Well worth waiting for

So, having spent the morning packing, we heard a call around 11.30am that we should meet in the theatre and await further details.  But it seemed as though the port authority were not being terribly cooperative in allowing the tour company access to the ship and so it was a while before the twenty or so of us on our excursion were given the nod to go ashore.

The port of Callao is quite some way from the centre of Lima and yet again, we drove through some unprepossessing areas before they gradually turned into a more modern, world class city.

It seems as though Peruvians like their ice cream and their cold drinks because on every street corner stood an ice-cream salesman dressed head to toe in yellow (including a yellow hat) with his yellow bicycle.  Cars stopped at the traffic lights would toot their horns and have them bring something over and many were doing a brisk trade.

We also noticed that most houses were behind high walls or secure fences like this one.  Windows and doors were gated or barred and even some letterboxes had metal grilles over them.  What to make of that?

We were still going to the archaeological museum first, but our delayed arrival had caused one or two changes of plan for later.  Never mind – there was nothing we could do and we had such a great guide, Diana, we felt sure we were going to have a great afternoon.

So, walking down the street close to the museum, she pointed something out about the streets in Lima that made them different from the streets in almost every other city.  Can you spot what it is?  (I’ll add the answer at the end of this blog!)

The Museum was situated in a leafy square and was, we were told, in the building which had been the barn alongside Simon Bolivar’s home.  Good grief, did that man go everywhere?!

Though the courtyard was pretty, this didn’t look like a world class museum, even though we had heard great reports of it.

Our views soon changed when we stepped inside, however.  For now, I’ll simply offer a bit of an idea of what we were able to see but for my textile junkie friends, I’ll post some extra bits when I have a little longer.

Because, this museum had the most amazing collection of textiles from Paracas.  These included this shawl like piece which wasn’t knitted (because knitting was only introduced to Peru when the Spanish arrived) but was constructed more like sprang.

The main treasures were the funerary cloths; the mummy wrappings if you like, which were layered up to thirty times one over the other and in this dry climate have been perfectly preserved.  Trouble is, it’s expensive to open them up in a way which preserves the details, and so many remain in the vaults, awaiting funding and expertise before they are investigated further.

There were wonderful braids, some made on a backstrap loom, others finger woven.

And there were the knotted quipu too, which are deserving of a whole lot more research and investigation.  Oh my, we were moving quickly and I was scribbling!

Oh, and I rather liked our guide’s silver jewellery too!

It was well past time for lunch and we were reminded that we were going to enjoy lunch and a horse show.  A horse show?  That’s strange…we wouldn’t normally have booked something like that.  But no matter, we were hungry and as long as there was food involved!

We drove along the seafront where the surfers were out and the beach was full of families enjoying the sunshine. 

Looked a bit like Bournemouth, we thought – or maybe Torquay!

Families were buying the same things as they do the world over, from shops selling brightly coloured inflatables, buckets and spades…and of course, ice cream, from men wearing yellow suits and riding yellow bicycles!

We arrived at the Hacienda Mamacona around 3pm and loved the setting amongst the trees.  This beautiful place was a private home of a family renowned for breeding Paso horses and we were to learn a great deal more about them in the next couple of hours.

A traditional greeting awaited us – four beautiful horses and a couple dressed so colourfully.

So, settle back with Pisco sour in hand, nibble on some yummy deep fried corn sticks and I’ll continue in the next post.

Oh, I nearly forgot.  Did you spot what made those Lima streets different?  What was missing?

There are no gutters nor drainpipes on any of the buildings.  In fact, there are no drains in the streets nor gratings or gulleys at the side of the pavement or in the road. 

It doesn’t rain.

Well, actually, it does rain every few years when El Nino comes and drops a few feet of rain in one go, when it creates a huge problem and takes forever to sort out.  But otherwise, it’s dry.

Who knew?

Being patient

Not something that comes easily, but then there are times when, for one reason or another, there’s no choice but to sit back, relax and let someone else do all the worrying.  It’s what we pay for, in this case at least!

Our cruise is coming to an end and those familiar with Regent cruises will recognise the “Krew Kapers” show which we enjoyed last night and which, as usual, brought the house down.

For those unfamiliar with it all, the show is put together by a group of crew and is hugely entertaining.  To close, every member of crew is brought on stage (quite who sails the ship as they do, I have no idea!) and it’s a great opportunity to thank them all for a job well done. 

