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PERU - DAY FIFTEEN - Lima

Previous Blogs:

Day 1 - Arequepa | Day 2 - Yanque | Day 3 - Colca Canyon | Day 4 - Lake Titicaca | Day 5 - Road to Cusco | Day 6 - Machu Picchu | Day 7 - Cusco

Day 8 - Sacred Valley | Day 9 - Salt and Terraces | Day 10 - Rain Forrest | Day 11-12 - Rainforest/Lima | Day 13 - Paracus | Day 14 - Nasca | Day 15 - Lima

Click photos for a larger image...

 

Our final day in Peru. Due to our late return last night - got back to the hotel at midnightish, we had the morning off (when they actually booked us on a tour at 10 am, but we moved it to 3pm so we could sleep in, first time in almost 3 weeks!!!).

After breakfast, we went for a walk to a local park where there are literally hundreds of cats. These cats are not stray, nor do they belong to families - they belong to the city. The mayor has arranged for them to be fed each day and local vets fix them so they don't become too much of a problem.

The people enjoy coming to the park and playing with them and they seem pretty content and are pretty friendly for "wild cats".

Then we went for lunch

Dropped in for a "quick" beer

Yes, I HAD to do it, you know I did! Traditional Peruvian delicacy as mentioned before is a GUINEA Pig. So who would I be as an international traveler if I did not try one?

Tastes like chicken... not really, it tastes more like Cornish Game Hen - similar to chicken just a little gamier - but good. Not a lot of meat on board, its kinda like snow crabs - is all that work worth the reward?

Our final trip was a city tour of Lima - a city of 10 million people in a country of 30 million residents - almost 1/3 of Peruvians live in Lima.

We stopped off at an ancient temple built 200 BC right in the middle of the city.

There was a hairless dog there - it is a breed descendant from the ancient Egyptians - they have no hair at all, look very regal. Peruvians have to put sun screen on them so they don't burn in the sun!

Although in Lima not so much of a problem, Lima only has 3 months of sun each year and only for a few hours in the morning (summer). It also never rains. Maybe a slight drizzle, but the last real rain Lima had was 2 hours of rain in 1972. REALLY!

In winter, it is overcast every day, but with no rain. The cold current of the Pacific creates almost a permanent fog over the city.

We then went to tour the Old Downtown area of Lima.

 

The downtown area in Lima is absolutely beautiful with well preserved buildings dating back to the 15th Century.

The Spanish Conquistadores were very wealthy from all the gold and silver they found in Peru and built home homes with as many as 50 bedrooms. They lived a great life back then with a multitude of servants and slaves.

We finally went to an old church where we had the opportunity of going down to the  catacombs below the church and saw all kinds of old bones. The church was filled with middle age paintings including one from Rubens and several from his students. No photography allowed sadly.

And so our 16 days ended with a few hours spent at the airport drinking Peruvian rum and getting some of the worst service at a airport restaurant we have ever had.

The craziest thing was that because we were so early for our 1am flight we could not check in and had to sit in a bar before security where the beers were $2 and the Empanadas were $2 and prices were in Sol.

Once we went through security all the restaurant prices were in US $ and beers were all of a sudden $6.70 each and the Empanadas were $8. WTF???

Just as we in America are politically correct and cannot call a toilet a toilet like they do in Europe, we call it a "Restroom".

Peruvians are the same! We all know that in Spanish a toilet is called "Bano". Nope, they call it "Hygienic Services" instead!

 

So here we are, back in Tampa after almost missing our connecting flight in Lauderdale because the "luggage belt broke" and kept us waiting for 1 1/2 hours to get our luggage, but we made it just in time.

So this is our final travel blog. Our goal for those of you who are not aware is to see all categories of the 7 wonders of the world. There are 4 categories making up a total of 22 wonders (6 can no longer be seen, because they don't exist anymore).

Here is our progress - we have seen 15 out of 22! Only 7 to go!

 

The New Seven Wonders of the World

(SEEN 5 OUT OF 7)

The Check marks signify that either Bruce or Wendy or both of us have been to the Wonder of the World

1. Chichen Itza, Mexico

Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya civilization. Chichen Itza was a center of pilgrimage for the ancient Maya for over 1,000 years.

2. Christ Redeemer, Brazil

Statue of Christ the Redeemer is located at the top of Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro city of Brazil. It is the largest Art Deco statue in the world. It is 98 ft. tall and was built in 1922.

