Postcards from Peru 2

28 September, Lima

My first free day, and I had to get up early to meet the Solmartour rep, Rodolfo, who had offered to take me to visit some sites outside Lima. He made a number of suggested trips and, as he was busy, put me in touch with another guide, Christine, who for $30 would take me to Pachacamac, a huge temple site covering a number of civilisations from Lima (c. 0) to Inca (c. 1400). It was the first time I had travelled north from the centre of Lima, and it was just as busy, chaotic and sandy as heading south. We took the Pan-American highway, lined choc-a-bloc with businesses and shanty dwellings creeping up every sandy hillside. Suddenly at the edge of Lima, with the beach and green fields and football pitches on our left, there was, at first sight, a rolling landscape of sandy rubble. This was the site of Pachacamac, and the rubble was the remains of the mainly adobe walls of the various temples. A few stone walls remained, looking suspiciously clean & clearly restored. Excavation here, started in the 19th century by a German archaeologist, must be difficult as disintegrated adobe bricks must look very like natural sandy soil. There was obviously plenty to discover, as shards of pottery could be seen lying about on the many hectares of land between the main remains. I was surprised at how extensive the site was and, as in the central Lima sites, how the urban sprawl is creeping up on it.

My afternoon and evening was lost - tiredness, gurgling intestines and a gripping book meant that it was mainly spent reading in bed!

Pachacamac: Inca mansion with Pachacamac town behind

29 September, Lima

Yes, a grey day again, but feeling 110% after all that sleep yesterday. Election fever has broken out here. On Sunday 3rd October there are elections for mayors or leaders of the provinces and towns of Peru. In Lima the leading contenders are both women, and there was a TV head to head debate yesterday. The newspapers today (at least the headlines that I understood) mainly seem to side with Lourdes Flores of the Partido Popular Cristiano (conservative) rather than Susana Villarán of the Fuerza Nacional (centre-left), but the latter is leading in the polls so far. In the city the sides of the roads, and the central resrvations, are festooned with posters for both the local district heads and for the mayor of Lima. In the countryside whole walls or houses have been painted with party colours and the candidates name and symbol. Guides on how to vote are also plastered on walls and are featured on the TV.

In the evening I went to see a rather curious (and morbid - think artist kills girlfriend, then exhibits pictures of her body preserved with ice-cubes in the bath!) Peruvian film called 'Ella'. I may not have understood all the dialogue, but I certainly recognised many of the back-streets of Lima in the film.

Mayoral election posters in Miraflores

30 September, Lima

Did I mention that it is often grey and overcast here? Again. Out early with the guide, Christine, to visit the Inca site of Purochuco on the eastern fringe of the city. I expected it to be away from the city, but the roads & houses went right up to the boundary fence of the site. It has probably survived from the 15th century because the area behind the site is a steep hill of loose rock and therefore not suitable for development. The ruins are of a 'palace' of the regional Inca chief - a private residence, but also a storehouse and redistribution and trading centre. It was excavated and reconstructed and then opened as a museum in 1960 - a pioneering concert in South America at the time. Apparently there were son et Lumière shows here, but the terraces overlooking the site were in poor condition and none of the lighting fitments remained intact. We were the only visitors, as tour groups no longer come here. It was rather sad, given the effort that had gone into the site, but Christine maintained that the surrounding area was not safe in the afternoon (the site security guard did have a rifle!), and that the other site I wanted to visit, at Cajamarquilla, was now off-limits due to criminal/communist squatters in the area.

We got back in time for me to have a leisurely lunch, then join Rodolfo and a Belgian group to go to the airport to meet my next group, who arrived on three different flights spanning four hours between the first and last arrival times. Luckily the agents, Solmartour, sorted out separate transport and guides for each group, so there was not too much hanging around.