We spent 5 weeks in Perú and were within a few miles of the Pacific Ocean most of the time, in and around Lima and the south-central coast near the pisco region, plus a Christmas beach getaway up north near the Ecuador border. A couple of trips inland - to visit some hot springs (Abram), and to a hacienda in the Lurín Valley with Peruvian Paso horses and the Pachacamac citadel ruins (me). And we enjoyed a visit from Phoebe! And tasting award-winning black Andean corn whiskey:
Perú is about 1,500 miles long and about 500 miles wide. It has three main geographical areas that run north-south: coast/desert, mountains, jungle. The birthplace of the mighty Amazon River is in the Andes mountains of Perú, up near Iquitos, at the convergence of three rivers; 60% of Peruvian land is rainforest/jungle. The Humbolt Current runs along the coast from the south, making the waters some of the most productive in the world.
Despite the fact that the Inca have been the best-known ancient civilization, Perú has seen many cultures over the past 10,000 years: the north-central coast was home to the Norte Chico, also known as Caral-Supe, the oldest civilization in the Americas and considered one of the six cradles of civilization in the world. The pyramids in Caral, about 100 miles north of Lima, pre-date the Egyptian pyramids by 100 years. Some of the other civilizations are Chavin, Paracas, Nazca, Chimu, Moche, Huai, Tiahuanaco, Lima, Wari, Cusco, Chachapoyas and Chan Chan. When the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, Perú was the home of the highland Inca Empire, the largest and most advanced state in pre-Columbian America. The Spanish focused on the Inca - which had been the dominant civilization for only about 100 years - in their dispatches back home. The Inca have been the best-known indigenous culture ever since, and the "discovery" of Machu Picchu in 1911 helped to continue their reputation.
In Lima and its suburbs there are over 400 excavated ancient sites and more are being discovered all the time. The site pictured below - Huaca Pucllana - is located about 10 blocks from our first apartment in Lima. It's so trippy to see it emerge from a normal city street. It was built by the Lima culture and taken over by the Wari culture.
Items in the museum:
From Wikipedia:
"Huaca Pucllana is an adobe and clay pre-Incan pyramid built from seven staggered platforms; it first served as a ceremonial and administrative center for the Lima culture, a society which developed in the Peruvian Central Coast between 200-700 AD." The pyramid was used for a variety of things: to store agricultural products, hold meetings and ceremonies, and to provide sacred spaces to honor the priests who interceded on behalf of the people with various gods, mostly relating to water - both fresh and salt water. They have a nice small museum featuring some fabulous pottery and also some burial relics from the later Wari people. The final picture above is a display relating to the Wari burials which occurred in the years 750-900 AD. The Lima culture abandoned the site around 700 AD; the Wari culture, which had been expanding from its home in Ayacucho, took over the pyramid and used it to bury its aristocracy.
The Huaca Pucllana is just one of half a dozen huacas in and around Lima:
We didn't go to Cuzco or Machu Picchu or the Amazon. Almost did a 3-day Amazon River cruise out of Iquitos - a historic city from the rubber trade days - but those things will need to wait for another visit.
Abram's hot springs adventure took him up to 7,500 feet altitude, to a town called Churín in the "foothills" of Central Peruvian Andes. (Two pics from internet)
Known for its many hot springs, Churín is a 4-hour bus ride northeast of Lima. In the Quechua language, the word Churín means "your child". A myth about the waters - the Mamahuarmi Legend - involves a native woman who became pregnant by one of Pizarro's troops - not sure of all the details but it ends with her tears which still flow today, creating the rivers and hot springs.
The city holds two annual festivals. The Maca Festival celebrates maca - Peruvian ginseng - considered to be an aphrodisiac; another festival revolves around the food and cultural icon of the cuy, or guinea pig. The festivities involve dressing the guinea pigs in elaborate costumes for a competition. Here's a silly meme and a picture from a menu that Abram saw - we haven't tried guinea pig (yet):
Even at "only" 7,500 feet Abram had an altitude headache. Knowing that coca leaves and coca tea are sold for this, he went looking for some. Instead, an elderly Andean couple sold him some tea of cola de caballo - horsetail in English - which worked like a charm! He went back and drank some with them early the next morning, too. From Wikipedia: "Cola de Caballo is one of the oldest plants in the world, a perennial herbaceous plant that dates back to origins in the Paleozoic era. Usually it grows in the wild close to rivers or sources of water. It generally grows up to one meter high; in the specific climate of Peru, in the soil rich in minerals, it grows up to 3 meters high."
