This has NOT been a tourist trip. We came down here for Daniel’s immigrant visa interview, so it was always primarily a business trip. Almost as soon as we arrived, we realized that it was also a chance for Daniel to reconnect with family he hadn’t seen in 36 years and meet the younger relatives for the first time. His family has been extraordinarily helpful and kind.
So tourism was always number three in our list of priorities for this trip. Something to be done when other things weren’t pressing. But in three months that I will have been down here, we have had a chance to do several tourist things.
Our Sightseeing
Lambayeque
I had heard Daniel’s family talk about Lambayeque because his parents were born and raised in the area. Otherwise, I knew nothing about it. It is not known at all outside of Peru.
This colonial era church facade in Lambayeque is in danger of collapse and is being propped up wooden scaffolding.
This is a common sight in Lambayeque and nearby Chiclayo. Beautiful old colonial or republican (19th century) buildings neglected to the point of collapse.
Unlike Lima, Trujillo and Barranco, Lambayeque and Chiclayo are not rich enough to restore the old buildings. But Chiclayo is large and bustling, and Lambayeque has enough charm to become a popular artist hangout. With luck, they’ll be able to restore many of the old buildings before they collapse.
Lambayeque is an old colonial city founded in 1553 by the viceroy of Spain at that time, the Conde de Nyeva. By chance, the street that our apartment in Surco is on is named after him. It is the capital of the department of the same name, so when we had to update a family birth certificate, we had to go to Lambayeque to do it. It is much quieter than bustling Chiclayo and much smaller with a population of around 60,000.
The Municipal Building
A charming 19th century building with high ceilings and an open courtyard in the center that kept the building comfortable even on the hot summer days we were there.
La Parroquia de San Pedro
Daniel, Germán and Netita in front of the Iglesia de San Pedro, the main church of Lambayeque.
After a morning spent with lawyers and bureaucrats in the Municipal Building updating Germán’s birth certificate, we needed a break. We walked across the street to take a look at the beautiful cathedral across the street.
It was closed, but there was a chapel behind the church that was open. We stepped inside to get out of the hot sun. What we saw inside was completely unexpected and breathtaking.
This stunning chapel behind the Iglesia de San Pedro was constructed using the twisty trunks of the algarrobo tree.
The form of this chapel – three parts with algarrobo used for the columns and rafters – dates back to pre-inca times.
The algarrobo tree of northern Peru requires very little water. It grows in arid regions where no other trees can survive. It has been used since ancient times for its fruit and its wood.
El Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán
After a morning in the municipal offices, we took the lawyer out to lunch at an excellent restaurant he recommended. After lunch, he returned home and we strolled a few short blocks down to the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum.
The museum is designed as a pyramid. You climb a long ramp up to the entrance on the top floor of the museum and work your way down through three floors of exhibits – just as if you were an archeologist excavating down through the layers. We hired an excellent guide and spent three hours in this world class museum marveling at all the artifacts – works of art in gold, silver, copper, pottery and even textiles.
The royal tombs of Sipán were discovered fairly recently, in 1987. The Peruvian army was called in to protect the site from looters and when archeologists began excavation the tombs were still intact. This discovery was hailed as one of the most significant archeological excavations of a tomb since King Tut.
See: Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum
EL Museo Bruning
Another day we toured the Bruning Museum, just a few short blocks from the Municipal Building. Bruning was a mechanical engineer from Germany who emigrated to Peru as a young man in the latter part of the 19th century. He was passionately interested in ethnography and antiquities. As an old man, he donated his photographs and artifact collection to the Peruvian government. This museum in classic mid-century modern style was built in the 1960’s to house his collection.
Once again, we hired a guide and once again spent three hours viewing the collection. I was most struck by the Moche pottery, who created pottery that were portraits of real people.
Link to Wikipedia article: Bruning Museum
Link to: Museum Website
Chan Chan
On our way back from Chiclayo, we stopped at Chan Chan and toured the site. It is the second largest mud adobe site in the world, estimated to have had a population of 50,000 before the Incas conquered it. I was especially struck by the repeated motifs on the walls. They were gorgeous.
An adobe wall at Chan Chan. Note the recurring squirrel motif at the base of the wall. Other patterns included ducks, fish and geometric shapes.
The walls were 8-10 feet tall. The motif is about a foot and a half high.
Chan Chan is on the outskirts of Trujillo, so we drove into the colonial center which has been beautifully restored to its colonial glory. We spent 15 minutes in the main square until we noticed that the police were about to give us a ticket. (We had parked in a loading only zone) We’ll have to come back someday for a longer visit!
