Today went better than I thought. With a last minute booking, I managed to get a spot on a bus to the Pachacamac ruins. The tour also included a walk around Barranco, a south district of Lima known for preserving the older houses. After the tour, I asked to be dropped off in Miraflores, a thriving newer district of Lima.
To be honest, I didn’t see a lot of differences between Barranco and the area of Lima I’m staying in now, however, I’m not an architect or a historian. I did enjoy seeing a different neighborhood and it was nice to see the coastline.
The ruins of Pachacamac left a bit to be desired. Some imagination and a keen interest in archaeology is required to really get something from this trip. A short walk through an on-site museum shows some of the artifacts recovered from these ruins. The artifacts are quite interesting, with lots of depictions of animals. The ruins themselves are mostly bricks buried under sand. One temple was rebuilt to what it may have looked like, but an earthquake made it unstable and closed to visitors.
After the ruins, I asked to be dropped off in Miraflores. There I walked the coastline cliffs, watching people surfing, paragliding and exercising through the various parks. I tried to visit another set of ruins, but found it to be closed on Tuesdays.
I’m now back at my hotel, a little sun burned and surprised to find that my flight to Easter Island has been delayed. I’ll be spending most of tonight at the airport and hopefully tomorrow I’ll be on Easter Island.
Edit: Just found a web site called “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports.” What a fantastic idea! It makes me feel a bit more prepared for tonight.
You did a great job of making the most of challenging lighting conditions.