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Published: August 26th 2018
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Huaca Pucclana or Pucclana Pyramid lies right in the heart of central Lima, in the Miraflores District. It is a magnificent archeological piece that was made of clay on seven staged platforms. To that end, it is not exactly a typical pyramid that we usually visualize. It was built in 4
thcentury A.D. and was considered a ‘sacred village’ by the Incas. The structure is surrounded by a wall to define the outer limit whereas the central part is divided in segments and a large segment of the pyramid was used as the administrative section by the Incas. We booked a tour earlier and the tour takes about an hour to cover various sections of the Pyramid and the guide explained in detail why it was built and how different sections were used. Quite fascinating that the whole structure was built from the clay and it still stands strong. And thanks to the Peruvian government that it has also created a miniature model of the Pucclana which illustrates the function of the different areas very nicely. We haven’t seen much of Peru yet as it was the first day of our tour of Lima, but what impressed me that Peruvian Government has
spent a lot of effort of preserving the treasures that Peru inherited from the colonial cultures and even earlier from the Inca civilization. I have seen some countries where such treasures were neglected by the authorities, but not in Peru.
Lunch Time! We already had a reservation in Restaurant Huaca Pucclana. And yes, it was fine having a lunch sitting in outside patio overlooking the pyramid rather than eating inside. “Lomo Saltado”? Renzo asked. It is a traditional Peruvian dish made of sliced beef, hot chilies and fries.
“I suppose I could try,” I said. Suman went for poultry and Renzo ordered a fish preparation. We enjoyed the lunch. All items were delicious.
“How far is the Radisson hotel from here?” I asked Renzo. I had to visit the hotel as they were having some problems of my advance payments with Visa. This is a problem I face every time I visit a country outside Canada and the US that my credit card does not work. The overprotective Canadian banks always block the payments. This has become such a nuisance that I try to carry much cash in US Dollar, or use the ATM machines to withdraw
some cash in local currency. Blocking a payment when I am already in Canada is one thing. I can push back the banks and sort it out. However, when I am traveling, blocking a payment becomes a total inconvenience. Anyway. I have to sort out somehow in Radisson and Debora Avalos aka Deb in Radisson was my contact who arranged all tours and the accommodation.
“Not too far actually.” Renzo said. “And we will be going that direction anyway to show you folks the coast line.” He confirmed.
The girls in the front desk were very accommodating in Radisson. I sorted out the payment issue with them. Deb works for the management and they called her in the phone. She came down in a minute flying down the stairs and it was time for the bear-hug…we communicated for so long, and this is the first time we met…the bear-hug was due of course! Suman also was delighted to meet her! Oh, what a sweet lady she is with vibrant personality. We became friends in a moment and we continue to follow each other in Instagram!
“We are going to see you in a few days time again,”
I told her when we were leaving the hotel.
“You see, we may not meet here again,” Deb replied apologetically. She continued, “You are coming on Saturday and I have to be away due to a family commitment.”
“Hey, Deb…not a problem, the family comes first.” I told her.
“But I will make sure everything is being taken care for you two.” She said
We said ‘Bye’ to Deb after a little more chat and waved with a smile. Three of us were on the road again, this time to explore the coastline of Lima. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, the soft wintry sun of Lima has burnt down the early morning fog and the Pacific coast line was shining.
“This is Love Park,” Renzo told us while parking the car to the curb side.
“What Park? Did you say Love Park?” I asked with curiosity.
“Yeah, see the sculpture.” He pointed out to a sculpture with a man and woman embracing each other passionately. “Wow! I must say Peruvians are romantic! They know how to express themselves.” I told Renzo with a smile. It’s a beautiful park indeed overlooking the ocean
below with the waves breaking down over the beach. ‘La Nautica’, a famous restaurant for its upscale food and ocean view could be seen clearly sitting on the far end of the causeway. We spent about an hour. The gentle air from the sea and the soft sun made the stroll very enjoyable. We reached our car after the stroll and headed down to our last destination – Larco Museum.
Museo Larco or Larco Museum was founded by Rafael Larco Herrera and later expanded by his son that boasts a collection of treasures which is a tell-tale story of the 10000 years of Peruvian history. The museum is sitting on a beautiful complex in Bolivar Avenue in the Pueblo Libre District of Lima. The entrance to the Museum was covered with the sprawling bougainvillea and colourful flowers very tastefully designed. And when there are flowers, Suman goes totally nuts! It’s difficult to drag her out from the flower beds. We purchased the tickets to the museum and entered the compound with full decors of flowers. The display inside the museum is very systematic. The Gold and Silver gallery exhibits the ornaments used by the Rulers in pre-Columbian Peru. The
crowns, earrings, bangles, nose-ornaments and the vases, the whole nine yards! The museum has over 50,000 pots and vases! The exhibits are well demonstrated with adequate narrations that walk you along the paths of thousands of years of Pre-Columbian Peru, the cultures from Nazca, treasures from Inca and many others. God knows how many clicks I took for various exhibits but the visit sure was a delight. I bet one can spend there a full day and it’s worth it. And that one full day we didn’t have unfortunately and already it was sundown. We knew there is a heavy traffic in front of us back to the hotel near the airport. So we hopped on the car and braced for the traffic and Renzo’s driving skill.
When we reached our hotel after facing the terrible rush hour traffic, it was well past 7:30 pm. We thanked Renzo for a delightful day and made arrangements for the morning pick up for the airport from Radisson at the end of our trip. We freshened up and needed to take a bite. Ok, I should stop here for a second. How many of you have hung around an airport terminal when
you have nothing to do? Well, that’s what we did. We took a short walk down the bridge connecting the hotel to the departure level, went past the departure gates before the security and found a few nice eateries. “Let’s check them out,” Suman told me. So we did. It’s a peculiar feeling…a stream of passengers were hurriedly passing you by, some running towards the departure gates, perhaps they were late. Only two of us had no destination, nothing to do…just checking out the eateries. Finally, we selected a place, and settled down there after ordering some food. It was amusing to watch the hustle and bustle of the airport, but we were relaxed….no hurry! We finished our food and slowly walked back to the hotel opposite to the traffic flow in the departure terminal. Believe me, it was a peculiar feeling hanging around in the departure level with no place to go in particular! Nevertheless, we were tired after such a long day but a beautiful one and we needed to crash. We had an early morning flight to catch for traveling to Cusco! In a sense, we were really happy that we were inching towards our golden destination
– Machu Pichu! Next is Cusco!
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
Lima
Wonderful you are so far enthralled with historical Peru, Tab. We also found it fascinating. So much to see and do. Looking forward to seeing where you go next.