Huaca Pucllana ruins, Miraflores, Lima, Peru – ©2012 Deidre Adams
Our last day in Peru was spent back in Lima, land of unrelenting gray skies. Lima is such a huge city, it would take another whole trip to do it justice. We stayed in the Miraflores district and just spent the day seeing what we could on foot. Fortunately, there was another spectacular archaeological site within walking distance of our hotel.
Huaca Pucllana is an ancient site built somewhere around 400-500 A.D., long pre-dating the Incas. The central feature is a very large pyramid surrounded by other rooms (?), all constructed of adobe bricks. The bricks were laid in special “bookshelf” technique designed to withstand the frequent earthquakes experienced then as now. Archaeologists have discovered weavings, ceramics, mummies, and other objects indicating that this society, referred to as the Lima Culture, was quite sophisticated. Several of the rooms had lifesize figures demonstrating various tasks – these were a bit on the creepy side. The site also features an area dedicated to raising crops and animals which would have been part of the domestic activities of the time.
Also in the Huaca Pucllana complex is a fabulous restaurant of the same name. We had a delightful lunch here.
We also spent some time walking the streets and just taking in the flavor of the city.
Next: Back to the studio and lots of new paintings!