not seem to  be moving.  We will never know what happened to him.

Lima – ocean views from boardwalk

We had an early dinner of soup in the hotel and early to bed in preparation for our morning flight to Arequipa.

(The next stop: Arequipa! to be posted soon!)