Sunday Nov. 8, 2015- Exploring Lima

The morning started off with a short briefing from our guide, Juan Carlos, and logistics of our mission from trip leader, Page Keeley. We then boarded our bus for a visit to the Larco Museum.  As we drove to the museum, we enjoyed the "coastal route" with glimpses of the beautiful Pacific Ocean. At first glance we could have been in southern California, seeing the number of surfers catching waves. Juan Carlos explained to us that surfing is Peru's number 2 sport, after volleyball, and although soccer is very popular, Peru's team does not do well. Peru has produced several of the world's champion surfers and although the origins of surfing are typically associated with Hawaii, the first Peruvian settlers tried to "ride the waves" to fish since ancient times.

The Larco Museum was started by the Larco family in a large, beautiful hacienda dating back to the 7th century which they purchased to house and display their private collection. The beautiful structure is a fitting site for over 45,000 pieces of art going back through 3,000 years of history! When one thinks of the cultural history of Peru, the Inca come to mind.  This museum highlights not only collections from the Inca, but also many pre-Inca cultures dating back to more than 2,000 years BC.

Juan Carlos explains the history of the Larco Museum

We were struck by how lovely the bougainvillia was growing around the museum

The visit began with a private "behind the scenes" showing of the archived, catalogued antiquities. Thousands of Pre-Columbian pottery figures and vessels were arranged by theme- gods, people, jaguars, fish, llama, birds, frogs and so much more. We were privileged to be guided by two of the archeologist/curators from the museum.

thousands of archived artifacts

Just a few of the thousands of Pre-Columbian pieces

 It was fascinating to learn how they uncovered the "stories" in each piece, sometimes taking more than 10 years to figure out the pieces of the puzzle. Careful observation of each piece reveals something about the culture of that time. For example, if you look at this stone sculpture you will see a series of lines on the face which reveal an elderly person. The wide pupils are an indicator of dilation from hallucinogenic drugs taken by the shaman or priests of that time. So this was probably the bust of the high priest.

The pottery, textiles, and metallic art contain representations of the 3 worlds the cultures believed in: the upper world which is represented by birds; the middle world, inhabited by humans and represented by cats; and the underworld where you go after death, represented by serpents. For example, our curator pointed out each of the 3 world representations in this burial shroud. We gazed in awe at amazing ancient textiles including a poncho made from fine feathers.

The Inca also had an amazing system of record keeping using an elaborate, complicated system of knots and colored strings called quipus . The simple or compound knots and the size, color, and distance from each other detailed crop measures, thefts, debts, and other accounting data.

The Inca were amazing metal workers. Gold, silver, and copper are abundant in Peru and the beauty and durability of the metals give them an almost divine quality. As representatives of the gods, the elite Inca wore them and took them to their graves for use in the afterworld. We saw headdresses, beads, chest plates, enormous nose plates, funerary masks, and even shirts adorned with gold discs. 

Pre-Columbian metal work in silver, gold, and copper

Separate from the main house is a small building housing the gallery of erotic art with myriad vessels portraying the sex lives of ancient Peruvians and their animals. While it may seem "pornographic" to modern culture, fertility was very important to ancient Peruvians and is portrayed in these pieces.

A few of the many pieces depicting fertility and sex

After the museum visit, we had a lovely lunch at the Museum's beautiful outdoor patio garden restaurant. The Museum's restaurant showcases the flavors and products of Peru. After the traditional welcome drink, the pisco sour, we enjoyed a grilled asparagus salad with a mustard sauce, sea bass, Peruvian potato, and a passion fruit dessert.

A toast to Peru with our pisco sours!

Asparagus is a major export of Peru. This perfectly grilled asparagus was so fresh and delicious

Sea bass is a popular fish in coastal Peru

Almost too pretty to eat!

This afternoon we toured the center of Lima, including The Plaza Mayor, where Pizarro founded Lima, and we took in a few street scenes.

Plaza Mayor

We visited the San Francisco Convent (cameras were forbidden) where we also went down into the catacombs- a network of interconnected underground tunnels housing thousands of bones and skulls in ossuaries. The walls, arches, and ceiling of the catacombs were made of bricks with mortar made from lime, rocks, shells, and egg whites from the eggs of thousands of sea birds nests on the coast. The mortar was extremely strong and survived several earthquakes. Who would have imagined making mortar from eggs! We glimpsed at the massive 17th century library that houses more than 20,000 books and parchments dating back to the 15th century. The books and parchments could only be looked at from a distance as they are so fragile.

Next we visited La Cathedral, which dates back to the 1500's and is considered a masterpiece of Spanish colonial architecture. Pizarro is said to have carried the first log for its construction. Here Pizarro's remains lie in a mosaic covered chapel near the entrance to the Cathedral. However, it was revealed in the 1990's upon analysis of his headless body that the remains belong to someone else. It was clear from the tone of our guide that Pizarro is not revered by the Peruvian people, particularly because of his brutal conquest of the native people.

Pizarro's remains

Each of the 10 side chapels are devoted to a different patron saint. It is interesting to note how in Peru, depictions of the Virgin Mary always show her in triangular dress. If you take out her head and neck and look carefully, her dress depicts the Andes mountains, a subtle way for native Andean artists to include their culture in Christian art.The carved choir chairs are one of the great works of Peruvian art.

Side chapels

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Exquisite woodwork

 As we rode back to our hotel, we caught a glimpse of the Huaca Pucllana, an adobe and clay pyramid in the Miraflores district along side the coast. Lima was once a city covered with these ancient adobe pyramids and construction sites around the city continually uncover new sites. There is so much undiscovered archeology in Lima that one cannot excavate for buildings in Lima without having an archeologist on site.

Driving by one of the pyramid sites (photo a bit blurry as taken from the bus while moving)

Dinner  this evening was at Cala- a beautiful seaside restaurant, perched over the cobble beach with the soothing sounds of the Pacific waves in the background. We started with pisco sours, followed by the traditional Peruvian ceviche with red onion and Andean corn, a delicious Peruvian seafood paella, and a lovely dessert with cherimoya fruit. It was a long day!

Pisco sours

Ceviche

Peruvian seafood paella

Dessert with cherimoya (custard apple)