Perusing Peru: Circuito 2: Back in the Tourist Saddle Again

Whenever you go into the darkly-lit section of any museum, you know you seeing the good stuff
(and the most expensive stuff) (and the authentic stuff).

Back in the tourist saddle again after a few days of light tourisming. On today's tourism agenda was the five-stop Circuito 2, visiting the sites associated with the pre-Inca Sicán culture and the post-Francis Pope Leo XIV in Lambayeque, north of Chiclayo. Because the key sights are dispersed around Chiclayo, you cannot see all of them in one day. So choosey tourists who want the complete Chiclayo experience split the main sights into two days of tourism.

Stop #1: Iglesia de Santa Lucía, in Ferreñafe, near Lamabyeque:

The church was locked tight. No problem! My driver (Nelson) got them to unlock the church so I could look around. I have a driver for the day (and for tomorrow tourisming), but no guide. I am my own guide here.

There were workers inside getting the church interior ready for the celebration of the Feast of de Santa Lucía this Saturday. I was free to wander around and take pictures.

Here is the saint for whom Pope Leo XIV's predecessor was named.

St. Francis of Assisi.

The flower-studded wreath is there for the celebration coming up this weekend.

Here's a closer look at the alter.

One thing I learned is that people here genuinely love Pope Leo XIV. It seems to be more than simply "local boy makes good." This was not some faceless Vatican diplomat who was elevated to the papacy. This was a parish priest adored by his parishioners. You can see it in the faces of those here who light up when talking about him.

Again, the flowers are there for this weekend's festivities.

Graphic crucifix.

This is Catholicism after all.

Your choice of side altars to offer prayers. I choose:

Fatima! I always choose Fatima.

One of the workers very excitedly wanted me to see the underneath part of the church. I was expecting catacombs (and maybe they were these but were merely unmarked). Instead, I got this:

Bats! Murciélagos! A couple of dozen of little small bats flying around. I don't know if that is what he wanted to show me. I was the only one in the church who spoke English. But this church did not have bats in its belfry, but bats in its catacombs.

I believe this is the depiction of the Archangel Michael battling Satan, in a scene from Revelation.

Still, I think modern audiences would wince at the political incorrectness of it all.

We will end our time at this stop with me and the Pope:

Stop #2: Museum Nacional de Sicán:

That is the entrance gate. And this is the museum:

The Sicán were the last major pre-Inca group to control this area until the Inca conquest of the Peruvian Northern Coast happened a little more than 100 years before the arrival of the Spanish. The museum, obviously, is much more modern than that.

Let's have a look at the collection:

Those objects highest in the display case, which look somewhat "suggestive," are knives. I'm sure the knives could be used for many different purposes, but they particularly well-designed for beheading ... victims ... of ... human sacrifice. We don't sugar-coast, nor do we pussy-foot, here at the Spretnak blog. The Sicán, like every other group in this part of the Americas up until the arrival of the Spanish, participated in human sacrifice.

This is a replica of a Sicán pyramid. 

The real ones were much bigger. Much, much bigger.

We now come to the pottery portion of our museum tour programming:

This is a representation of the pottery production assembly line used by the Sicán: 

Nowadays, this would be outsourced to China. And would break after a couple of uses.

Speaking of re-creations:

At least I hope that is a recreation of an archaeological site at which human remains were found. It would be weird if the Sicán people had chosen to bury their dead in museums.

From pottery to metallurgy:

Metal crafts of the Sicán.

But how important and how valuable could these particular metal works be if they are displayed openly in the sun-lit spaces?

This is how the best of the best is displayed:

In the dark.

This must be the good pottery, not the everyday stuff, since it too is displayed in the dark: 

This shows how some of the metal was worn as armor:

I didn't know that calf muscles would be protected by metal, but why not? Got to protect the calves if your enemy is on the ground flailing away.

We now return the everyday household items since, as you can see, we're out of the dark and into the light:

I do want to point out that those objects flaking the salmon-colored item on the right side of the display case are NOT Christmas trees. The Sicán did not celebrate Christmas. They were more the "Happy Holidays" than "Merry Christmas" type of people, at least until the Spanish imposed  <record scratch noise>  brought the gift of Catholic Christianity to the indigenous peoples of the New World. 

