Month: October 2016

This morning we went out walking in the Mira Flores part of Lima where we were staying. Our hotel was only a few blocks from the ocean. 

We took a one o’clock bus for Om Lima to Paracas. It was the first time we have used the Cruz Del Sur bus line. It was by far the best bus ride so far.  For one thing they only has three seats across upstairs. We were in the very front seat. 

Paracas is about four hours south of Lima. The route is all desert so we drove through sand the whole way. 

We had fish for dinner on the beach. 

This afternoon after we arrived we made reservations to take a boat trip to the Islas Ballestas tomorrow morning. 

We are staying in a very nice hotel – Casa Cielo in the Mira Flora part of Lima. It is a very upscale neighborhood. It sure is a world away from all the other parts of Peru we have visited!

This morning we headed to the Historic Center of Lima to explore. We toured the Convent of San Francisco. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures inside. They had a wonderful library. As many as 20,000 people were buried in the catacombs under the church. 

Initially when we arrived in the center the Plaza Mayor was blocked off by police. We never did figure out why.  But after we finished at the Convent San Francisco we were able to visit the Plaza Mayor and the beautiful Plaza San Martin. 

In the afternoon we went back to our hotel and took naps. Then about five we headed out to the Museo Larco. It is an absolutely wonderful museum of Peruvian archeology. It is a private museum. My guide book says it is the best in Lima. 

One of the most impressive things about the museum was the storage. The sign explained that while all museums have storage the Museum Larco is one of the only museums whose storage is on display. There were so many artifacts in storage it was hard to believe. 

The museum also had a large erotic gallery. As the signs explained sexuality was an important part of the ancient culture and religion. 

The museum also had a wonderful restaurant. We enjoyed one of the best dinners of our trip. 

Today we spent almost eleven hours on a bus going from Huánuco to Lima. Altitudes again – Huánuco is at around 6,000 ft. We went up to over 14,000 feet and the down to sea level at Lima.  We caught the bus in Huánuco at 8:30 this morning. The big seats downstairs were already booked when we bought our tickets so we were upstairs. The seats look like they have a lot of leg room until the seat in front of you reclines into your lap! It was a tiring day. I listened to almost all of season two of the podcast Serial. 

The scenery was stunning and interesting. 

Traffic in Lima was horrible but we finally got to our hotel around 8 tonight.   Boy did the hamburgers and beer for dinner taste good. 

We arrived in Huánuco around five last night after several busy traveling and site seeing days. So we decided to spend two days here and rest and recuperate. This morning we went out and bought bus tickets for our trip to Lima tomorrow. We also dropped off our laundry.
While we were out we got to enjoy a mini parade promoting earthquake preparedness. There was a band, ambulances, an excavator, and lots of kids and people in costume. All the kids had on t-shirts saying that there would be a night time earthquake drill tomorrow night.

We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing plus Duke went out and got a shave.

Dinner was pasta and sangria at a good Italian place. Then we went to pick up our laundry. The guy behind the counter was eager to practice his English. He asked us if we are Republicans or Democrats. Then we chatted a bit about our strong opinions about the candidates. We shook hands and said good bye. It was one of those memorable fun exchanges. It is a bit surprising to me how few Peruvians have asked us about the election.