April 12-13, 2018 – Callao/Lima, Peru

Callao is the main seaport for Peru and the gateway to Lima, both by sea and by air. We arrived at Callao’s very busy commercial seaport this morning and docked among many cargo vessels – immediately to our left and right were an enormous container ship and an equally enormous automobile transport ship. One thing we learned during our visit is that one thing they really don’t need are ships bringing even more cars to Lima; they have way too many already.

Lima is the capital of Peru and its largest city. In fact, it’s a huge, crowded city. Our tour guide, Max, told us that Lima’s total metropolitan population (including Callao) is 11 million residents ─ the seventh largest in the Americas, and the fourth largest in Latin America. Of the 31 million people living in Peru, 35% of them live in the Lima metro area. One other pertinent fact ─ Lima is the world's second largest city built in the desert, after Cairo, Egypt.

Max explained that the city grew rapidly in the 1980's and 90’s due to migration from other regions of Peru, especially from the Andean highlands. These people, including Max’s own family, were running from the violence and killings of Shining Path and other communist terrorist groups in the highlands. They fled to Lima, seeking refuge and to find work. Many of these people became “squatters,” and they formed entire new settlements here similar to the “favelas” of Brazil. After all these years, many of them still live in these squatter settlements.

Our on-board destination lecturer and geography professor, Bob Aalberts, told us that 77% of Peruvians now live in urban areas, and 30% of them live in poverty. They are very ethnically diverse, with a large Amerindian population (close to 45% of the total population).

Lima was founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro at a confluence of three rivers leading to the sea, and it was the seat of Spanish rule in South America for nearly 300 years. Peru obtained its independence from Spain in 1821. On previous visits to Lima, we visited the central city, where there are still many impressive examples of colonial architecture. This time, we remained outside the city center.

We greatly benefited from a private car and driver set up by our travel agency that is connected with the Signature Connection group. It was a difficult day of driving in this chaotic, massively over-crowded city, and our driver David did a magnificent job weaving through and between immense traffic jams. Our guide, Max, explained what we were seeing. He’s a real pro and had been a tour guide for 10 years in Lima; he also had excellent English language skills.

We traveled by car for about 1½ hours from Callao to the museum and archaeological complex of Pachacamac, located about 25 miles southeast of Lima’s city center in the Lurín River Valley. Max led us on a guided tour, first in the museum and then through the ruins of the numerous temples, pyramids, palaces and dwellings of pre-Hispanic times.

Max told us that the name Pachacamac, can be translated as ‘"The one who animates the world" and that most experts believe that this means that ancient people believe this was the god who controlled fire and earthquakes. In walking through the museum, we learned that this site had been a holy place for more than 1,500 years, with one culture supplanting another over time. Through the years, it was the most important religious site on the Peruvian coast in pre-Hispanic times, where thousands of pilgrims traveled from the farthest corners of ancient Peru.

The museum itself displays artifacts discovered at Pachacamac, including ceramics, textiles and religious pieces, along with charts displaying timelines and other information. As we walked through the museum, Max explained the history and importance of the exhibits. Archaeologists believe that Pachacamac occupation began around 200 AD. There were a series of occupants during the “Lima Culture,” the “Wari Culture,” and the “Ichma Culture.” Then the Incas arrived (around 1450 AD) and took over the site. They apparently modified existing structures to their needs and built new pyramids and temples, including the very large “Temple of the Sun” on the top of a hill, and the Acllahuasi ("House of the chosen women").

The Spanish conquerors (1532) plundered the site and destroyed idols. Everything was wiped out, and the great complex of Pachacamac was forgotten for centuries, until 1939 when excavations began at the site. Since 1980 many foundations and universities have contributed financial aid to invigorate investigations. Within the past five years, archaeologists found a 1,000-year-old tomb containing over 80 skeletons and mummies.

After spending a lot of time in the excellent museum, Max and David drove us from site to site through much of the very large complex (approximately 1,500 acres of land). Most of the buildings are just piles of rubble in the desert now, but archaeologists are working on some of the main temples to reveal more ancient features. However, at the rate they’re working on this, it may take hundreds of years to excavate everything at the site.

Near the Acllahuasi building, we jumped out of the car and walked around its surroundings. This was a residence for young maidens – maybe female priests or maybe concubines. There were 200 rooms and each maiden had their own room. It was built using the classic Inca architectural style, with a series of trapezoidal windows and the traditional Inca masonry. The large number of cranes shown in the background below is the site for three new museums near this site, intended to consolidate smaller facilities. The area will soon be a historical and cultural center.

Max said that on some tours they climb the switchback trail up to the top of the Temple of the Sun and enjoy the view over the Pacific Ocean. We didn’t do that today, since we had a specific time to appear at the next place on the itinerary. This was a most interesting stop for a history lesson on ancient Peruvian civilizations, about which we knew absolutely nothing.

We departed Pachacamac and drove on clogged main roads and a series of maneuvering through back roads and dirt paths through rundown neighborhoods to our next stop at the Los Ficus Casa Hacienda. We were beginning to think that our driver was lost, and then he drove through a set of two large, locked gates into a green ranch oasis in the desert. This is a private estate and horse farm that opens its doors to the public on special occasions. When we arrived, we discovered that we were among a very small group of people, including our friends Butch and Diane, so we essentially had a somewhat informal private tour. We were led around by our host Alexandra who spoke flawless English.

She started by showing us paddocks for some of their well-groomed Peruvian Paso horses. This particular breed is known for its smooth ride due to its “natural, four-beat, lateral gait.” Those are Alexandra’s exact words. We think that means that they take a high step with their front legs and walk with legs laterally — left hind, left front, right hind, right front (rather than diagonally). We met the horses up close in their stalls and were allowed to pet them. These horses have very nice living facilities, with lots of flowers on their building.

We then sat on chairs (in the shade) alongside a large green grass show area, for demonstrations on the various steps that are required to train the horses for contests. The show was great, with a running commentary.

This took quite some time, and then anyone who was interested was allowed to ride the horses twice around the show area. We declined that invitation, but our friend Butch did it, and he looked good in the saddle. However, we did venture out to visit with the four horses close up.

After the show they served us an excellent Peruvian lunch eaten outdoors under cover – very tasty.

Everything about our visit to Los Ficus Casa Hacienda was first class and very well done. This was a unique experience, and they treated us like we were visiting royalty. The experience was relaxing and enjoyable. The home and beautiful hacienda must be owned by a very dedicated horsing enthusiast, and the guides who work here were absolutely wonderful.

It was tough to join the real world outside the gate of the hacienda and the terrible traffic – so many cars, trucks and ‘tuk tuks’ (small, 3-wheeled taxi vehicles) on the road. By now it was rush hour and it was even slower than earlier in the day. We didn’t think that was possible, but it was. On the way back, we took a short drive through Miraflores, the home of large hotels, new restaurants and expensive stores. It was nice, except for the terrible traffic and lack of parking.

By the time we got back to the ship, it was after 5:00pm. The day, visiting two only places, took a full eight hours. It was a great tour managed by an excellent tour guide and a great itinerary.

After dinner, we went to a first-class Peruvian Folkloric show, featuring music and dances by a group of local performers. They were full of energy, and we enjoyed the show a lot.

Next stop will be in Ecuador.

Jim & Ginny