DAY TEN
thursday, June 11, 2015
an extra day in lima on our own, and final thoughts
Even though the Odysseys trip ended the previous day, we decided, along with the Farbers, to stay an extra day in Lima to take in some additional sights. All five of us are into art and art history, so heading to a museum was a priority – and we chose the Museo MATE (aka Museo Mario Testino). It’s a permanent collection of Peruvian fashion photographer Mario Testino’s work, alongside a rotating exhibition of different contemporary artists.
We navigated our way through the Barranca District before finding the museum, and enjoyed walking through the galleries and checking out his really exceptional photography work. Testino also took the final official portraits of Princess Diana before her death, published in Vanity Fair in 1997, so there’s a whole room dedicated to her, alongside a replica of the Donatella Versace gown she was wearing (that had been auctioned off).
As we found with many buildings in Peru, the outside was also really picturesque, filled with colorful flowers.
I took a few pictures here, but pulled a few additional from the internet for the sake of recapping.
What happens when two Type A men work together to navigate a foreign city? Marilyn’s face says it all.
Leaving the museum, we stayed in Lima’s popular and colorful Barranca District and walked around to take in the scenery.
Still in the Barranco District, we made our way to Artisanias Las Pallas, a small shop filled with one-of-a-kind Peruvian arts and crafts.
Heading back to the Miraflores District where our hotel was (we stayed at the same Casa Andina where we had stayed with the group at the beginning of the trip in Lima), we took a stroll through the Inka Market, a flea market that’s a combo of cheap souvenirs and fine Peruvian crafts. They had absolutely everything, from jewelry to area rugs to sculptures and home goods.
I ended up with a pair of potholders that, it turns out when I found out the hard way back at home, do not actually protect your hands from the oven haha. Mom got a little silver llama, and the Farbers ended up with a rug for their home that I think they had been on a search for. Didn’t expect to find it in a flea market in Lima I’m sure.
Pulled from the internet because I didn’t take one
Finally, throughout the whole trip I had in mind that I wanted to try to find a charango to buy, which is like a Peruvian 10-string mandolin. I have always been in love with the world music instrument gallery at the Met in NYC, and decided that in the scheme of collecting things from my travels, as a musician myself I would love to start a collection of native instruments – ideally stringed ones since I’m mostly a string player. I knew I may or may not actually have luck finding a charango in Lima on our last day, as I wasn’t really sure whether it was common or obscure, but sure enough I was able to find a tiny hidden music store in the Miraflores district, and they had a single charango for sale. It was definitely meant to be!
Finally, to close out the trip, we went for a nice dinner in the Malecón-Balta area of the Miraflores District. Pretty sure in hindsight the restaurant was Alfresco based on context clues and Googling haha, but either way I remember it being a good one! It was a great end to a memorable family trip.
We either flew out that night or the next morning (can’t really remember), but I do know that I cradled that charango between my feet on both flights (Lima to Miami, Miami to NYC) and was happy that the flight attendants didn’t say anything!
final thoughts
All in all, this was an excellent trip and I’d recommend Odysseys Unlimited wholeheartedly.
The biggest learning is never to make assumptions. I assumed going in that Machu Picchu would blow the rest of the trip away, and I really couldn’t have cared less about going to Lake Titicaca, but while Machu Picchu was certainly incredible, the Lake Titicaca day ended up being my favorite.
The menus here are pretty homogenous – lots of quinoa, lomo saltado (steak with bell peppers), giant-kerneled corn, and potatoes on every menu.
The lodges and hotels were some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Really excellent selections by Odysseys!
I learned a big lesson about souvenir-shopping here, and how to start to tell the difference between something unique and something that you’ll end up seeing all over the place. Not that there’s anything wrong with that mass-produced yarn llama, but I think this taught me how to be more discerning with the tchotchkes in future travels.
I didn’t except to have to pay to take photos in so many places. Typically the people in costume holding a llama and standing around the sites.
Speaking of costumes… yeah, a lot of that was just for show for tourists. But what excited me was when we were in the less touristy places and saw people in traditional dress just going about their lives. They really do wear those long braids, the hats poised on top of their heads, and brightly colored woven scarves and blankets, especially to hold their babies.
Finally, on our trip was watercolor painter Pat Hahn, who created this painting from one of my photos in Raq’chi. She sent me a print and I absolutely LOVE it!