Saturday, March 19: Cusco – Lima

In the morning we had breakfast and then we were supposed to take our “Return to the US” COVID tests at the hotel, but something got fouled up and we ended up getting rather hurried tests at the Cusco airport.  Since this was another internal flight, the security and such was relaxed and we got to Lima about noon.

4265 The weather was threatening as we left Cusco.

After getting our luggage and loading onto our bus, we headed toward a complex called the Larco Museum.  Before entering the actual museum, we were treated to a nice lunch in the garden area which appeared to be a rather popular lunch spot.

4300  Some of the gardens at the Larco Museum

4305 They also had a rather extensive selection at the bar.

After lunch we started a relatively brief tour of the museum.  The first area we visited was the “Erotic Gallery”.  It seems that the Incas and other previous inhabitants of the region were not very inhibited and did not mind showing it in their art work.

4325 A few of the pieces in the Erotic Gallery

The main part of the museum was also very impressive, both in its scope and the abilities of the ancient artisans.

4330  Major ceramic works.

4340 The Inca version of a mummy.  There is a person inside that form.

4350 A step beyond “Costume Jewelry”

One of the most amazing parts of the museum was the “archives”.  There were multiple rooms with shelf after shelf full of artifacts.

4365  A small part of the storage area of artifacts

After the museum we went on a sightseeing ride in the Miraflores area.  This is the main tourist area, with many very nice hotels along the beaches.  This was much different than the other parts of Lima that we had seen.  Unfortunately, the weather was rather foggy and a bit cool, so not exactly “beach weather”.  As the bus turned onto the road along the beach, all vehicles literally stopped.  Traffic is known to be bad in Lima, but something was happening that was causing major problems on this roadway.

4390  One section of the beach just north of Miraflores

We were supposed to stop for a walk on the beach, but the traffic problem eliminated that possibility.  The main Miraflores area was interesting in itself (parks, an underground shopping mall, beautiful walkways, fancy hotels) and in contrast to much of the rest of Lima.   One of the beautiful parks is called the “Park of Love” (Parque del Amor) and the centerpiece is a sculpture named El Beso (“The Kiss”).

4415 “The Kiss” in the Park of Love

After driving through Miraflores, we went to another section of Lima called Baranco.  Sometimes called the “SoHo of Lima”, Barranco has many older, but very well-maintained buildings, restaurants and coffee shops.

  4430 A pedestrian street in Barranco

We got out of the bus long enough to walk down through a pedestrian street to a small park overlooking the ocean.  The weather was rather gray, but the view was still nice.

4435 The Pacific Ocean from Barranco

From Barranco we headed back to the business/financial part of Lima where the Westin hotel was located.  We had a nice dinner in the hotel and got our instructions for our departure and return to the USA in the morning.  We were to have a bus pick us up at 5:30 AM for the 9:30 AM flight so we tried to get to bed early, although that seldom works for me.  I set our alarm for 5:00 AM.

4455  Sunset from our room at the Westin Hotel

When the room phone rang at 4:30 AM, I assumed that someone had set up “wake-up” calls for everyone, but it was our guide, Rocio, on the phone.  Our flight had been delayed until a 11:30 departure so the bus would pick us up at 7:30 and we could get another 2 hours of sleep.  Of course, we really did not get much more sleep after that call, but we, along with the other 4 people on our flight, did appreciate being able to have a complete and leisurely breakfast.

At the airport, check-in and security went reasonably smoothly as we said good-by to Rocio.  Our package included tickets into the “VIP Lounge” at the airport, so we enjoyed another cup of coffee while relaxing in reasonable comfort.  There was some confusion about when we should go to the gate, so we ended up sitting there longer than necessary, but did board the flight about 11:00.  It turned out that all 6 of us from the tour on this flight were in the first class “Delta-1” section.  Although the flight delay caused some mix-up in the meals to be served, the food, wine, and service was good for the 6-hour flight back to Atlanta. 

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