After we finished eating, we went to meet everyone else at the hostel to leave for Pachacamac. We left almost around the time we were supposed to and to my surprise it only took us about 30 minutes to get there. On the way there we picked up a few girls from Colegio FAP, where we teach English, and allowed them to join us for the tour.
When we got to Pachacamac we split up into two groups: one that would be led in English and the other in Spanish. Since I understand a lot more in English, I and a few others decided to stay in the English side which I don’t regret at all since the tour was more intimate and easy to understand with fewer people. We also were greeted at the entrance by alpacas or what might have been llamas. Our tour guides practically had to pry us away from their vicinity to get us to start the tour.
During the tour we looked at some prehispanic structures and temples. We learned about specific places that women were sacrificed. Apparently, at one point they had sacrificed 30 women to the gods by strangling them at the same time and then mummifying their bodies. The mummies were then strategically placed overlooking what is now Miraflores and in the central temples where the sunrise and sunset were visible. The hike was pretty heavy since I didn’t get too much sleep and wasn’t physically prepared for it. Still, the tour guide did a good job in showing us the different patterns and places of restoration found all throughout the city of Pachacamac. One particular story I remember hearing was about a woman who was tricked into having a poor man’s baby by one of the gods. She threaded through water and was apparently placed in the bigger island, with the illegitimate son placed in the smaller one.
When we got back to Miraflores after the tour, Tess and Karlayne accompanied me to Western Union since I finally got my passport. Then we ate at the supermarket, Viviandos, where there was a buffet style layout. We were all starving at the point so we practically inhaled everything. We then decided to head to Metro, the other supermarket, and buy desert or snacks for home. We ended up stocking up on alcohol instead because everything in the story was 10% off and during the time of elections (this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) all discotecas/bars/alcohol vendors are not allowed to sell alcohol. I bought a bottle of Sangria for myself since I consider the other Sangria night really successful.
Anyway, we split up and cabbed it back to our houses to put our stuff down. Then Karlayne’s host dad took us to Kennedy Park where we walked around for a little bit and visited some places. He’s a semi-pro pointing out cool and interesting places for us to visit so it was fun. When we finally split with him, we walked to Larcomar, a beautiful area in Miraflores overlooking the ocean, to meet up with the other group and watch Hangover 2 in a real Peruvian theater. Today was the half off price day with option of buying a ticket accompanied with access to an open bar. I went only for the basic ticket because any drink at that point would have knocked me out cold like a baby. We watched the movie and it was actually very funny. I appreciated the Spanish subtitles because the translations were also entertaining to read. For example, “What the hell” translated to “Que Diablo” or something to that effect. Either way, it was a very good night. I still find it funny that Hangover 2 literally translatedsto “Que Paso Ayer? II,” or “What happened yesterday? II”
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