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Pachacamac

I have been here in Pachacamec, Peru for just over a week now. Pachacamec is in the Lurin valley, about 50km south of the most south part of the city of Lima. Even though it's only 50km it takes over an hour to drive south of Lima because of traffic. I am now fluent in Espanol (not!) and am "wwoofing" in a beautiful place called "Centro Cultural KUNIRAYA".
wwoofing=World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms

This is what an avocado tree looks like in the spring!

I am hosted by a lovely family. Stephanie and Francisco are both architects and have designed and built the buildings here on their property, using mainly bamboo since it is such a strong, structurally sound material, useful in earthquake zones.







It's spring here. I have had some terrific tasks so far. The first one was collecting the gazzilion snails all over the property. I have collected many pailfuls. At first they were going into the "biole" which is a big cement box-like structure that digests manure, dead animals, meat, vegetable matter etc. It became full while I was adding pailfuls of snails so we had to dispose of them differently.
There is an amazing set of 10 areas for compost. Five of them are working. Another task I had (working with eight year old Tauli) was to make a "lasagne" plot, where we layered soil, dry leaves, compost, greens, eggshells, and straw in a section of one of the developing gardens. I have harvested chamomile for tea and repotted some lemon geranium which Stephanie will use as insect repellent.
Tauli and I are also designing and building a chicken coop for two hens. Tauli's parents were hoping I could teach him some songs in English. What are the chances?
This past Sunday, I went to the Pachacamec Museum and ruins. Wow. The ruins are a collection of pyramids and buildings going back thousands of years. The brownish photo here shows the "Temple of the Sun" which was the contribution of the Incas in the 1400's.

It overlooks the Pacific Ocean. See the two islands out there? The big one is Cavillaca and the small one is her son, The legend is about Cuniraya (recognize the name?) and his love for the beautiful princess Cavillaca. She doesn't like him much and wants to weave, so he leaves his seed in the fruit beside her which she eats and becomes pregnant with their son. When she sees Cuniraya disguised in rags, she is full of despair and heads for the ocean. He is really dressed in fine gold, but she doesn't look back to see that (he was only in disguise) and she and her son are still in the ocean as those two islands.





One of the interesting things about Lima is in their mototaxis. They're very cute. They're everywhere.



I'm here another 3 weeks, so I'll fill you in on more of my time here and try to take some better pictures of the beautiful buildings.

https://www.rainforestcruises.com/jungle-blog/pachacamac-ruins-in-peru

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachacamac

Comments

  1. The Adventures of Lynne14 October 2019 at 17:22

    The mototaxis are only supposed to go on "small" roads, but they head out onto four lane roads/highways (illegally) and Stephanie told me there is one driver killed each week as a result of crashes. By the way, the driving here is insane--like actually insane. Honking, cutting in front, driving way too fast for the traffic congestion. It's hard enough being a passenger! I wouldn't want to drive here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kate Cannell14 October 2019 at 17:25

    Hi Lynne! Just caught up with your adventures here. SO happy for you! Hope you are continuing to enjoy all the sunshine and fresh air - such blessings :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Diane B14 October 2019 at 18:58

    The Inca ruins are fascinating. Thanks for sharing. It will be nice for you to stay for 3 weeks...there will be lots for you to explore before you embark on your ship. Will we be able to communicate with you when you are on the ship?
    Happy Thanksgiving from Canada!! Miss you lots in our hallways :)))) Diane xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Adventures of Lynne15 October 2019 at 11:53

    Happy Thanksgiving Diane. And everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown15 October 2019 at 11:59

    Those taxi's look like the Tuk Tuks in India.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cathy17 October 2019 at 20:12

    Hi Lynne! Snails!! :0 My next door neighbour was just sharing that his father-in-law was cooking something when they went over and it was SNAILS! ... from his backyard! :)) I think the kids were confused, expecting hot dogs. ;) Insects and creatures like snails, are indeed a delicacy around the world, and I suppose in our town now, too! But probably they're quite the nuisance on an organic farm!

    Wonderful seeing the ruins! It is captivating to imagine the bustle that went on in those times...the culture...the battles...and how great that you are there to walk on the same soil.

    Thank you for sharing your 'moments' with us! Looking forward to the next visit. Hugs, and 'with you'! :) xocathy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ryan Hockley20 October 2019 at 18:50

    I saw mayan temple ruins and such on survivor, i want to go check them out in person some day

    ReplyDelete

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