Pottery was becoming sufficiently advance as to depict animal shapes.

Again, those are NOT Christmas Trees. No matter how much they look like them.

Whatever this is, it's too cool for school:

I would want one except it's a little on the creepy side of things.

And this is sort of like a gold wrestling belt with the face of snake.

Who wouldn't want to wear one of those when they won it all in the WWE.

 

Time to leave the Museo Nacional de Sicán and head to ...

Stop #3: Santuario Histórico Bosque de Pómac:

This is a nature preserve.

Here are the birds of Bosque:

Those aren't real live birds. Don't worry.

This is a 500-year old tree. Basically, it was born right around the time of the Spanish arrival in Peru.

Here is an elderly gentleman who wandered into the shot of the 500-year old tree.

The elderly man is at least 400 years younger than said tree.

There is a viewpoint within the sanctuary. Let's have a walk to it.

At this point the sanctuary became less forest and more desert. It also became more hot. Much more hot.

The destination was the covered area where one can view the surrounding area:

And this is what you can see:

I'm not spoiling the view. Come to Bosque on your own. These sort of views always look better in person than they do in photography.  The archaeological site is off limits to the tourist horde. Truth be told, there is no tourist horde, although the 15 or so people up at the viewpoint overlook was the largest horde of tourists I saw all day.

So that means ...

Stop #4: Iglesia San Juan Bautista de Illimo.

This is a small church associated with Pope Leo's Chiclayo years.

It is a very simple church, not as ornate as even Iglesia de Santa Lucía.

Again, the church was locked but someone was available to unlock it for me to have a look inside. Again, I don't know if this is because the people are proud to show off anything related to Pope Leo XIV, or if it is because the local people are that friendly and helpful. Either way, it makes for a great tourist circuit.

I really feel throughout this day that I am among the very few U.S. citizens with no ties to Peru to have visited these places on this tour. Even the Pope Leo XIV tourism trade seems to be limited to Peruanos. It is not attracting international visitors yet. Well, except for one U.S. tourist who likes to see the sights on the lightly-beaten paths.

Again, Iglesia San Juan Bautista was a simple church. No bats and no catacombs.

Time to move to the final stop of the day ..

Stop #5: Complejo Arqueológico de Túcume. The final stop of the day. The final stop on the Sicán circuit.

This is a museum built in the area of what had been a pyramid complex built by the Túcume people. Apparently the pyramids can be visited. I could not find them walking the trails on the museum grounds. And while this was the only place I visited today with English language signage, I was the only person present who actually spoke English. And I was wholly unable to answer my questions, which did me no good.

This is a map of the pyramids.

 

At the entrance, in the sign-in book, I saw that someone from the USA had visited a day or two earlier. So I'm not the only tourist from the USA to have been here ever. Still, tourists are scarce here, period, and tourists from the USA very scarce.

Here is the anthropomorphic pottery section:

This is a llama.

Yes, I know it looks like a fish. Or an earless deer. But it's a llama. Just accept it and move on.

This is a monkey.

This one does not take much imagination to see the monkey.

This one wasn't labelled.

A rodent of some sort? It looks like a kangaroo, but the people of Tucume had no contact with the Australians back then, did they?

This display lets you know the Tucume were known as excellent seafaring people:

The reed boats, obviously, did not survive to modern times. The problem of using organic materials for construction: the life span is brief,

Here is a very interesting display. Decapitated body found with two skulls.

That sounds like a sequel to that classic New York Post headline "Headless Body in Topless Bar." The mind boggles at the thought of why a decapitated man would need two skulls. Did he die trying to switch one skull for the other? And where is the body to whom the alternative skull belongs. Again, so many questions, so few answers.

Just another reminder that these people did practice human sacrifice. Unapologetically.

This is a display version of the nearby Piedra Sagrada, or Sacred Rock.

The original is in the pyramid complex that I could not find.

This is the view of the mountain at the center of the Tucume culture, Cerro La Raya.

This mountain also is known colloquially as "El Purgatorio," since the Spanish said devils and demons lived there to terrorize the people into accepting Catholicism  <record scratch noise>  convincing the local people to accept the gift of eternal life presented from the acceptance of Christ and the Catholic faith.

