Lima by Day

We had much better guide service the next day.  There were just the two of us and Jean Carlos, our guide with excellent English.  He had no idea why he was named Jean Carlo rather than Juan Carlo, since he was Peruvian.  We were picked up in Miraflores and made our first stop there at the Parque del Amor or Love Park.  The park, along the Miraflores cliffs, has wavey tiled walls based in the style of Gaudi's Guell Park in Barcelona, with inscriptions about "love" from various sources.  The park was constructed about 20 years  ago and the couple, with the woman in a miniskirt, was met with disapproval by the more conservative residents.

Two Couples in the Love Park

Also in Miraflores is the Huaca Pucllana, a Wari ceremonial center dating back to 400 AD.

The structure is composed of adobe bricks spaced so as to absorb earthquake tremors.

Bricks Have Withstood Centuries of Earthquakes

We returned that evening for dinner at the Restaurant Huaca Pucllana, overlooking the illuminated ruins.

Jean Carlos next took us to Central Lima for a walking tour of the city's historic area.  As in much of Latin America, there is a distinct French influence in much of the architecture of the later 1800's.

The Former Train Station, Now a Cultural Center

1865 Photography Studio; Still a Camera Store

We walked around the Plaza de Armas and visited the Cathedral, viewed the Archbishop's Palace, and photographed the elaborately uniformed guards at the Presidential Palace.  Alas, we were too early for the daily changing of the guard, with the goose-stepping guards marching to El Condor Pasa.  Jean Carlos seemed surprised when we told him there wasn't any goose-stepping in the U.S.A.

The Cathedral

The Archbishop's Palace

Guards at the Presidential Palace

 We walked a couple blocks to the Franciscan Monestary and Church.  The catacombs here are lined with the bones of the more than 70,000 individuals interred here (no photos allowed).  The bones have been sorted by skeletal function (skulls, femurs, etc.) and are laid out in geometric formations in plexiglass covered bins.  The practice of placing the bodies in the catacombs continued until about 1900, when neighbors began complaining about the odor.

The Church of San Francisco with Pigeons (Shades of Alfred Hitchcock)

Our last stop on the tour was the Museo Larco, located near the ocean in the San Isidro area.  The museum contains the world's largest private collection of Pre-Columbian art, beautifully displayed in a lovely building.  In addition to a huge collection of ceramic works, there are wonderful displays of textiles and gold and silver objects..  There is also a separate building housing a collection of Pre-Columbian erotic art.  Photos of this won't be posted here - you'll have to ask for a private viewing.

Nick at the Larco Museum

Portrait Vessel from the Moche Period (100-800 AD)

Carved Pipe and Figures, Wari Period (600-1100 AD)

Nazca Period Cat (200 BC to 600 AD)

Inca Gold (1100 AD to Spanish Conquest)

From the museum, Jean Carlos and our driver dropped us off at our apartment.  A very nice day followed by a very nice dinner at the Huaca Pucllana. (Nick enjoyed the alpaca tenderloin; Dee had beef.)