Dear Readers,

Forgive the delay in posting to the blog, but David's computer crashed and we are unable to load photos at this time. He has been able to get it running, but has to reload some programs in Valparaiso to enable photos.

I can't believe this is the last full day of the first segment of our cruise. It's gone so quickly.

But I can't tell you how good it feels not to have to pack and leave the ship in Valparaiso! We are sad to say goodbye to Judith and Larry and other friends we have made on this segment. The day before yesterday we were in Lima, Peru. One day was enough to whet our appetite for more and it is definitely a city that we would return to. We went on a shore excursion that included the Museo Arquelogico Rafael Larco Herrara. This museum, in what was a private home, was founded in 1926. It contains the largest collection of pre- Columbian art in the world, most specifically, the Moche dynasty. The Moche represented all elements of their society through pottery: architecture,diseases, dance, music, religion, sexuality, agriculture, etc. One section is the Sala Erotica,which is separate from the general collection. All aspects of sex are depicted realistically,humorously and explicitly. The pottery was created to be functional as well. It is amazing how pottery pieces have survived in toto all these years. The finish on the pottery is highly polished and very attractive. Our bus took us on a tour of downtown Lima, which is the colonial district.

This is reflected in the architecture, ornate and lavish. There is currently a project undergoing to revitalize the downtown by restoration these buildings to their original state. Our bus left from the Port of Callao, where Symphony docked, for a 35 minute ride into Lima. Calleo is growing and is  now around 700,000 people. As we passed through Calleo, our guide pointed out a large Jewish cemetery. Of course, there were depressed areas in Lima, but the general feeling of the city is one of positive growth and earnest attempts to groom the city and restore. The areas of San Ysidro and  Miraflores were beautiful, with golf courses, lovely private homes and modern high rise condos. We saw lots of modern, chic shops and restaurants. These areas are built on cliffs overlooking the ocean  and reminded us of Santa Monica. Crime is a problem and most of the homes, modest to lavish were protected with wrought iron fences topped with broken glass, electrical wires, or wrought iron spikes. Many had private armed guards on view in the front yards. Evidently, there was a problem a few years ago with kidnapping by terrorists, now the problem is mainly robbery. There were two incidents that I heard of that happened to passengers from the ship. Both were in taxis: a woman's sunglasses were snatched as the taxi waited at a light and a man's gold chain was pulled tight around his neck as someone tried to steal it. They were unsuccessful and the man had some nasty cuts from the chain. To be fair, we were warned not to wear jewelry into the city. We took a taxi from the museum rather than return to the ship. The shuttle back to the ship left from the Marriott Hotel in Miraflores, so we went to that area to shop. There is a beautiful shopping center under a park and 

overlooking the ocean, but we were surprised to see US chains dominating the center: Tony Roma's,Chili's, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, etc. I bought some Peruvian, hand knit hats for Lennox, Alex and Julien. We were impressed with the far reaching social programs in Peru: compulsory education, almost free healthcare, free inoculations. Peru definitely has a lot to offer as a destination.