3. The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago and is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed stretching for 5,500 miles.

4. Machu Picchu, Peru

 

Machu Picchu is the site of an ancient Inca city, high in the Andes of Peru. Located at 8,000 ft, this site is often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas".

5. Petra, Jordan

 

NOT YET

 

Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the southern Jordan built in 312 BC. It is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system.

6. The Roman Coliseum, Italy

 

NOT YET

 

The Colosseum or Coliseum, is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and stone in 70 AD, it was the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire,

7. The Taj Mahal, India

The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built in 1632 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

 

The Seven Natural Wonders of the World

(SEEN 5 OUT OF 7)

 

1. Grand Canyon, USA

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. The park covers 1,217,262 acres and is the United States' 15th oldest national park.

2. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

 

NOT YET

 

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 1,600 miles. The reef can be seen from outer space.

3. The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro was created by erosion from the Atlantic Ocean and is also known as Guanabara Bay. The famous Sugar Loaf Mountain at 1,296 feet overlooks the harbor.. 

4. Mt. Everest, Nepal

Mount Everest is the Earth's highest mountain, located in Himalayas. Its peak is 29,029 feet above sea level and the 5th furthest point from the centre of the Earth.

5. Northern Lights

Northern Lights is a common name for the Aurora Borealis in the Northern Hemisphere. They are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun.

6. Paricutin Volcano, Mexico

 

NOT YET

 

The volcano is unique in the fact that its evolution from creation to extinction was witnessed, observed and studied by human beings. The volcano grew 1000 feet in just one year.

7. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is the largest waterfall in the world with a width of 5,604 feet.

 

 

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World

(SEEN 4 OUT OF 7)

 

1. Channel Tunnel, England / France

 

NOT YET

 

The Channel Tunnel is a 50.5-kilometre rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel.

2. CN Tower, Canada

The CN Tower is a,815.4 ft concrete communications and observation tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976,

3. Empire State Building, USA

The Empire State Building is a 103-story skyscraper located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Built in 1929.

4. Golden Gate Bridge, USA

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate strait, the mile-wide, three-mile-long channel between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

5. Itaipu Dam, Brazil

 

NOT YET

 

The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The dam is the largest hydroelectric facility in the world.

6. North Sea Protection Works, Netherlands

 

NOT YET

 

Nearly one-third of the Netherlands lies below sea level. The Netherlands has created new land from the North Sea through the use of dikes and other barriers to the ocean.

7. Panama Canal, Panama

The Panama Canal is a 48 mile long ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean via the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Locks raise ships 85 feet above sea level.

 

 

The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World

(SEEN 1 OUT OF 1 )

 

1. Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It was built in 2584 BC and stands 455 feet high.

 

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only wonder of the ancient work that is still in existence.

Below are the other six wonders of the ancient world, but they cannot be visited as they no longer exist:

2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Iraq

Supposedly built by Nebuchadnezzar around 600 B.C. to please his queen, Amuhia. They are also associated with the mythical Assyrian queen Semiramis. Archeologists surmise that the gardens were laid out atop a vaulted building, with provisions for raising water. The terraces were said to rise from 75 to 300 ft.

3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Turkey

Built in about 350 B.C., in honor of a non-Hellenic goddess who later became identified with the Greek goddess of the same name. The temple, with Ionic columns 60 ft high, was destroyed by invading Goths in A.D. 262.

4. Statue of Zeus, Greece

was made of gold and ivory by the Greek sculptor Phidias (5th century B.C.). Reputed to be 40 ft high, the statue has been lost without a trace, except for reproductions on coins.

5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Turkey

Erected by Queen Artemisia in memory of her husband, King Mausolus of Caria in Asia Minor, who died in 353 B.C. Some remains of the structure are in the British Museum. This shrine is the source of the modern word mausoleum.

6. Colossus of Rhodes, Rhodes (an island in the Mediterranean Sea)

A bronze statue of Helios (Apollo), about 105 ft high. The work of the sculptor Chares, who reputedly labored for 12 years before completing it in 280 B.C., it was destroyed during an earthquake in 224 B.C.

7. Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt

Built by Sostratus of Cnidus during the 3rd century B.C. on the island of Pharos off the coast of Egypt. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 13th century.

 

See you next trip!

 

Cheers,

 

Bruce and Wendy