Lima, Peru - Our Encore

Our focus for our second visit to Peru was decidedly different than the first time.  Peru became the first South American country that we have seen twice.  The first time was in June 2008 when we came with the Lincoln-Way teachers’ group with its focus on the Inca culture and tradition.  At that time, we had taken the city tour of Lima with its views of prominent government buildings and impressive cathedrals, the Inca ruins at nearby Pachacamac (where Barb had sprained her ankle coming down the uneven steps!), and and Incan archeological museum. 

Likewise, in 2008, we had flown across the Andes with magnificent views of the mountains to the Incan capital of Cuzco which we had used as a launching point for the tour of our favorite Peruvian city, the visit to Peru’s Sacred Valley,  and of course, Machu Picchu!  Before returning to Lima that year, we flew out to Puerto Maldonado on the banks of the Madre de Dios River, a tributary of the Amazon, where we had taken a motorized boat for a couple hours to Eco Amazonia lodge and our Amazon rainforest experience.  We could have opted for the three day, two night visit to Cuzco and Machu Picchu but we were glad we had done it in 2008 as it was every bit as expensive for the excursion off the ship as the entire trip 2008 trip had been, including airfare, three meals per day, and a lot of sightseeing in eight days.  But that was then and this is now.   

Peru is an amazing country, rich in culture and beauty, but most of that beauty is outside the city of Lima.  As we sailed into Callao, the busy port near the city of Lima, the foghorns were bowing and the fog obscured some of the islands we were passing.  Most of the day tours had included much of what we had seen in 2008 so we opted for a small tour of just over 20 people called Wildlife-Lovers’ Paradise.  Our tour was scheduled to leave at 9:15 AM, but we were put on first a 15 minute delay, then a 30 minute more delay, and finally another 5 minute delay while they determined whether the fog had lifted sufficiently for us to take the boat tour out to the wildlife habitat at Palomino Islands.  They assured us that if they had to cancel, it would run the next day at noon which would have been fine for us as we were planning to take the shuttle bus into Lima on our second day.  But for others with scheduled tours on the second day, it would have been impossible for them to have done our tour tomorrow.  Fortunately, the fog lifted enough and the tour departed an hour late.  We overheard a man waiting for the tour say that the tour was so good, this was the third time he was doing this same tour.  He was right!  It was a good tour.

A short bus ride through the port of Callao took us to the dock where we transferred to an open motor boat for our ride out to the Palomino Islands.  As we traveled out from the dock, there were hundreds of sea birds, including pelicans, terns, American oystercatchers, and many more. Even without all the wildlife, the rock formations on the islands would have been intriguing.  But the abundant wildlife was quite stunning, first with the birds nesting on the jagged islands as well as the many flying and others sitting on the water.

The naturalist on the boat called our attention to the flocks of penguins on the nearby rocks.  Not nearly as many penguins as we had seen in Antarctica, but still enough of these Humboldt penguins to be impressive.  What would surprise many was the fact that these penguins were to be found so close to the Equator (at around 12° South).  These penguins are about the same size as the Magellan penguins we had seen last year.

What captivated us probably the most were the literally thousands of sea lions on the jagged rocks and swimming in the water near our boat.  In Antarctica we had commented that we had seen more penguins in one day there than in the rest of our lives combined.  We can now make the same comment about the sea lions on and near Palomino Island in Peru!  There were so many that they were crowding each other for space on the rugged rocks of the islands.  Some had climbed much higher than we might have expected above the rocks and were amidst the birds!  Some of the sea lions were sunbathing; others were nuzzling each other; some of the bulls were becoming quite territorial and letting others know whose space it was.  One of the large sea lions had a large starfish between its teeth, shaking it around as a happy dog would play with a favorite toy.  We also saw the most enormous bulls we have ever seen.  I couldn’t even guess how much some of them weighed, other than to say they were big… real big!

We felt sorry for one of the sea lions because we saw it tumble off the rock, probably because there wasn’t enough space for all of them.  It had to have been hurt, but we quickly lost track of which one it was.  Many of the sea lions were playing in the water, swimming out to greet our small boat and jumping completely out of the water to entertain us.  Small groups of the sea lions were putting on their equivalent of a three ring circus every direction we looked from the boat.  I might comment that this was a multi-sensory display – the obvious visual with so many of them, the loud sounds of the barking, and, unfortunately the pungent odor that the large number that were there emitted.  Gratefully, the sense of taste was not a part of this test of the demonstration.

The excursion description had said that people, if they were prepared, could jump in the water as long as they were physically fit and didn’t try to touch the sea lions.  The naturalist jumped in first, as did two others including the ship videographer, Andrea.  They came nearly eye to eye with the large mammals as they took pictures with their waterproof cameras. And did the sea lions ever perform for them, jumping high almost as to say, “Look at me!  Look at me!  I can jump higher than anyone else!”  As the three got back in the boat, Andrea commented that she had gotten a jellyfish sting from one of the many jellyfish we had seen just below the surface of the water.

These animals we saw have no natural predators and are protected so have no fear.  About the only problems they seem to face, our guide said, was that sometimes the El Nino seasons warm the waters more than usual,  creating a warmer climate than the animals like.

It was a wonderful tour and gave us a natural perspective that nearly no one else on the ship would have received, of the abundant wildlife in and near Peru.  We enjoyed the day immensely.

Back on the ship, we enjoyed dinner in the LaFontaine dining room while most had a Peruvian barbeque on deck.  Barb chose not to go to the Peruvian cultural show at 9:30 PM as she felt the need to unwind after a very busy, but fun, day.  I attended it however, and the show was outstanding!  The music was upbeat and fast and the dancers were energetic and precise.  In one of the numbers, two men (they may have been brothers because they looked so much alike) were clicking two metal pieces together in the rhythmic sound of bells as they danced and even literally did somersaults and stood on their heads while playing their instruments.  It was really an incredible show which received a deserved standing ovation at the conclusion of the program.

Our second day was much more relaxed.   We took the free shuttle bus to the upscale Miraflores area of Lima which houses a large multi-level mall.  It’s the same one we visited for lunch on our first trip as well as our last dinner before boarding the plane to come home.  Today we had arrived before 10 AM assuming the stores would open at that time but found most, including the ones we wanted to at least browse didn’t open until 11.  So after wandering around doing window shopping, we came back to the ship on the hour long bus ride.

I think I liked Lima a bit better this time and the standard of living may be somewhat higher now.  The naturalist on our previous day boat ride had told us a little about the turmoil and terrorism in Peru in the 1980s. He commented that children are growing up in a more peaceful environment and have known nothing of the sacrifices those back in the 1980s had made (including many lives lost).  He commented that the Peruvian schools need to educate their children as to why they enjoy a better life today than if they had grown up during the 1980s.  And as a former history teacher I believe that’s why it’s important to study history.  I think in our own country, too many students have taken for granted the kinds of liberties we have today was the result of sacrifices of Americans decades and even centuries ago.  I was pleased to hear our guide make that statement.

CT