Historic Center of Lima
Daniel and his cousin Jonathon walking down a pedestrian mall past a colonial building with a typical ornate wooden balcony toward the Cathedral.
The cathedral was destroyed three times by earthquakes. After the third earthquake it was rebuilt in wood made to look like stone. It has survived subsequent earthquakes in good shape, but candles are not allowed within the building as they would be a fire hazard.
When I visited Peru 40 years ago on a trip with the Stanford Alumni Association, central Lima was so dirty, dilapidated and dangerous that we stayed in Miraflores instead.
What a change! Dozens if not hundreds of colonial and republican (19th century) buildings have been carefully restored. Streets have been repaved, relighted and turned into pedestrian malls. Important buildings are beautifully lit up at night. The place is now charming and safe (at least in the day). Daniel, Jonathon and I spent an afternoon and evening there, touring churches and enjoying the ambience.
Daniel and his cousin Jonathon standing outside the Archepiscopal Palace next to the cathedral.
Many commercial buildings dating from the 19th and early 20th century have also been restored. This especially fine specimen is located on the Jirón de la Unión, which was once the city’s most fashionable street.
The ornate inscription on the building reads
Fotografia Central
E. Courret
A. Dubreuil
Fundada en 1865
Barranco
One evening we drove over to Barranco, a seaside municipality famous for its charming 19th century architecture. It has attracted artists and bohemians and they in turn, along with the seaside location, have attracted wealthy people. Not unlike Laguna Beach in Southern California. We walked along charming narrow streets past art galleries, coffee houses and trendy restaurants to the seaside promenade, enjoying the evening air and watching the sunset. We then ate dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Bridge of Sighs, an old pedestrian bridge that crosses a narrow ravine leading down to the ocean.
Lots of people were enjoying the place, mostly other Limeños out for a fun evening. It is also a very popular place to take bridal and Quinceanera photos.
Paracas
Six of us decided to take a trip to Paracas. about 4 hours south of Lima. We piled into Renetta’s blue Suzuki (a tight fit!) and headed south on the Panamericana Sur.
The Town
We stayed at the Hotel El Mirador, a resort about a quarter of a mile from the waterfront.
The hotel dates from the 1960’s and, having been well maintained but never renovated, retains a lot of its original charm.
The rooms enclose a large central courtyard with beautiful gardens, an enormous pool and a cafe that serves drinks and lunch.
A delightful place to unwind after a day of sightseeing. That’s me under the fountain!
The National Reserve
The land of the Paracas National Reserve is the most absolute desert I have ever seen. Most of the land is completely barren – no plants whatsoever. The deserts of Utah are lush Edens in comparison. This is in stark contrast to the abundance of life in the ocean and along the shore.
There are several gorgeous beaches on in the preserve. We visited two of the beaches that allow swimming: Playa de las Minas and Playa Raspón.
The Ballesta Islands
We took a morning boat trip to the Islas Ballestas. We saw seals swimming in the ocean and lots of birds flying about and diving into the water to catch fish. As we slowly circled close to the shore, we saw multitudes of birds nesting on the cliffs and sea lions lounging on sand bars in the shade of caves and arches carved out by the waves. We even saw a penguin!
The return trip
The Panamericana Sur is SO MUCH better than the Panamericana Norte. I wonder why.
Where are all the Foreign Tourists?
In all our sightseeing, we have seen plenty of Peruvian tourists but remarkably few European, North American or Asian tourists. A half dozen in Lambayeque. Maybe a dozen in Chan Chan. None in Trujillo. Another dozen or so in the historic center of Lima and in Barranco. Only in Paracas did we see significant numbers – perhaps as many as a hundred. Given the outstanding attractions, this seems puzzling.
Perhaps it is the wrong season. Northern Hemisphere tourists generally don’t travel in February.
Perhaps it is the lack of infrastructure. Highways in the north are very inadequate. Unlike Spain and Italy in the early 1970’s, there is no railroad system. There are some excellent bus services – sleeper buses even! – that middle class Peruvians use, but they are hard for foreigners to figure out. There are many bus companies, and each company has its own terminals. Traffic can be awful, especially in Lima and on the Panamericana Norte. Renting a car and driving is unappealing for all but the most daring of tourists.
There are many hotels and hostels that cater to Peruvian tourists. They are generally very clean and comfortable, but not air conditioned. Accommodations similar to what Americans are used to were lacking in all of the places we visited.
Not a lot of people speak English, let alone German, French or Japanese.
And finally, Peru has so many other attractions, many of which are far more famous than anyplace we went. Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, the Nazca Lines, Iquitos. People with only two weeks’ vacation only have time for the highlights. But they are missing out on some amazing places.