March 24 – Lima (Day 1)

We arrived in Lima Peru earlier this morning.  The weather has become very hot but fortunately there is a cool breeze blowing in off the Pacific Ocean.  The current that reaches Lima originates in Antarctica. The clash of the cool water and the warm air has caused quite a bit of fog around the port.

Lima is the capital of Peru and its largest city with a population of more than ten million people.  I thought the city would be on edge because the president of Peru stepped down earlier in the week and had been replaced.  There seems to be a lot of police around but we’ve been assured that the transition was very smooth.

In the morning we took a trip to the Pachacamac District.  Our guide was very outgoing. She told us that traffic in Lima was horrendous and that most drivers treat traffic lights and signs as mere suggestions.  She was right.

We visited the archaeological site of the Pachacamac Oracle, that was the most important religious center of indigenous people at the Peruvian coast in pre-Hispanic times starting from 200 AD until the Spanish invasion, lead by Francisco Pizarro, in 1533.  The site covered over 600 hectares of land.  and was the first stop on the main road that led from the Pacific Ocean to Cuzco in the highlands. The Ceremonial Center of Pachacamac was dedicated to the most important "god" at the Peruvian coast in pre-Hispanic times. Pachacamac was a powerful and feared god that was the creator of the world but on the other hand he was also the god of fire and earthquakes.

The first site that we visited was the Mamacona.  It was a structure for women who did not have any children. The women were a source of labour used for the production of textiles and ritual beverages. The building has been fully restored.

We then saw Old Temple of Pachacamac, which was the headquarters of the Shaman. This spiritual leader of the Wari was the main reason pilgrims stopped at this site to give him sacrifices and receive his blessing.

Next we saw the Painted Temple which was a pyramid shaped structure. Archaeologists discovered numerous beautiful ceramics and textiles showing the Wari influence.  These will be on display in the massive new Archaeological Museum being built near this site.

Finally we viewed from a distance the Temple of the Sun which dates from the Inca Empire. This huge pyramid is thirty thousand square meters in size.  Even though there is no concrete proof, some archaeologists believe that human sacrifices may have taken place at this the Temple. Sacrifices of women and children were found in an Inca cemetery within a portion of the structure. Burial goods found with the sacrifices point to the sacrifices originating from coastal societies conquered by the Incas.

We then travelled to the Hacienda Mamacona for a Peruvian cultural show.  Ordinarily these shows put me to sleep but this was great.  We were treated to a several national dances that we very flirtatious and energetic.  We ate a Peruvian lunch, which contained several tasty meat dishes and many side dishes.  Of course we were served Pisco Sours and local wines.

But the highlight was the Peruvian Paso horse.  These specially breed horse are derived from the Arabian horses that the Spanish brought with them.  But many generations of selective breeding has now resulted in a unique breed of horse.  It has a special gait that has only hoof hitting the ground at a time.  Most other horses have two hoofs hitting the ground at the same time.  The horse’s front leg makes a wide sweeping motion when walking.  It also has short pointed ears and a beautiful coat.  The star of the show was a six week old foal.

During the evening we went to a park and saw the “Circuito Magico del Agua”, which is a fountain and laser light show.  It was amazing.  We were watching the coloured fountains when suddenly as giant image of a leopard traveled across the water.  This was followed by an eagle, porpoise and a whale. This was followed by another set of coloured fountains that led to a montage of historical sites from Peru being displayed on the water.  The show only lasted about fifteen minutes but I will remember it for a long long time.

The rest of the park is filled with other coloured fountains, including a walkway where you are surrounding by water.

All in all it was a great day in Lima.