Wednesday, May 9: Panamerican Highway to Pachacamac

 This hotel is marvellous! Candies on our pillows last night, friendly great service.  Another delicious buffet breakfast.  Then out along the Pan American Highway, beside the Pacific Ocean to Pachacamac.  This site was inhabited for over 1000 years until the Spanish Conquest.  Each succeeding civilization used it as a meeting place and centre for worship.  The Incas built their Temple of the Sun on top of earlier temples.  The archeological site is so big that we drove to various strategic places and walked from there.  It had all been covered by sand and overgrowth, but the dig and investigation continue.  Hopefully the photos show the story.  We shopped there for some souvenirs and then back to the hotel for lunch in our room.  After a bit of a rest, we headed out to the Museo de Antropologie, Arquologia y Historia. 

It didn't look like a museum.  It's laid out on one level around a couple of courtyards and seems more like cloisters.  The displays are uncrowded, attractive and very informative.  They cover the history of civilization in all areas of Peru since human's first arrived.  We saw similarities to Chinese and West Coast Canadian  cultures in terms of art and technologies but unique features as well.  Like in so many other areas,  when Europeans arrives they rode rough-shod over existing, thriving local cultures.  After a rest at the hotel we went to the absolutely amazing La Rosa Nautica Restaurante for dinner (This remains my favourite restaurant in the world - still by 2022).  We enjoyed a 3 course seafood Peruvian dinner with lovely local wine, terrific service and great conversation while looking down on the Pacific Ocean.  A bit of shopping brought us back to our car and home to the Hotel Melia Lima.      

Larry & Cathy at ruins     

Photos 9 May Lima & Coast