We went off to dinner with friends afterwards and enjoyed another evening on the ship before some begin to depart.  We don’t leave until Saturday, so though we still have another night on board, others aren’t quite so lucky.

This morning, we were woken around 6 by the regular sounding of the ship’s foghorn and looked out of the patio doors.

Hmm.  Not looking good here.

So, we spent a while packing a bag or two – complex packing here because we don’t want to take all of our luggage up to Cuzco and beyond and will leave some behind in Lima.  Oh, and we were watching jelly fish in the sea beside us.

There were quite a few!

The Captain came on the radio to say that the port of Callao (Lima) was closed and that we were at anchor until the weather clears and the visibility improves to more than 1km.  Nothing we can do but to sit back and wait – but for those friends with an early flight to Cuzco this morning, that could prove tricky.  It seems as though an inversion is holding over the coast this morning and with the sea temperature higher than that of the air, the mist settles creating disruption with both sea and air traffic.

So, no-one is going anywhere right now.  Except for the jelly fish.  Aren’t they amazing?

Around 10 am, the Captain announced that we had a small window of opportunity and that we had been given permission to continue.  We heard the engines in action again and sure enough, before long we could see the harbour.  In the meantime, we’ve packed most of our things, have completed the end-of-cruise questionnaire and had breakfast.  I suspect that elsewhere on the ship, things have been rather more hurried, as flights are rebooked, tours rescheduled and all kinds of other arrangements have been updated.

The thought of making new plans for all 600-odd of us doesn’t bear thinking about, but they are experienced professionals and can manage it all far better than we can.

Once we were underway, we made our way to the breakwater with the tug Polux alongside.

Oh my goodness.  Birds.  Thousands of them!

So, here we are.   Lima.  A couple of hours late, but hey ho, these things happen.  Our tour wasn’t due to meet until 10.15 so we’ll relax and let those headed to Machu Picchu get on their way as quickly as they can and we’ll await instructions.

One of our travelling companions is particularly excited to be arriving in Lima and may well be on the look out for The Home for Retired Bears to pay one or two relatives a visit

We’d never heard of Moche until today

Sometime this morning, as we walked through a street in Trujillo, it suddenly struck me.  We are in Peru!  We docked in Salaverry this morning and exactly as we had been led to expect, we were faced with a grey-beige landscape.

The climate here results in this grey mist and though it cleared as the day wore on, the landscape which was revealed turned out to be rather grey-beige in colour too!

Our arrival made the local news this morning though, and as we were preparing for our day out, a TV crew were filming alongside a few stallholders bringing their goods for sale.  All was accompanied by loud pan-pipey music.  Oh yes, we are in South America!

We’d had breakfast overlooking the dock, watching the tugboats

and counting the huge jellyfish which surfaced now and again.

I kept an eye on the flock of birds which was occasionally taking flight.  There must have been thousands of them here, as well as a fair few pelicans too.

But come on, I’m not here to do bird watching. Let’s go!

Driving out through the dockgates at the port of Salaverry, the first thing that we noticed was that this was another marginal community.  All of those “boxes” on the dry and dusty hillside (it rains here maybe once in seven or eight years) were actually squatters, who hope that in five years time they will be given the land they have occupied by the government.

Turning onto the Pan American Highway (yes, this road starts in Ushuaia, Argentina and finishes in Alaska, USA), the homes of earlier squatters were a little more established, but even so, this was not exactly a well developed, prosperous community.

We passed a group of people making adobe bricks in the same way they have done here for centuries.  Their work was to become very relevant to our destination, for we were heading for the Huaca De Luna, an enormous pyramid built out of these adobe bricks almost two thousand years ago by the Moche people.

It was just warming up nicely when we arrived.  Actually, the sun was quite hot but there was a refreshing breeze which was particularly welcome when the time came to climb steps up to the temple.

That breeze had blown sand and created some rather interesting shadows on one of the sloping walls nearby.

The Huaca de Luna is undergoing careful excavation.  Particular care is needed because we are in an earthquake zone and undermining any of the structure could be fatal if a seismic event occurs,  To begin with, there seemed to be nothing much here beyond the adobe walls.

But then we went inside.

Now, all of this had been built by a race of people who were not against the odd human sacrifice or more.  They believed that the forces of El Nino, which brought devastating floods now and again, could be placated by blood and the designs on these two temples provides sufficient evidence of some pretty violent behaviours.

