Lima, Peru

January 15, 2008


The serenade of the ship’s fog horn continued through the night as we sailed along the Peruvian coastline. With my being on the 7th floor and hearing the horn throughout the night I could only imagine what it must have been like for my friends snuggly perched in their 12th floor penthouse suite. And, sure enough, when I saw them, bleary-eyed and a bit worse for wear, they confirmed that they had had almost no sleep from the constant blasting of the powerful horn.

Having breakfast on the Lido deck, aft of the ship, it was easy to understand the need for the horn. Such dense fog…a total whiteout! The Captain announced that although we were in Callao, the port for Lima, that because of the fog the harbor master had closed the port and we were simply treading water, so to speak, until we could dock….us and scores of other vessels. What an experience. We found ourselves in a symphony of fog horns. Deep tones, high tones, short blasts, long blasts, near and far…seemingly above us and below us…the horns melded together. What an eerie feeling to be sitting in this whiteness and be surrounded by so many sounds, each warning the other not to get too close. It was certainly one of those “moments” that I will never forget!

After an hour and a half of this concert, we finally, with the help of skillful tug boat pilots, made our way to port and began our exciting visit to the largest city in Peru, Lima. With over nine million citizens, Lima offers a view of the contrast that make Peru so exciting. From the luxurious high-rise condominiums along the coast of Miraflores to the hillside slums on the desert mountains, Lima has it all.

Our first day in Lima was a “Virtuoso Voyager’s Club” day. My great travel agent, Judy Brannon and her agency Century Travel, are members of this exclusive group. As a “perk”, they offer three wonderful days of excursions on this cruise and today was the first of those adventures.

We began the day with a visit to the famed Lima Archeological Museum. Although I had visited here twice before on previous visits, this time was special in that because of my visiting the ruins in El Brujo and Chan Chan I had a better understanding of the Moche and Chimu cultures. Our guide was most articulate and informative and I enjoyed getting a better perspective on these ancient cultures. It was fun too, to see the workmen setting up the central courtyard of the museum for a huge benefit party that was to happen later that evening…wouldn’t that have been fun to attend!

Leaving the museum, we had a great tour of many of the varied communities of Lima. We saw old and new residences; fishing villages and city streets….this city has it all. Eventually we found our way to the Patanos de Villa Marshlands, an extensive wetland system providing feeding, breeding, roosting and sheltering of some 60 species of birds. At least that is what they told us. I think the birds have gone on vacation…or maybe the fog drove them away, because there just didn’t seem to be any birds to view.

But the best part of the day was yet to come. We left the empty bird sanctuary and soon found ourselves at the Hacienda Santa Rosa….a private estate that is the home of Alfonso Navarro Denegri and his beautiful wife, Carmen. As we passed through the heavily carved doors of the thick terra-cotta stucco wall we were greeted by our hosts and four of their groomsmen atop the magnificent Paso or “stepping horses”. Accompanied by a colorful band, these beautiful horses paraded around the arena in complicated formations. Each rider sat taller and straighter than the next and each horse pranced as though it was his final showing….it was a beautiful sight. Soon our host joined us and greeted us with Pesco sours. As dancers performed and the band played on we enjoyed a beautiful and delicious luncheon under crisp white umbrellas. Wine flowed and the hospitality abounded. Carmen Reatequide, our hostest, was charming and beautiful. Dressed in full-length wide riding pants that looked like a skirt and a fitted black and white lace top with a crisp Panama hat over her “snooded” hair, she looked like something from a classic movie. She couldn’t have been more welcoming.

Dessert was served in the family dining room. It was on the tour of their very inviting home that I began to see beautiful paintings and sculpture. When I asked Carmen about them she told me that she was the artist. What beautiful things she has created. As I showed more and more interest she became equally excited to show and tell me more about her work. It wasn’t long until I, and two other interested guest, were escorted into her beautiful two-storied studio. Here she showed us the current work…thirteen paintings, each about four feet square. The series pays homage to Georgia O’Keefe and depicts thirteen stages of a rose. What exquisite paintings. We got so caught up in the studio visit, sharing Carmen’s enthusiasm and passion for her work, that we had to be summoned to the bus, to the stares of our fellow passengers. This “extra” experience was worth the scorn.

The next morning we awoke to more fog. I had some consolation in the fact that, due to lack of interest, my scheduled flight over the Nasca Lines had been cancelled. Chances are, because of the fog, we would not have been able to go anyway. (One of the best known archaeological sites in South America, these “lines” are called geoglyphs and , based on a studies of pottery found at the lines and dating of wood samples, it is believed that people living in the region of Nasca probably created these strange desert-drawings between 300 BC and AD 800. They depict animals including a 590-foot-long lizard, and a 295-foot-hihg monkey and are only visible from the air.) So, I had a leisurely day, shopping at a small flea market where I bought my cabin steward an inexpensive T-Shirt. (He was so very excited!)
My third trip to Lima was just as exciting and eventful as the others. Peru is truly a colorful and exciting place to visit and I look forward to returning and hopefully flying over the Nasca Lines then. For now, it’s on to Chile!