Some pictures Abram took en route through the mountains and in/around town:
The very early morning garbage truck announcing itself:
Speaking of garbage, it needs to be said that Perú has a big garbage problem. Driving along the Pan American highway it's shocking and terrible to see the piles of trash. The tourist areas of Lima are kept fairly trash-free, some of the other neighborhoods are bad. There's never been a culture here of not dropping trash on the street, and there are way too few disposal sites. Civic and political leaders are well aware of the problem but aren't effectively addressing it; they have plenty of other problems in this country - garbage probably feels like it's low on the list. Garbage and construction trucks routinely dump huge loads of trash by the road. This picture shows a comparatively garbage-free roadside leading down to the river near Churín; along the Pan American highway there are huge piles of it:
We hope they will be able to address the garbage problem in the future. It won't be an easy fix.
In terms of visiting the geographic, historic, social and cultural variety that Perú offers, high altitude and steamy jungles aren't on either Abram's or my lists of favorite things, although I'm determined to overcome my trepidation and experience the Amazon someday. (We did have a plan to go to Manaus, Brazil, a large Amazonian city, but a severe drought made us cancel our visit there. Another time, I hope, since there's still so much of Brazil to see.)
Back to Perú ... cities are definitely on our lists of fave things, and wow Lima is one heck of a city! At over 11 million people the "City of Kings" is the second largest city in South America after São Paulo. Lima was "founded" by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 on Epiphany, when the story says the Three Kings visited baby Jesus; it became known as La Ciudad de los Reyes or City of Kings. Of course it was inhabited for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived. Nowadays it's a huge sprawling noisy interesting metropolis... and the culinary capital of South America. More on food later.
Sunset along the Malecón Cisneros in the Miraflores neighborhood.
Three of many churches.
Outdoor chess.
Steps that eventually lead down to the Barranco beach; Lima is up on a cliff. (Photo by Phoebe)
Two old pisco stills and a beautiful bottle of tasty sippin' pisco.
The oldest taverna in Lima.
The Basilica/Cathedral on the Plaza Mayor in downtown Lima where Pizarro laid the first stone.
During Phoebe's visit we took the bus for a two-day trip 130 miles south to Paracas. The bus was easy, clean, comfortable... drivers are seriously nuts in Perú, though, and oy vey the honking!
Much of the Peruvian coast is desert, and in Paracas it's very picturesque as the desert meets the sea.
Below are some photos and videos that Abram and Phoebe took on their excursions to Paracas Reserva Nacional, including Playa Rosa and the trippy Candelabra, https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candelabro_de_Paracas
and to the Islas Ballestas, also referred to as the poor man's Galapagos. See Phoebe's video at the end for penguins!
We stayed in a nice resort hotel with a pool that was warm enough for me to swim in, so I spent the day there:
On returning to Lima, we spent a fun couple of days wandering around the Barranco neighborhood. Back when Centro downtown was the main area where people lived (150 years ago) and the beaches/cliffsides being 8 miles away from Centro, the little fishing village Barranco was turned into a seaside resort and eventually became part of the growing city of Lima.
Barranco is the Spanish word for “ravine”; the neighborhood takes its name from a ravine that was once a riverbed but is now the site of a pedestrian walkway – the Bajada de los Baños – a ramp that connects it to the beach below. (Photo by Phoebe)
Barranco was developed as a getaway location for people rich enough to own two houses or to be able to ride out and stay in a beach hotel. At one point an electric trolley was built to transport people back and forth from downtown. There's one on display at the Electrical Museum:
Barranco is a very scenic, interesting (gentrifying) neighborhood full of street art, galleries, historic buildings, shops, and plenty to eat and drink. The restaurant Central, voted best in the world 2023, is there.
Here's an assortment of photos taken over several days by Abram, Phoebe and me, including a section at the end with street art and music, and a surprise sighting of Mafalda, the renowned Argentinian cartoon character, donated to Lima by the Argentinian Embassy.
We stayed in two apartments
in Lima, the first one in Miraflores, just north of Barranco on the cliffside, the second one in San Isidro, a couple of miles in towards downtown.
The Spanish town San Miguel de Miraflores was established in the 1600's and officially became a district of Lima in 1866. Here are some pics of Miraflores including the sea view from our living room window:
No city stay is complete without a visit to the Mercado Central, so Phoebe, Abram and I braved the chaotic traffic, made even worse by Christmas shoppers, and went into Centro. There are several large plazas with historic colonial buildings and churches, and a pedestrian walkway which took us all the way to the Mercado. Happily it was lunchtime so we were able to enjoy ceviche (Phoebe and me) and chicken soup (Abram) at two of dozens of little market stalls.