But right now, I was simply enjoying looking at the patterns and the traces of colour which had survived so long.

There were interpretations of the designs here and there which were helpful.

The human touch was there in some of the adobe bricks which had been excavated, where the makers had applied their trademark.  We liked the dancing man!

From further up in the temple complex, we could look over to the “partner” temple, the Huaca de Sol, which is larger but not so well preserved, we were told.  In between, there are other excavations being worked, because it’s thought there could be the remains of a village of some sort there.

I was so busy looking out over there that it came as a surprise when I turned around and saw this!  Oh yes, here we go…captives have been roped together and are being led to be sacrificed.

Here’s someone carrying a head, dripping blood.  (Sorry about that!)

You can see how well preserved this all is – altogether, quite breathtaking, especially that bit in the corner.

There was a key to the Mural of the Myths and we stood a while with Henry our guide to hear about it.

Guess what was represented there?

Oh yes.  The man at the top holding a ball in his hands?  Well, it’s not a ball but the head of the chap to his right, who is laid down, headless (of course) with a condor “kissing him” (Henry’s words, not mine) and sending him into the next life.

We can’t imagine how we’d never even heard of the Huaca de Luna before!

Moving right along…well, back along a few narrow village roads and on our way to Trujillo itself.  Running alongside the road was a small but fast flowing canalised stream, also built by the Moche people, said Henry.  But, just a minute, I thought it didn’t rain here?  It seems that the Moche worked out that the rain came from the mountains, so built these waterways to bring the valuable source of water to their communities in the dry plain down here.  Clever things – and how interesting to see that they are still working so well, too.

Into Trujillo then, the second largest city in Peru. 

We stopped by the main historic, pedestrianised street and had a bit of a welcoming party there to greet us.

There’s quite an attractive centre here with some lovely old, colonial buildings.

I especially liked the old street signs.

We walked down through the bustling street with our friends alongside and vigilant at all times.  I’m not really sure it was really necessary but clearly, someone thought so.

We popped inside a couple of these grand buildings for a look.  This one has been restored well and is now a private members club.

A little further along was an historic church, but sadly we couldn’t go in there because the cupola had fallen in and the structure was unsafe.

So, we carried on into the wide open square where the monument to independence was the centre of attention.  Literally so when it was first built, for a statue of a naked man in a city with a large population of nuns caused quite a stir, we learned!

There were several pretty buildings around the square and we were able to look in a couple of them.

The first one was now the Federal Reserve, we were told.

A former residence, it was furnished in European style but with some Peruvian touches such as this floor level mirror to check one’s shoes were in order!

There was also a bed where Simon Bolivar slept.

But the main attraction for me was the colour.

Glorious, isn’t it?!

We were able to go in the cathedral of course, which turned out to have some very bright paintings too.

We did a quick run round in the five minutes we were allotted here, but agreed, it was enough and gathered ourselves together again to return to the ship.

Perhaps they were all heaving a sigh of relief to see us go?  Actually, they were remarkably friendly and perhaps we added a little lightness to an otherwise ordinary day.  Let’s hope that was the case.

We returned the same way as we’d come, past the large market garden fields, growing asparagus and artichokes amongst other things, for export and yes, making use of the Moche designed irrigation system, no doubt.

This afternoon, around 4pm we set sail for Callao, the port of Lima.  We arrive there tomorrow for the last day of our cruise and look forward to a fun packed day of exploring another new city.

I really hope there won’t be much human sacrifice involved.

One last sea day

Now, there’s no automatic right to be a hero but I’ve been reminded by several people on this cruise that mine’s “a keeper” and after almost 34 years, I think that’s probably true.  Yesterday morning, before breakfast though, he had a typical heroic idea.

“Tomorrow’s the last sea day.  Shall we put some washing in the machine?”

Well, yes, because we’ve been in this situation before and we know what happens when everyone decides they don’t want to take home a case full of dirty laundry – there’s a mad scramble for the machines and it’s dog eat dog in the launderette.  So, thanks to some forward thinking, we managed to avoid all of that and have been able to enjoy our last day at sea with no such worries.  It’s not that I want to take home clean clothes, but we have another week of adventure to go!

So it was a day of catching up with my journal.  I didn’t fancy the first presentation this morning so stayed “home” and did a bit of drawing, cutting and pasting until mid morning when I fancied a coffee.

Where was everyone?  The ship seemed empty – surely, not everyone was in the laundries, doing their washing?!

