Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Goodbye Jesus Maria, Goodmorning Cusco

      I still can’t believe today is our last day in Lima until we return to Mira Flores. This past week has gone by extremely too fast, and I will admit that I’m going to miss it here. I’m extremely excited to see what new experiences Cusco will open us up to as we continue our travels.   

       Over the past two days we have visited the Museum of Art and Popular Culture and La Casa de la Gastronomia. The first museum contained several textiles, ceramics, and hats.  These particular Shicra textiles contained very bright patterns, that contained translational symmetry with their shifts in color and geometric patterns. The geometrical patterns consisted of stair-like motifs, triangles, and rhombuses. I also enjoyed the other exhibits that included several hats and ceramics. One particular trait from the pottery that stood out to me was the reoccurring representation of bulls. These in particular were Pucara- Puno stylized.
               


      Our second half of the day was mostly spent in Mira Flores…in the Pacific Ocean. And by in, I mean literally.  Five of us rented surf boards and were taught a surfing lesson right on the beach. Completely terrified of sharks and the cold water, I was scared that I was going to back out at the last minute. However, I knew that if I didn’t go through with it, I would forever regret my decision. I will say that the water was absolutely FREEZING, but it was so worth it! The instructors were very helpful, and even spoke some English(!!!!), which was very comforting being a beginner.  We surfed for about an hour, partly because the water was so cold to the point where I barely had any feeling in my feet. We ended our day trip by visiting Barranco again, then headed back home just before dinner. The worst part of the day was dinner, which was saying our farewells to Mr. Taco.
               
               
      Today we visited La Casa de la Gastronomia, which consisted of the blending of history of food in Peru. It provided us with information about the production of food in Peru, and the different types of food within each culture. The ceramics at this museum included symbolic representations of birds, corn, guinea pigs, shrimp, and beans. These were very similar to the previous ceramics we’ve seen in other museums and included pottery from different time periods. One particular culture that had several pieces was the Moche(100 a.C.- 600 d.C.) and Nazca (200-600 d.C.). The museum also contained several different recipes, and well known Peruvian dishes. Mostly there were food displays depicting what type of food was grown in specific areas, the production, and the types of different particular foods.

                                                   
                                                                        Replica of Nazca 

      My favorite part of the day was our last minute trip to Cerro San Cristobal. The Cerro San Cristobal is a hill located near the district of Rimac that dates from 1535. The valley of Rimac also known as “apu” was baptized with the name of the  Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, in 1535. Earlier last week, I wrote about our horrified experiences in these "slums" of Rimac. After hearing the story of their tour ride up the mountain, we were informed that their experience was not so scary after all. So, today before departing the museum, we (Me, Donna, y Matt) decided to make our last adventure in Lima up to the top of the mountain. It was definitely worth the breathtaking view, and was a perfect trip for our last day in Lima.  
                                  


      Saying goodbye to Lima is bittersweet, but the times spent here will always be remembered. Can’t wait for Cusco in the morning! 

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