We tried to get a bus out of Centro back to Miraflores but failed - city buses didn't show up and the smaller private "colectivos" were hard to figure out. There are two sizes of colectivos, one almost as big as a city bus and the other more like a large van. They have destinations on cardboard signs in the front window and a guy (very occasionally a woman) who stands in the open doorway hollering out the upcoming stops.
We finally were able to grab a taxi to the "metro", which is actually a dedicated lane for coach cars that travel - quickly! - up and down the freeway. (Not my pic)
Watermelon street guy on the way to the metro bus.
Our second neighborhood, San Isidro, is a mix of modern apartments interspersed with small older buildings, highrise office buildings, historical and archeological sites, excellent restaurants, lots of shops, and the Bosque el Olivar - Olive Grove Park. The park is a beautiful 24-acre oasis, and is located just one short block from our second apartment.
In the 16th century a Spanish colonist brought several olive trees from Seville to Perú; only three of them survived the trip. He planted them near the Huatica River outside Lima in the countryside, present-day San Isidro. By the mid-1800's there were almost 3,000 olive trees and the entire grove was owned by the Count of San Isidro. Now it's city-owned, San Isidro being incorporated into Lima in the late 1800's, and about 1,700 trees remain; some are several hundred years old. The park was declared a national cultural heritage site in 1959. The park and trees have had quite a series of adventures and misadventures - read more here:
I spent parts of several afternoons there:
The trees produce black olives, over 2 tons in good years; they're distributed to the neighborhood. Below are some pieces of an old press:
A few random pics around San Isidro:
I took a day tour with a small group out to the Lurín Valley to visit the extensive pre-Inca Pachacamac ruins, a citadel and sacred place for the Moche and Huai cultures, followed by a tour of a nearby hacienda and a performance featuring Peruvian Paso horses. The god Pachacamac was a creator deity worshipped by the pre-Inca maritime population of Perú. After the Incas conquered the coast, they didn't replace or repress worship of Pachacamac but instead incorporated him into their own pantheon. Pachacamac was believed to be a god of fire and a son of the sun god; he rejuvenated the world which was originally created by the god Viracocha. He was believed to be invisible and thus was never represented in art.
The museum at the ruins was terrific, with many artifacts and excellent maps and explanations of the various cultures.
You can see a few remaining colored/painted panels; originally most of the temple walls were colored.
Wooden death masks and two wrapped mummies with masks.
Offerings to the gods.
Just a few miles from Pachacamac is the Hacienda Mamacona, where we were treated to a performance of Peruvian Paso horses and some traditional dances. From Wikipedia: "The Peruvian Paso horse is a breed of light saddle horse known for its smooth ride. It is distinguished by a natural, four-beat, lateral gait called the paso llano."
These guys were arriving just as we were leaving - bummer, it would have fun to hear them!
One of the architectural elements Lima is known for is enclosed balconies. Called Miradores, they were brought by the Spanish who took them from the Moors; these wooden balconies were spaces for women to hang out, watch the activities on the streets, socialize with friends, and also provided a link between indoor and outdoor life. Often called Streets in the Sky, the largest concentration of them is in central Lima; they're one of the reasons Centro was declared a UNESCO world heritage site. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balconies_of_Lima You can however see them all over town - here are a few that I glimpsed:
Phoebe and I went to two fabulous museums, the Museo Larco and the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú.
The Larco, established in 1926, exhibits ceramics, textiles, objects of gold, silver and more, from the beginnings of civilization in Perú through to the Inca empire. It includes an extensive collection of jewelry and the world's largest collection of ceramic erotic art.
The incredible metalwork was done by the Chimu culture, approx 1200-1500AD.
In 2022 the League Against Cancer partnered with the Larco to use its collection of erotic art to encourage men to do self-screening for cancer - go ahead and touch!
The museum office had this poster from a 1997 exhibition at the DeYoung, treasures from the Larco and featuring the spirit of Rafael Larco Hoyle, the archeologist who opened the museum almost 100 years ago at the age of 25.
The National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History, in the Pueblo Libre district, is housed in an old colonial mansion, once the home of Simón Bolívar. It's the oldest state-run museum and features the country’s largest collection, with over 100,000 artifacts, and is currently undergoing a gigantic renovation and expansion. It had quite a few dioramas of colonial Lima, including a few miradores and a church doorway where I'd taken a picture of Abram and Phoebe on our way to the Mercado Central.
