30th April to 3rd May

The rest of our time at the Finch Bay was pleasant and relaxing; reading, swimming and a little souvenir shopping for the kids - interrupted by the not unexpected, but still sad news, that Auntie Jo had died. We ate out once, locally at Angermeyer Point, disrupted by a power cut, reputedly Puerto Ayora’s finest restaurant, (it wasn't), is in a house was founded by the Angermeyers, one of the earliest colonist families of the town. Set in the cabin of Karl, it is decorated with photos and memorabilia of those early days of island life. We had our meal on the broad wraparound wooden deck, on a rocky promontory facing the bay. This place is also known as 'La Casa de las Iguanas.'


Once we were back in Lima we had a full day to ourselves. First we walked out to 'Huaca Pucllana' - from the Quechuan word “pucllay” meaning “game,” and in its entirety can be translated as “a place for ritual games.” Back in pre-Inca times, it was an important ceremonial and administrative centre for the advancement of the Lima Culture, a society which developed in the Peruvian Central Coast between the years of 200 A.D. and 700 A.D. With the intended purpose of having the elite clergymen (whom politically governed several valleys in the area) express their complete religious power and ability to control the use of all the natural water resources (saltwater and freshwater) of the zone, a Great Pyramid was constructed in the Huaca. This great adobe and clay pyramid is itself built from seven staggering sized platforms.


As a whole, the structure is surrounded by a plaza or central square that borders the outer limits and by a large structured wall dividing it into two separate sections. In one section there were benches and evidence of deep pits where offerings of fish and other marine products took place in order to attain the favor of the gods. In its other section (corresponding to its administrative area), there are various small clay structures and huts made of adobe – some of whose walls have managed to maintain upright – whose function seemed to be to act as the courtyards and patios of the enclosure at over 500 meters in length, 100 in width and 22 in height.


Other remains have been uncovered belonging to the Wari culture (existing between 500 AD to 900 AD) which was a direct influence to the Lima Culture society towards the ends of its time period. One such remains to spotlight, are those of the “Señor de los Unkus” (The Lord of the Unkus) which belonged to the first tomb within the ceremonial center to have been discovered completely intact. This tomb holds three separate burial shrouds containing the remains of three adults – two of which have masks- and a fourth one for a sacrificed child.


Then we got a cab and visited Miraflores, where I bought a woollen pullover - made of Alpaca and visited the Gold Museum in the Larcomar Shopping Mall. Some awesome artifacts in here ...


In this museum there is a spectacular collection of Peruvian ancient gold artifacts and weapons. The ancient Peruvians were master metal workers and this exhibition showed some of their techniques ... the "cire perdue" or lost wax process, known across the Orient and lost in the West until the Renaissance, was the most frequent technique used by the goldsmiths. in the Gold Museum, there is a dazzling collection of gold artifacts from various pre-Colombian civilizations ... some more than 3,000 years old.


Five hundred years ago the gold of Peru attracted the Spanish Conquistadores adventurers who conquered the Inca and founded the Vice-Royalty of Peru under the Spanish Crown. Peru's Gold Museum also host a valuable collection of old and modern weapons that ranks among the best in the world. The halls in this section show the Arms of the World Collection of armour, uniforms and various ancient war tools and weapons from various ages in the world. Some of them are dated as long ago as 1300 B.C.


Lima's climate is quite mild, despite being located in the tropics and in a desert ... the micro-climate makes the atmosphere very humid throughout the year though temperatures vary from mild to warm (range from 12°C to 29°C and Lima gets little significant rainfall from this.