One of the interesting things I learned at this museum was how much the Tucume people hated the Inca. When news reached Tucume that the Inca ruler had been killed and the Inca civilization was destroyed, the Tucume killed the Inca rulers living among them and destroyed their town because it had been desecrated by the Inca presence. Explain to me again that white guilt myth about the indigenous peoples of the Americas living in perfect, peaceful harmony before the Spanish arrived.

I'm standing here at the museum entrance waiting for you to explain it to me.

Today was a five-hour tour that, with a professional guide gets three hours. Thankfully, and thanks to the patience of my driver Nelson, I could absorb everything at my own pace. Just imagine how long the day would've been if I had found those 26 pyramids that comprise Tucume Town.

Perusing Peru: Free Day in Chiclayo

Catedral de Chiclayo, with the Parque Principal de Chiclayo decked out for Christmas in the foreground

Today was my free day in Chiclayo, with the rest of time in Chiclayo devoted to upcoming tours of the historic sites in and around the city. And do you what happens when I have a free day with no planned activities while I am on vacation? Work happens. That's what happens.

So I got a late start on my not-as-free-as-I-would've-like day.

Lots of fresh fruit on the offer on Calle Capitan Elias Aguirre, the main road into the core of Chiclayo. 

Other things, too. Picarones, por ejemplo. I got a few of those for dessert after my supper. Picarones are Peruvian fried donuts, served hot (or warm) in a sweet syrup. Fried dough in syrup. What's not to love?  But I am getting ahead of myself.

I checked out the city's Central Market, Mercado Central.  

It was filled with people, but there was only a small section for food. Most of the booths were selling clothing of some sort, which just isn't as photogenic as food.

Nearby was a "artisanal" ice cream shop, Mapache Frío. One google reviewer said had the best ice cream in South America. That's high praise: a whole continent.

So I figured I should try. I had two scoops (dos bolas), one blackberry (mora) and one of rum raisin (ron y pasas). Surprisingly, to me at least, was that the rum raisin was clearly superior. Not only were the raisins juicy, but the rum part tasted like they used a whole distillery's worth of rum to make the batch. And it tasted like the alcohol from the rum was intact. This was not "rum extract," or "rum flavor." This was true booze.

Was it the best in South America. It was quite good, but everyone knows the best ice cream in South America is in Belém, Brazil. Seriously. Everyone knows this is true. True story detour: when I was in Belo Horizonte, Brazil a few years, talking to some women at the table next to mine at, all of all places, a German restaurant in Brazil, I asked about a local spot for ice cream and one of the women said, and I quote, "The best ice cream in Brazil is in Belém." I knew she was right. I had been to Belém and there was an ice cream store there (local chain) that had phenomenal ice cream. Some of the best I've ever had. Best flavor? I kid you not: Castanha do Pará. What is Castanha do Pará? The Brazil nut. Last nut taken in the Planters' mixed nut can. Best nut for ice cream.

Verdict: Very good. But not the best on the continent.

It was time to check out Parque Principal de Chiclayo and the Catedral de Chiclayo that is on the eastern side of the park.

In most cities in Peru, this park would be called "Plaza de Armas," celebrating the city's martial history. But Chiclayo has no military history. The indigenous tribes were largely gone when the Spanish got to this part of the Peruvian Coast, so there were no battles here. Until recently, the major city in this province of Peru was Lambayeque. This is why this called Lambayeque Province. Lambayeque was the center of the Sipán culture, which is an upcoming adventure on this trip. But Chiclayo is largely new and thus there is no "Plaza de Armas."

And it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Chiclayo's Parque Principal.

How do you like your electric light-up reindeer?

With the Catedral de Chiclayo in the background?

Or do you prefer a backdrop of El Palacio Municipal de Chiclayo?

I figured this arch was going to look awesome lit up at night:

Alas, when I went back after dark, the full array of Christmas lights had not yet been turned on. What are they waiting for? Christmas?

 

You know who else is waiting for Christmas? The Christ child. The manger in the above scene is empty, as it should be until Christmas Eve.

Weirdly enough, and I hate to be a pedantic purist here -- oh who am I kidding? I love to be a pedantic purist -- while Baby Jesu has not yet arrived at the Nativity Scene, the wise men who, bearing gifts, traversed afar, are there and present. How could have even found the place, since the star has not yet risen and would not until the birth took place? I guess the Magi aren't called "wise" for nuthin'.

