January 13 to 15, 2014 Trujillo and Lima

Monday, January 13 a sea day.  This day passed uneventfully with more lectures and meals. It was a formal night, Dinner in Gold. I missed that and the entertainment because I slept in. I have been struggling with an upper respiratory bother, and decided, with Alice’s encouragement, to try to sleep it off. That did offer some improvement, and I was ready to the next day. Alice did dinner, without me, in the Lido. It was the same menu as the dining room, but less formal. She attended the entertainment, Forbidden Broadway, and found it enjoyable. I slept on.

Tuesday, January 14, marked our triumphant return to Trujillo, Peru. Some of you may have followed our 2012 blog at apfinn.blogspot.com and know that we had to make a detour from the Panama Canal that kept us in the hospital there for four days. Tujillo is where we rejoined the ship.

This time there were no diversions. We did not have to fly in. We rode the free shuttle from the pier. We were dropped at the main square, which we enjoyed so much the last time. At the bus stop we received a free map of the city center. It indicated a tourist information office on the opposite side of the square. This was our first stop.

Avery kind young lady gave us a more detailed map, and pointed out several free museums and historical home. All were within easy walking distance. We had not visited a local market in 2012, so we asked her about that. She gave clear instructions on how to get there. Then she mentioned  a Toy Museum. This had a nominal admission fee, but did not take dollars. Since we had not changed any dollars for Peruvian soles, she told us where to find a “safe” exchange.

Armed with all this information we set out First an historical house. This turned out to be a banking museum. It housed 18^th century furniture, old and new art and a coin/currency collection.

From here we went to the market. It was just as she had described it. It was indoors, and contained purveyors of all sorts of goods. We found fruits, vegetables, grains, spices, flowers, hard goods, tools meat and fish. As we approached one fish stall an older gentleman was just picking out a whole fish. We stood in awe as the woman fish monger  gutted the fish, removed the head and tail, did a filet of one side and made steaks of the other side. She bagged it, weighed it and the whole thing cost less than $18. The whole time she made sure we were getting the pictures we wanted. All of this with a big smile and not a word of English from her or Spanish from us.

After the market we moved back to the pedestrian street. We followed this past several Casinos, many shoe and clothing stores and a few supermarkets.

We were close to the Toy Museum, but had not changed any money. We decided to trek up to the second floor entrance. I tried the door, but it was locked. Oh well. As we were turning to leave, I noticed a handle on our side that was attached to a small rope that came through a hoe in the door. A bell pull? Just as I was about to try it, a woman opened the door. She spoke no English, but asked for 5 soles each. I asked Dollars? She was troubled at first, but then went to her computer, brought up a currency  exchange website and told us $4 total. Bravo!

The museum was small, but contained toy, dolls, doll houses, tops cycles trains and much more. Much of this dated back 100 years or more. As we made our way through the rooms we would turn the lights on and odd along the way. It was very sunny and warm outside, but the breeze coming through the open windows made the place seem air conditioned. I guess it was, in an old fashioned sense.

Down the stairs, without falling, we went back to the square, and visited on more historic home. Then boarded the return shuttle. An hour later Prinsendam was on her way to Callao, the port for Lima.

Many of our fellow travelers spent the day visiting archeological sites. These are very interesting and impressive. We had done them last time. The sad part is that you cannot do both the archeology and the city in the short time we have in port. That is really too bad, because those who missed either attraction, missed something special.

Wednesday January 15,  we arrived at Callao. Docked on the other side of the pier is the Holland American Amsterdam. She is in the early days of her Grand World Voyage. We have 53 days ahead of us. They have 100 days ahead.

Many guest had friends on the other ship. They arranged for touring together or for lunch on the other vessel. It is fun to see how the cruising family expands with each voyage.

We took it easy onboard until our tour departure at 2:15. We went for the Walking Tour of the main Square in the historic town. There were 10 passengers, a driver, a guide and his assistant in a comfortable van. The tour operator is Lima Tours. They did a fine job.

On our way into the city our guide, Percy, explained the geography of the city and talked about the economics. He explained that Limanites are a proud, hard working and friendly people. He repeated the friendly aspect many times as we noted a strong police presence in tourist areas. We never felt threatened.

There is a large disparity between the wealthy and the poor with a small middle class. The city has 10,000,000 inhabitants, spread through 43 neighborhoods. Percy owns no vehicle and lives in a middle class suburb 40 miles south of the city. He faces a two hour commute each way. His English is very good. He has worked in tourism for 6 years.

After noting sites along the way we stopped a square dedicated to General San Martin. Here we learned of the squares history, something about San Martin and something about the surrounding structures. Then our walk began.

This was an easy walk along a pedestrian thoroughfare, toward the government palace and its major square. We were introduced to several churches and historic buildings along the way. Some of these buildings had beautiful historic facades.  Their landmark status prevents exterior changes. Inside they have been gutted and changed into retail stores. One was even a supermarket.

At the government center we found a huge square with the public buildings on one end, the cathedral on one side and public buildings on the other side. In the center was a fountain. Percy told us that on July 27^th each year the fountain pumps Pisco, the nation liquor, for three hours. People arrive a day in advance to partake, and the next day is a national holiday.

Next we stopped at a restaurant for local juice drinks. These were similar to smoothies, bur made with berries we have seen at home. Very good!

After a stop at the church of St. Dominic, where the remains of St. Martin and St Rose of Lima are buried, we returned to the ship. This was an enjoyable trip.

We got to the dining room 20 minutes late. But our servers had us caught up to Ken and Marion in no time without rushing. Karol and Carol were out on a private tour. We had met them at the juice stop. They still had dinner and the Magic Fountain ahead of them. We will be doing the fountain tomorrow.