Sunday, April 1, 2012

On the lam in Peru - First Day

Having just eaten lunch in a clever "restaurant house," I can report that everyone on the Deal Peru trip arrived, spent one night, and started touring. Right at this moment, your children have departed with guides and chaperones to visit the Miraflores Centro Commercial (mall) to do some shopping, eat a bit, maybe go bowling. Because there are no similar malls in the United States (large areas that contain a number of stores, eating establishments, and teenagers) it promises to be a refreshing take on Peruvian culture.

Our group has been divided here in Lima into two smaller groups. My group is staying in Miraflores at the Hotel Larco (previously known as the Hotel Americano), the smaller group at the Hostel International. The Larco is as expected - a reasonable space downtown, entrance on an intriguing street life, and singles, doubles, and quad rooms galore. We are the only large, rowdy group, so most attempts at hijinks result in bemused glances from the hotel staff, rather than annoyed comments from other patrons. We had a breakfast this morning that was quite delicious - although it became readily apparent that a few of our less-adventurous travelers were not excited by tamales and such. I encouraged them to eat as much as they could to prevent serioius hunger pangs later.

We then gathered for the first of what promise to be several bus tours. A cheerful guide, not all put out by the students insistence on off-the-wall questions, shepherded us throughout the morning. A few students became ecstatic everytime soccer was mentioned (futbol of course). The idea that an American squad, composed of fit and fanatic Deal 8th graders, is prepared to take on the entire Peruvian nation has as of yet gone unnoticed by the Peruvian press. Because there was a similar goodwill game in Costa Rica, we have perhaps created an opportunity for a significant improvement in US-Latin American relations.

We visited Peru´s anthropology museum, the Plaza de Armas, and the San Francisco catacombs in the morning. Peruvian archaeology is complicated - overlapping nation-states dominating the area of Peru in different times and places makes for more chronological confusion than the straight simplicity of US History. There were beautiful ceramics, of course, including a brightly lit pot that featured an "enthusiastic" part of the male anatomy. I am sure most of our trip´s parents will see these images, so I will not describe them further. Two pieces of the museum caught my eye. One was that it was carved out of the home of Simon Bolivar - an important player in South American history. One room of displays had clearly been carved out of an immense barn (the kind where horses are run in circles for exercise). What was most intriguing was that this type of reuse was not even commented on, clever as it was. The second interesting element was a wonderful number of my favorite Latin American museum element - the scale model and diorama. There were more tiny little examples of temples and cities than is normal; there was also a wonderful model of Machu Picchu. The kids were clearly impressed that they would be walking across that landscape in just a couple of days. I was impressed by the care which was taken to capture the intricacy of the site.

Our visit to the Plaza de Armas (brief, but appropriately so) was followed by delving into the catacombs of the San Francisco monastery. Amazingly well preserved, the monastery maintained all the elements of its original purpose except for the monks - but you could feel their presence. Long corridors, exterior gardens with bougainvillea, dark spaces with darker wood - all there. Seeing the piles of human femurs and skulls (the guide insisted these were the hardest of all bones) surely carried some weight for our students. They were quieter than normal - and since normal is pretty loud, it was pretty darn quiet down there.

At lunch we finally reconnected with the other third of our team. Because I am not in their hostel, I can´t speak to the conditions of the showers, the windows, the rooms. I´ll let them tell you. But as hostels go, it seems not to be the ideal backpackers delight. Having to take the occasional cold shower or overhear the neighbor is one of the thrills/drawbacks of international group travel. Tomorrow, we are promised to be cohabiting hotels in Cuzco and Machu Picchu - so whatever misery is to be found there is to shared.

And for tomorrow, we have to catch an early flight right over the Andes to Cuzco, get used to the altitude, and then head down to Machu Picchu the following day. The students are very excited about that part of the trip, of course, and I think their memories of Lima will fade a bit in the light of the Inca allure. But, hey, that´s adventure for you.

Once I get my camera, laptop, and Internet synced up, I will try and share some of my early images of Lima with you. My pictures tend to the arcane and obscure - Neal Downing has some amazing shots so these will have to become part of our larger record. Take care, and relax. Your students are being great ambassadors for Deal, and speaking Spanish on occasion to boot!

1 comment:

  1. Hiya Mr. Albright,
    Many thanks for the robust descriptions and great info.
    Mark Finkelpearl

    ReplyDelete