Here is a closer look at El Palacio Municipal de Chiclayo.

And the building on the other side of the Cathedral, while a little beaten up looking, still looks interesting architecturally:

I'm not sure if it even has a name.

The Cathedral does, however. Its official name is Basílica y Catedral de Santa María.

I decided to come back to the park once the sun went down. And look who was here.

Santa. That makes sense. This, however, does not.

King Kong? There is a very popular local dessert called the "King Kong." It's a large layered cake, with cookies and various jams between the layers. It sounds awesome by the way. I'm looking for somewhere that has it. Seeing that King Kong would make sense. Instead, I've only seen the above King Kong. For Christmas.

Earlier in the day I could not go into the cathedral because I was wearing shorts. Shorts are verboten in the pope's old church.

And here's how you know it's Pope Leo XIV's old church:

The man! There was a service going on and, besides, the interior was shockingly plain. It's almost, and when you read these next words, read them with the condescension dripping from them that I am intended, almost Protestant in its simplicity.

You can't tell in the picture below, but that figure in the balcony on the second floor of El Palacio Municipal de Chiclayo?

It's another cardboard cutout of Pope Leo XIV. They love it in Chiclayo that a local priest became the supreme pontiff.

Perusing Peru: Destination 2: El Norte

Elias Aguirre stands tall in the park that bears his name

Travel day. And the travel day destination? El Norte. Or, more specifically, Chiclayo, Peru.

I am referring to this as El Norte, the North, because just about everyone in Lima with whom I spoke, when I said I was next going to Chiclayo, would respond with two two-word responses. "El Norte," because it is in Northern Peru. And "muy calor," very hot, because Peru, being in the southern hemisphere, gets hotter as you move north,

I am staying at the Casa Andina. Casa Andina is a Peruvian chain hotel. But I'm not just staying at any old Casa Andina. No. Not me. I'm an upscale traveler who in the course of my travels has developed a taste for the finer things in life. I am staying at a Casa Andina Select.

It's in a relatively quiet neighborhood, just beyond the small downtown core of Chiclayo. Of course, any neighborhood is going to seem quiet compared to Lima. Where I was staying in Lima, by Lima standards, was a quiet neighborhood. That meant the car horns stopped their constant honking at around 1:00 a.m. I shudder to think what it's like in the less-quiet neighborhoods of that mega-city. Here in Chiclayo, the streets are quiet by 9:00 p.m. Just like in Phoenix!

The hotel is across the street from a small park: Parque Infantil de Chiclayo. Translation (and this one is obvious): Chiclayo Children's Park.

There is a statue of man on a horse.

Every park should have a statue of man on a horse. There also is an abbreviated colonnade:

The streets are relatively quiet. You can actually safely jaywalk. Not that I would ever do anything illegal in a foreign land. But I could do it if I were so inclined. But I'm not. So stop thinking about jaywalking please.

There is of course market stalls right on Avenida Salaverry.

And we then come to Plazueta Elias Aguirre,

I presume he was a Naval hero of some sort. The anchor is my clue.

And he does have a cool-looking building over his left shoulder. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Chiclayo has been thrust to the forefront of global tourism because of events that happened this past May. The selection of Robert Prevost as the new pope. Pope Leo XIV. Chiclayo now is known throughout the land as "La Ciudad del Papa León XIV," the City of Pope Leo XIV. And when I say "throughout the land," I mean the land that is Peru. And when I say that the city has been "thrust to the forefront of global tourism," I mean interest in Chiclayo as a tourist destination has increased among the people of Peru, who are quite proud to have been the home of the reigning pope.

I do want to see the Pope Leo XIV sites when I am here. But the more significant reason for visiting Chiclayo -- which has been on my list of places I want to go long before any of us thought that Chicago-born priest living in Peru would be selected pope -- are some pre-Inca historic sites in the Chiclayo environs. The first is the Sipán, or Moche, culture, which was dominant in this region from A.D. 100 to A.D. 800. The Sicán, unrelated despite strikingly a similar name, was dominant in the region from A.D. 750 to A.D. 1375, right before the rise of the Inca in the 120 years to so before the Spanish arrival in Peru.

