Museum Day

water vessel with face (more than 2000 years old)

water vessel with ark (more than 2000 years old

very old mask

very old chest ornament

erotic art water vessel

Sunday, November 16, 2008
Museum Day
I had stomach trouble at 5 a.m. but went back to sleep from 7:30-9:30 a.m. Laura knocked on my door and invited me to go to a museum. I felt good so I went. We discussed our plans with the woman at the front desk and she told one of the workers to get us a taxi and give the driver the directions. We thought we were going to The National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology, and History. We ended up at a much smaller museum, The Larco Museum. It houses quite a collection of pre-Columbian art, especially pre-Inca. We hired a guide to take us through the museum, and she definitely was a find. The necklaces, vessels, earrings, patchwork and regular textiles, breastplates, and much more were from the civilizations from 8000 B.C. to 1300 A.D. The artistry of the cultures was amazing! There was a storeroom with 60,000 ceramics. An erotica collection was divided into four categories: religious (showing mating of deities that produced the natural world,) humorous (among which were pop corn pans where the steam came of out vaginas,) moral (showing what happened if you got syphilis, was a commoner and practiced polygamy, and that you could enjoy sex after death,) and instructional (which showed different positions and people generally enjoying sex.
After the tour we ate in the museum’s café which was excellent though the service was on Peruvian time. That was okay since we were in no hurry. We sat outside and had soup (Chicken for me that tasted Jewish) and desserts (strawberries atop a strawberry mousse tart.) On the table when we sat down were corn nuts as appetizers, except these corn nuts were not as dense as those in the U.S. because the corn kernels are so much bigger.
We took a taxi to Plaza Mayor to stroll on the Pedestrian Street. We rode through poor and industrial areas of Lima to get there. I was rather surprised that the shops were not at all touristy; rather they were clothing and electronics stores for the locals as well as restaurants. I found an office supply store and bought some CD’s to copy my pictures for the rest of the team. I also went into a department store and bought some hot wheels puzzles for the Global Volunteers office at PPA so I can use them in el hospilito this week. The weather was sunny and quite warm.
We went back to the hotel and as we rode closer to our section, Miraflores, it got cloudier and mistier. I had thought I would go to the ocean and read, but the weather was not inviting. Instead I took several naps after downloading my pictures.
Laura and I went to Maveny, a pizza place. The meal was heavy on cheese, so we took a walk to the supermarket, Vivanda. I bought some of the Peruvian corn nuts to have as a snack in my room. I’m writing this blog, and then I’ll read myself to sleep. I do miss all of you at home.