Well, no, because the coffee shop was pretty lively – so many customers they’d run out of cups!  I hung around a while until a breathless young crew member came hurrying along with a basket of new ones, before going to Terry’s presentation about Peru. 

We joined a jolly table for lunch and watched as a huge block of ice was set down in a circle of towels on the deck.  We hadn’t realised it but we’d snagged front row seats for the ice carving demonstration.

In the warm sunshine, it was a pretty splashy job, but Ernesto worked quickly.

We were invited to call out suggestions for what it was going to be, with the incentive of a special prize for the first one to guess correctly.  Eagle, dolphin and seahorse were the first calls, before guinea pig, llama and flamingo created general hilarity.  Poor Ernesto was trying to be serious!

It was a swan…not easy to photograph…and the lucky winner was invited to come and collect her prize: A large ice cube for her cocktail

This afternoon, we had the chance to learn more about Machu Picchu and I must say, the day’s presentations have really whetted our appetite!

Then, it was Trivia time again!  How quickly the days fly.

Sadly, no win today – far from it.  It was only when the answers were given that one of our team recalled what a dactylogram does, but we’d never had known who released an album entitled “Change the World” in 1997, nor did we guess anywhere near what percentage of the population is left handed.  Never mind – it’s good for someone else to win!

As we left Trivia, I went to put my glasses into the case and disaster struck – one of the arms fell off and I feared the worst.  Yes, I have spares with me, but they’re not quite the same and sad to say, I’ve passed the point at which I could manage without.  As I passed by Reception, I asked if there might be someone who could repair them on the ship.  After all, we have another week to go, still!

So, with serious, businesslike glasses in my bag and having showered and changed, we went downstairs to the Mariner Lounge for what Daddy would have referred to as a “snecklifter”. 

Looking out of the window, we spotted the most amazing sky and I simply had to go up a floor onto the boat deck and outside to take a photo.

Or twelve.

We ate “a deux”, but the jolly bunch with whom we’d had lunch came and sat next to us, so I’m afraid to say we were probably a little noisier than we ought to have been.  Marcellino and Francisco were working at top speed, serving the Captain’s table too and so we were blessed with super-service tonight. 

We’ve enjoyed the shows put on by the ship’s singers and dancers more than ever this time, so headed for the theatre after dinner and settled ourselves with after dinner drinks to watch the “songs from the shows”.  Really great performances all round and a really great way to end the day.

We avoided the crowds awaiting the lifts and walked up six floors whilst chatting with friends, reaching our deck breathless but feeling virtuous.

There, on my bed was my glasses, mended and returned as new.  What can I say?  I know that when I try to discover who mended them so that I can say thank you, I’ll get a shrug and be told “It’s what we do”, but really, such things are what makes travelling like this so special.

Oh, and you know what I said about my hero?  Well, as I left my glasses at the reception desk and hopped in the glass lift to return to our suite on deck 10, I left him there to collect our passports for Peru tomorrow.  As the lift moved,  I signalled to him that I’d got it sorted and blew him a kiss.  As the lift went up, the last thing I saw was the lady in front of him in the queue throwing her arms around him…

Word has clearly got around that he knows his way to the laundry.

Guayaquil, the Pacific Pearl

Travelling through a tropical savannah climate, we really shouldn’t have been surprised when we paddled our way to breakfast this morning.  To be fair, it wasn’t the fact that it had rained that surprised us, but more that we hadn’t even noticed it was raining!

It soon dried up though and taking umbrellas as a precautionary measure was enough to ensure that it didn’t rain again all day!

Guayaquil is Ecuador’s largest city and a bustling port.  It’s the jumping off point for visitors to the Galapagos Islands and as a result attracts a number of tourists.

But the charms on the drive into the city were few and as we drove through fairly marginal areas of urban sprawl, our guide, Celeste, explained that these suburbs had developed from squats, build hurriedly when volcanic action further inland had driven people to settle in a more secure location.  Having been given the land rights to build something a little more permanent, the homes had developed piecemeal, which explained the blocky, rather haphazard nature of the buildings.

Eventually, we found ourselves turning onto a larger, grander street, following the river and the Malecon 2000, described as one of South America’s largest construction projects. 

Some way along, we passed by a monument to the Liberators Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin, adorned with the flags of South American nations drooping in the humid heat.

We didn’t stop however, because we were on a tour entitled “The Artists of Guayaquil” and were heading for a more colourful place – we hoped!

