We spent a week in Lima with the family of Raul and Rosa, and their children Raul and Daniela. We were really spoiled for everything. We even spent the new year eve with them. You can listen to the countdown heard on the radio here below.
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On that occasion, every family buy fireworks which explode at midnight.
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Daniela is as old as us, and with her future husband Franco we tryed a little bit being young in Lima.
With theim we went to the beach 40 minutees away from Lima (Lima is built on the waterfront), for the new Year. Here in Lima it’s a tradition partying and camping on the beach for the New Year.
The beach was overcrowded, like the Cote d’Azur. Waves were powerfull and 3 meters high.
Our swiss friends Silvio and Malory were there too, and with theim we tried surf. Lima as famous surf beach, told to be good to learn. Nevertheless it was too difficult for Rémi!
Lima is also the cultural capital of Peru, with many good museums. The Muse del Arte is a beautiful building with interesting exhibitions about fabric. Weaving is a tradition in Peru since many thousands years, and the beautifully preserved fabric once played a major part in the spiritual, cultural and every day life. Some pieces are so well preserved that they may seem actual.
Another exhibition is dedicaced to the restauration of Montero famous painting: The Death of Emperor Atahualpa, which had an artistic influence over the peruvian painters, and as well is important in the independance of Peru.
The last exhibition is about modern artists, and shows the greast influence of the recent and troubled history of Peru over the artistic scene, as well as the role the artist had during he dictatorship.
Another great museum is the Museo Larco, without doubt the best we have seen in 3 months of travel. Rafael Larco spent half a century searching and studying peruvian past, and we owe him the discovery of several pre-inca civilisation.
He fund abut 45,000 pieces, of which the most significant are exposed in the museum, perfectly accompagned by excellent text, by far best than the usual date and description. Special rooms store the extra pieces.
The museum has also a very special exhibition: Incas erotic ceramics.
Lima is a wide spread city (almost 100 km wide), caping numerous archeological sites, like the Huaca Pucllana pyramids, made by the Lima civilization between 100 and 600 dc. They are made of adobe bricks (a mix of earth and clay) oriented vertically (modern buildings have it horizontally), as an anti-sismic technology. 20 years ago the buried pyramids were a private motocross field, when the state bought it and began the restauration (still in process).
Lima is a big city, with very distinct centers. The historic centre, homing all the colonial buildings, is curiously extremly popular.
The new center is 20 kms away. All the tourists come here to find the hostels, restaurants, … Here we met 2two comical musicians, while we were interviewing Baptiste Daleman (here is the article abut this promising musician.).
As you go away of the centers trough the residential suburbs, you arried finally to the “young towns”, more or less shanty town du to the massiv exode from all ver the country (Lima is 10 millions over a country of 40!). Houses are haphazardly made, pilling up over the sand dunes along the sea.
Clairement une performance de surf exceptionnelle =) !
De la part de Lydie, croisée aujourd’hui au populaire Franprix – G20 pour les intimes : “Rémi, pour le surf, tu ferais mieux de revenir à Noirmoutier !”
Gros bisous