After our adventures visiting hot springs and Pachacamac, Abram and I decided to hit the beach for Christmas. We flew up north to the small city Talara and drove another hour to the resort area of Vichayito, near Máncora. Only about 80 miles from the border of Ecuador, the area is known for its long sandy beaches. We got a tent bungalow on the edge of the beach for a few nights:
Below is a wooden raft that's used for fishing for rays; video below shows a morning fisherman.
We went back to Lima for a final few days before heading to Colombia, to eat more ceviche and re-visit two of our favorite restaurants - Isolina and Rafael. This is the bar at Rafael; gotta love a place that has PeeWee featured in its bar!
A woman I met a couple of months ago back in beautiful Buenos Aires said, "you're leaving HERE to go to LIMA?!?? .... oh wait.... it's for the food!" Lima has a well-deserved reputation as the culinary capital of South America. It's immediately obvious how good the food is in Perú, from little sandwich shops to the ubiquitous ceviche to high-end world-renowned gastronomic foodie temples. All around South America Peruvian restaurants are very good.
CLICK HERE for an interesting article on the food scene. A woman from Atlanta who I chatted with at the airport commented that many of the things she had in Lima were the best she'd ever had of that particular thing - the best scallop, the best mango, the best quinoa, definitely the best ceviche. A man I met who's been leading food tours in Lima for over 20 years told me that 20 years ago if people had a week in Perú they'd do 2 days in Lima then head to the mountains. Starting about 10 years ago there have been more and more tourists who spend their entire time in Lima, with reservations at all the top restaurants.
I took a terrific ceviche-making class that turned out to include a visit to a neighborhood food market, a pisco-tasting, and even a bit of music-making along with the ceviche.
Two important elements of Peruvian cuisine are Nikkei and Chifa - the first is the Japanese influence and the second is Chinese, particularly Cantonese. There are Chifa restaurants all over Perú; the famous lomo saltado is a Chifa dish.
The greatest fusion in food here has been with the Chinese, mainly from the region of Canton, who arrived in Peru in 1849, and were known as culíes. Chifa restaurants first appeared in Lima in 1920 and have become so popular that there are more chifas than cevicherias and pollerías.
Nikkei cuisine has been popular around the world for almost 40 years, and it's found all over Lima, often as parts of menus, particularly seafood. Tiraditos, makis of different types such as acevichado, or with causa limeña, inka maki, Japanese rice tacuchaufa, tuna or salmon sushi with creole sauce, sudado with kion and sillao, and the famous octopus with olive sauce are some of the top dishes.
Here are a few pictures of delicious restaurant meals, although most of the photos don't really show the true deliciousness:
The final two photos are the before and after of a duck dish we had at Isolina - it was so good!
Cooking in the apartment is good, too, due to the excellence of ingredients. We'd been on the lookout for the Peruvian Parsnip, called batata baroa in Brazil; also arracacha in Perú. After discovering it in Río de Janeiro (see previous Brazil blog and the wonderful description I found "a potato that had sex with a macadamia nut"), we got some in the mercado in Lima a couple of times - delicious!!
We'd love to use it in place of regular mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving!
It's been very interesting to get a glimpse of ancient and modern Perú. This afternoon we leave the Southern Hemisphere and fly to Medellín, Colombia, "City of Eternal Spring", where we will ring in the New Year! We've been traveling for 8-1/2 months. Even with all that time there's no way to see all of South America.
Wrapping up this blog on a light note. Fans of Paddington Bear will recall that he came from "Darkest Peru"; here's his statue near a playground on the cliffs of Lima, with a plaque saying "please look after this bear". It's a gift from the British Embassy. As we know, Paddington arrived in London as a stowaway, sent by his Aunt Lucy (one of only a few known relatives aside from an Uncle Pastuzo who gave Paddington his hat), who went to live in the Home for Retired Bears in Lima. He claimed, “I came all the way in a lifeboat, and ate marmalade. Bears like marmalade.” He said that no one can understand his Peruvian name, so he was called Paddington after the London railway station in which he was found.
as always, very great adventures!!
Hi! This is Lucy from the Indian restaurant in Medellín - thanks for sharing all about your trip with us. Adding Buenos Aires and Easter Island to my list right now... Safe travels!!
The garbage truck announcement reminded me of “Bring out your dead!” Aside from that, your blog/blogs is/are amazing. You have a patience for detail that I don’t! And now I want to discover Lima. Thank you! Disfruta bien en Colombia!
I love the pictures of the central market with thr chicken heads, the beef tongues and the sea food. I miss all that.
All I have to say is: ¡(upside down exclamation point) Increible!