The coach dropped us outside the new Simon Bolivar Museum at the end of the Malecon 2000 and Celeste began her work.  The thing is, she wanted to talk…and talk…and then talk some more, but we had seen where we were going…

Now, can you imagine that I could possibly concentrate when faced with this view?

The trouble was, neither could anyone else!  Sad to say, Celeste had already lost most of us at this point.

But over the road we went, towards the Barrio Las Penas; the artists’ quarter.

The first corner looked promising and the wall signs interesting.  We wanted a closer look, and when we stood back, the camera shutters were going twenty to the dozen.

A hasty shot, taken way too close to the building, because I realised that rather than continuing up the colourful street, past the house, our group was being led in the opposite direction!

Oh, I see, maybe we were coming back that way, because here was the grand staircase Celeste had been describing, which led up to the artists colony.

Oooer, the steps were numbered and since she’d told us there were 400-odd, it looked pretty daunting.   Better take a deep breath…(and work off some of those calories we’ve been consuming!)

Anyway, there were a few interesting artefacts in the centre of the two flights of steps, so I could always stop and admire them when I needed to catch my breath!

Whilst Celeste was talking some more, I couldn’t resist a photo of suggested items not to send through the post.  Don’t put your dog in an envelope, will you?

Sorry, she was still going on and on…

But then, suddenly, she said we weren’t going to climb those steps after all, but were returning to the colourful street.

Oh my.  We were beginning to lose the plot!

We were advised that we could stick with her or simply go on up the street ourselves and meet her at the top.  Guess what we chose to do?

We’d imagined these to be artist’s studios, that we’d be able to see them at work or at least step inside a few galleries.

Well, in some ways, that was true.  But those with open doors this Tuesday morning could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and they weren’t exactly full of the most innovative or high quality work.

But really, that didn’t matter one bit, because the buildings themselves were lovely.

I took so many photographs of different colour combinations, of window shutters and beautiful light fittings.

We were happy simply strolling along at our own pace, looking around us and noticing things of interest.

At the top of the street was a small shop and I couldn’t resist going inside to see what was in there.  Everything “Made in Ecuador” was the answer, including a sample of locally produced chocolate

Having gathered the group together again, we followed the newly constructed walkway around to the Wyndham Hotel, where a snack was on offer for us, it being all of three hours since we last ate anything!  But our bus was waiting there too.  Perhaps that was that?

Actually, not.  Now was the time for the craftsman’s market.  We all piled into this steamy but very colourful place to wander around the various stalls for a while.

We weren’t so interested in buying Ecuadorian souvenir having invested in our Panama hats yesterday, but it was fun looking around and taking photographs of this and that.  Many of the bags and purses would have been so much more attractive without the screenprinted “Ecuador” on them, we thought.

Of course, not all designs were of Ecuadorean origin!

But those which were caught our eye and in such cases, were really lovely, if not quite the thing to wear in a Cotswold village, perhaps?

By the time we’d wandered around two or three times, lost our bearings a couple more and finally made our way out onto the (correct) street again, we’d had enough.

 

Time to drive back to the ship, past this beautiful old hospital, built in the 1920s.  Celeste pointed out the many funeral directors’ shops on the street opposite, adding that the mortuary was next door, too.

This really was a one-stop-shop, because next door to the mortuary was…you’ve guessed, the cemetery.  What a cemetery, too!  Elaborate memorials and mausoleums which seemed to stretch as far as we could see.

The journey back to the ship was a slow one, giving us chance to see a little more of everyday Guayaquil life, for though I had a couple of “ordinary” things on my list to look out for, we haven’t really had chance to pop into anywhere un-touristy.  That doesn’t matter, but I do like to see what’s what!

Like the little girl walking quickly to school this afternoon, dressed in her sailor-suit school uniform and carrying a rucksack on her back.  She was heading for the girls’ high school just up the road and sure enough, the scene outside was the same as outside girls’ high schools the world over.

Giggles, gossip and a couple smooching by the park railings!

To say Guayaquil didn’t meet our expectations would be unfair, because really, we had no idea what to expect.  Las Penas was a very picturesque part of the city and felt “real”, not just created for tourists, I mean.  But the way in which we were introduced to the city was possibly not as effective as it might have been and switching into my professional mode once more, I’d say “we were not fully engaged throughout”. 

Or perhaps it was simply the rainy Tuesday morning effect?