San Francisco

Plaza Mayor

I thought this was so cool. She is so preserved that you can still see the pupils of her eyes. And, yes, that is her real hair.

Hola from Lima! Arrived late Thursday night and spent yesterday on my own exploring Lima. My hotel is in a great area called Miraflores, which is residential as well as home to tons of restaurants and nightlife haunts. Very nice and safe to walk around and close to the beach. The city is so busy and traffic is insane. As a frame of reference, they drive crazier than Chicago and NYC, but not as crazy as Athens. My Greece traveling friends will understand. My survival technique has been,´when the locals walk, I walk.´ The food is amazing and the national drink, Pisco, is deadly. If memory serves from my first trip to Ireland, I believe it would give poteen a run for its´money. Went out last night to a Pena. Penas could be referred to as a ´super club´in the U.S. During dinner there is a dance performance illustrating Andean, African and Spanish roots.

Visited a couple archaeological sites dating back to approximately 200 to 700 AD. Both societies were Pre-Inca. Also visited the national Archaeological and Gold Museum, which is the largest private collection of pre and Inca artifacts. Had a tour guide today take me to Lima´s city center, called Plaza Mayor. Among the attractions are La Cathedral, which was originally built under Francisco Pizarro who conquered the Incas. His remains still lie in the cathedral. As you can imagine not a big hero of the Peruvian people. Also visited San Francisco, which is still inhabited by Franciscan cloisters and houses catacombs used as a cemetery during the Colonial Period.

Heading out tonight for dinner and some fun. Leaving early tomorrow morning to fly to Cusco and then to Machu Picchu. Not sure I´ll have internet up there, so may be a few days before I can write again. Until then........

Welcome to Colleen's Travel Blog!

I am very excited about my upcoming trip and invite you to follow along.  My itinerary is as follows:

• January 29 - February 12:  Peru, Ecuador and The Galapagos Islands
  
• February 15 - March 20:  Australia, New Zealand and Fiji
  

I wish you all well while I'm gone and hope you keep in touch via the blog or e-mail.