I was on my way to dinner at a well-reviewed restaurant according to the google: Don Juan Plazuela, right next to the Elias Aguirre Plazuela. But, first, I had to check out the Christmas decoration at a retail location along the street which, at some point in the brief few blocks I walked changed its name from Av. Salaverry to Calle Capitan Elias Aguirre.

Peru does decorate for Christmas. Anyway, google maps said that Don Juan Plazuela was "not too busy," which is not bad for a restaurant rated 4.9 stars. It was closed. "Cerramos," said the man behind the locked gate. Well, I guess if your restaurant is closed then, inside, it genuinely would be "not too busy," although, in my world, the use of that phrase was a trifle misleading.

So, anyway, not wishing to do any further research and just wanting to feed my stomach which has not had food tossed into it since the quinoa bar on the airplane ride, I went to Brasa Roja. It's a chicken restaurant. Ninety percent of the restaurants in Chiclayo (at least my neighborhood) seem to be chicken restaurants. The rest are chifa, but downscale chifa. 

The restaurant was basically El Pollo Loco, but where you sit down and they take your order. Plus they serve alcohol, which I believe El Pollo Loco does not. I had the rotisserie chicken, breast quarter, served with a large amount of fries (three dipping sauces for the fries), a salad that was equal parts salad and dressing (which in my mind is the appropriate amount of salad dressing: make that lettuce swim), and a Cerveza Cusqueña Negra, the dark ("negra") beer from one of the major Peruvian breweries.

This not being Los Estados Unidos, none of the three fry-dipping sauces were ketchup. One was mayonnaise. One was what seemed to be, potentially, a mayonnaise and ketchup mix. What people in Utah would call "fry dipping sauce." And the third was this spicy mayonnaise-based herbal sauce. The herb might've been cilantro, but the spice level was sufficient I could not be certain.

As far as the adult beverage goes, truth be told: this was not one of my favorite dark beers. It was very sweet. And I mean VERY. It was so sweet it tasted like hard root beer, rather than a dark lager.

One last look out my hotel window at the park across the street before I turn in for the night.

Perusing Peru II: After the Caral Tour It Was Lunch at the Beach

A fishing boat plying the waters outside of Barranca. The "catch o' the day" is sure to be fresh.

Caral is 23 km (14 miles, more or less) inland. The drive takes about as long as it would to walk because the road into Caral hasn't been re-paved since the height of the Caral culture about 5,000 year ago. Bumpy is an understatement. You are amazed when you see glimpses of pavement in between the potholes. But I wasn't driving. So I'm not complaining. I'm just ... observing.

Next stop: Barranca.

It is a Saturday. The beach is beautiful. But no one is in the water because of the frigid cold ocean currents coming up from Antarctica.

Those Antarctic current mean rich fishing, but no one in the water.

While the beach itself is empty, the beachfront street is packed. As a beach town should be on a summer Saturday.

Yes, summer. We are in the Southern Hemisphere. Lunch is at the Tacu:

Beach town. Beach front restaurant. Hmmm. What to order?

I know! Seafood.

I ordered the chaufa con mariscos. Seafood fried rice. And for a beverage? Since we passed by field after field of vines of passionfruit (maracuyá in Spanish), I ordered a maracuyá drink. Soft.

There was enough rice to feed a family of six in that bowl, so I picked out all the camarones and ate as much rice as I could.

The last stop on the day's tour was the statue overlooking Barranca.

Barranca's own Christ the Redeemer:

Just like the one in Rio de Janeiro, only smaller. And happier looking. This one was designed by a local artist and the face of Christ is much warmer than the one on Corcovado high about Rio.

And what are those birds on his arms and head? Vultures. Seriously. No symbolism about Christ having first died before being resurrected. It's just that the neighborhood is filled with vultures. Not condors. Those guys live in the South of Peru. Up here, it's vulture country.

Nice views from the top of the hill.

One last look:

And that ends the day of packaged-tour tourism on this part of the Lima, Peru, today. It's a long drive back to Lima but, thankfully, it's Saturday and traffic (generally reputed to be among the worst in the Western Hemisphere) (Mexico City would like a word with you, Lima) (Rio would, too, although Rio traffic may be thicker, the quality of the driving is better) should not be as terrible as it normally would be late afternoon any other day of the week.