I´m back in Lima where, over 10 weeks ago, my journey began. It doesn´t seem nearly as large, dangerous, and chaotic as it did back then, which just goes to show that perception is everything. I am dodging six lanes of traffic, hurdling street vendors, and flagging down microbuses like a pro. Bring on Nairobi!
With just one day here until my late night flight takes off (hopefully not on Latin time) tonight, I visited a few places I didn´t have time to see the first time around. Highly recommended is the Museo Rafael Larco Herrera. Most famous for its collection of pre-Incan erotic ceramic art, it has even more fascinating pieces in its textile and metallurgic collections. Its star textile piece is a Paracas (burial shroud) weaving that sets a world-record at 398 threads per linear inch. There are also exquisite gold headdresses, nosepieces, breastplates, and other bodily adornments on display. Perhaps most intriguing, however, is the museum storeroom, where visitors can wander through ceiling-height glass cases that house over 20,000 pieces of museum-quality ceramic art. Most other visitors didn´t seem to visit this part of the museum, so I had it almost to myself, giving it a real ¨From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler¨ feel--or, for the younger generation, something comparable might be Ben Stiller´s ¨Night at the Museum¨.
Set aside some extra time for lunch before or after your visit at the museum´s cafe. With gorgeous, immaculately-attired waiters; delicious nouveau-Peruvian food; and the best service I´ve had on my entire trip, it was a great place to splurge on a nice meal before heading home! The housemade iced tea is excellent.
And if you have some last-minute gift shopping to do, the Mercado de los Indios in Miraflores is a good one-stop-shop with handicrafts from all over Peru. Prices and quality vary, so shop carefully--and keep an eye out for beautiful, high-quality Peruvian cotton items. Ladies back home, get ready for Christmas in August!
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