3-for-1 in Lima, Peru

Our excursion today was called Peruvian Art and we definitely felt we got our money’s worth. We left the ship around 9 am, skipping lunch and not returning to the ship until 2:30 pm. Our first stop was in the historic Pueblo Libre District at the Larco-Herrera Museum, housed in a viceroy’s former mansion. 

Museo Larco

property full of colorful bougainvillea & variety of cactus

The museum houses the world’s largest private collection of some 45,000 pieces of pre-Columbian ceramics and textile art. Did you get that? 45,000 pieces!! The history of this collection is most interesting. The site will allow you to translate to English.  https://www.museolarco.org/en/collection/

several rooms just like this

individual's faces on drink containers

mummy containing small child who died from hydrocephalus

this person buried with 7 lbs of solid gold 

burial headdresses

From there we were driven to The Museum of Contemporary Art of Lima, a collection of modern and contemporary Latin American art. We didn't spend a long time there, as it was a rather small museum. I confess I’m not much into modern art. Perhaps I’m not deep enough to figure out what messages the artists are trying to convey. Sometimes I suspect the artist isn’t sure either. I’m personally more into realism. 

 

 

 

The art on the Vista is modern as well and I feel the same way about it. In fact, we have one piece of art hanging in our room that only within the past week or so did I discover that it is a drawing of a woman. Prior to that I just thought it was lines and shapes. It’s safe to say that I’m just not that into modern art.

Much of our time was spent riding in an air conditioned coach between the 3 different museums. Peruvians work a half day on Saturday so the traffic was quite heavy. From there we traveled further south to the enclave of Barranco where we visited the private home of Javier and Yvonne Luna. 

life size pope in the living room

every wall in every room is absolutely full

Their personal home contains the art and treasures of the Luna Elias-Polo family who own and display an extensive collection of Niños Manuelitos (nativity scenes) from Peru and all over the world. Mrs. Luna conducted the tour of their home while sharing the history of different pieces they have collected. 

It’s safe to say that both she and her husband are serious collectors, evidenced by the fact that they have enough nativities to turn their home into a museum. They have a souvenir nativity that she and her husband are a part of along with tote bag they offer for sale at the end of the tour.

 

Yvonne Luna 

These photos are but a tiny sampling. There was one room that had entire miniature scenes with animated characters fishing, roasting a pig, woodworking with running water, music, lights, etc. I took a short video of it but unfortunately this blog site isn't allowing me to post videos. There really are no words to describe this place, and my photos don’t even begin to give you the full picture of what their home is like.

All in all it was an interesting day.

Penquins, Poop & Boobys in Pisco, Peru

We docked in Pisco Peru early this morning. After breakfast, we took off for a water tour of the Ballestas Islands. 

 

greeted by local dancers

First we rode by bus along the coastline of the Paracas Peninsula to a hotel pier where we boarded boats that would take us along a coastal desert reserve unique to this part of the world. The beautiful turquoise water was a stark contrast to the surrounding expanse of sand.

 

beautiful beaches in the middle of the desert

boarding our boat

our guide, Sonia

 

explaining what we'll see!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it was cold in the water!

We were taken to an area where we saw the famous Candelabro de Paracas, an enormous pattern etched into the hillside in the style of the Nazca Lines. From there we continued to the cluster of Ballestas Islands, the most ecologically significant coastal wildlife sanctuary in Peru.

 

Paracas Candelabra or Candelabra of the Andes 

Like the Nazca lines, the origin of the Candelabro de Paracas has been the subject of much debate. For more info, here's a link. https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/the-paracas-candelabra-desert-beacon-or-ancient-enigma/

It was hard to hear our guide over the boats noise, but the captain slowed and approached close enough to for us to observe and photograph some of the seabirds and marine mammals who live and breed on the small islands. 

 

Bellesta Islands home to much wildlife

 

There is a terrible smell around the islands coming from the enormous amount of seabird poop (guano) along the rocks. The Ballestas are sometimes referred to as the "White Islands" because of the huge amount of accumulated poop which makes them completely white in places. Our guide explained that it has to be harvested by hand. In the 19th century, guano made Peru one of the wealthiest nations in Latin America due to their global exports of guano. It is extremely nutrient dense because the seabirds eat fish in the cold Humboldt current. Can you imagine shoveling bird poop for a living?

 

There was a huge number of Peruvian boobies (different from the blue footed boobys of Galapagos), pelicans and Humboldt penguins. There were also large colonies of lazy sea lions and their young along the rocky shores. We got to watch a penguin hopping and making his way down the huge rock to take a dive into the water.

 

can you spot the Humboltd penguins?

Peruvian boobies

 

sea lions and their babies line the beach

can you spot the babies? (hint: they are black)

I’m not sure how fast the boat was going or how many miles we rode but it was probably a 30 minute ride each way. It was really cold on the water and we both felt like we’d been whipped to pieces by the time we returned to the dock!

 

lazy sea lions sunning on a buoy as we near land

 

Here's a couple of bus window shots of the downtown. Some in our group were dropped off in town but we were ready to get back to our "home away from home."

 

Iquique, Chile

Iquique (Spanish pronunciation: i'kike) is a port city in northern Chile. We arrived a little before daylight and took our time getting off the ship. A shuttle took us into town and dropped us off at the main square. I was there in 2023 on a Sunday and it looked pretty much abandoned except for the fish market at the pier. 

 

view from our deck

 

However, today being a week day, everything was bustling. The regular businesses were open and street vendors were set up on both sides of the streets surrounding the square. We walked about 3 blocks down to the pier where the fishermen bring in their daily catch. The local fishermen are at it 7 days a week.

 

 

today's catch

 

seals wait patiently for scraps

ready and waiting

I have to say there is more bird poop around the pier than anywhere we've ever been. Everything is literally covered in it! Not so much in town, but around the port and fishing pier. This is the reason.

 

 

From the pier, we walked back toward the central part of town. We browsed in a grocery store and picked up some treats for our room stewards, Jose (Honduras) and Keno (Jamaica). Naturally I snapped a few random photos as I walked.

 

really?

  

 

this never fails to amaze me

It's interesting to see what the ideal body shape is in other countries. For instance, in the US, we're used to seeing store mannequins model or pencil thin without much shape on top or bottom. However, that's not everyone's idea of the perfect female body shape. We've noticed that in Brazil and Chile, their "ideal" for women is much bustier in front and curvier in back. Even the mannequins reflect their taste.

 

street vendors set up mannequins

 

private fishing boats sit idle at pier

seems everyone has something to sell

Iquique town center

typical street scene

Iquique - 1 of only 2 free ports of Chile