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Huaca Pucllana

3/14/2015

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     The Huaca Pucllana is one of my favorite locations in Lima.  At one point it was a grand pyramid that was added onto over the centuries until now it's hard to imagine its original shape.  Construction began c. 200 c.e. by the Limeno culture which continued building through 700.  The Wari culture came along around 800, dominated the Limenos and took the top of the pyramid off to use the area as a place of burial. 
      The first time I went looking for it I was confounded by the fact I couldn't see it.  Finally I turned a corner and there it was looming in front.  It is amazingly well hidden, especially considering its size, in the middle of a residential district of Miraflores.
     I grew up on tales of the Inca who built incredible stone structures so well fitted that one couldn't slide a piece of paper between the stones.  The Huaca Pucllana turned many of my presuppositions on their heads.  First, Lima is an extension of the Atacama desert receiving somewhere, depending on source, between 5 mm and 2 cm of rain a year.  So, given the lack of water erosion, adobe is the building material of choice up and down the coast.  Second, the Inca were johnny-come-lately who only held sway for 100 or so years before the arrival of Pizarro and the Spaniards.  This huaca had essentially been abandoned 500 years before that.  Caral, located a 100km north of Lima and
also made of adobe brick, is the oldest inhabited area in the western hemisphere and dates from 2600 b.c.e.
     Huaca Pucllana was privately owned until 1981 when it was purchased by the government.  I talked to a man in his sixties who spent his childhood using the huaca as a bmx track since it was the only "hill" in the neighborhood.  35 years of excavation have uncovered lots of history, pottery, textiles and 64 tombs.  Archaeologists are looking forward to the next 30 since they think the remaining area is potentially even richer than what they've uncovered so far.

A Slideshow of the Huaca

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School Days...

3/9/2015

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After a month's vacation, Finn and Sam have finally started school and I'm happy to report the first week went smoothly.  I give them both a lot of credit for being able to successfully go into a foreign situation with a different language and customs.  It helps that science and English are in their native language and both of their teachers are bilingual.  Most schools here put ours in the states to shame in that they all have varying degrees of bilingual instruction (the economy is in large part controlled by multinational corporations, English is the language of business, and personal economic success is linked to how well versed one is in English).  The staff is exceedingly nice and appears to want to help the boys succeed.
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Sam modeling the summer uniform on the first day of school.
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Arriving at school on the first day
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Finn modeling the p.e. uniform
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Before school assembly.
It's a fifteen minute walk to school so we catch a slice of daily life in Lima.  And, as in Alameda, we have found several people on the way who greet us.  Seems that neighbors can be anywhere.
We have always considered ourselves lucky and the luck seems to have held so far here in Lima.
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Sam not exactly eager on the first day but he made it!
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Living Large in Lima

3/7/2015

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We hope we have taken care of one of the main components of a successful stay in Lima--finding a good place to live.  We spent the first month in an adequate but not great VRBO while a realtor helped us locate a new place.  There were three important parameters:
  • quiet, much of Lima is an assault on the ears with car alarms screaming and taxis honking
  • on a park so Finn and Sam have a place to play
  • within walking distance of school.  We have no car since driving in Lima is very much like driving in a video game.  Limenos have rules known only to those who grew up here.
  • a spare bedroom for all the guests we hope will visit us.
With a great deal of luck the first place we looked at fit the bill and after a week here still think we scored.
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We're on the left on the third floor.
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The place is big enough so everyone can find his own space.  Marnie cannot believe that she has a purple kitchen. Finn likes a quiet place to read; Sam prefers the television nook.
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The park across the street is great, too.  It's basically like having a front yard as big as a block.  We are the only family in Lima to play baseball and American football.  We are also the only ones with two-wheeled scooters. 
There is a wonderful breeze coming in the deck doors bringing in the cooing of West Andean Doves as I write this.  We hope your afternoon is as pleasant as ours.
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