We visited the Huaca Pucllana ruins in Central Lima and learned about the Pre Inca civilization 1000 BC.  This is an active archeological site and we really enjoyed the contrast between the old and the new.  Where the high rise building are now located was once part of this ancient civilization.  It's too bad all that area was lost to modernization and development.  To learn more about this archeological site do a Google search under Huaca Pucllana ruins.

Instead of using large rocks and boulders to build their ceremonial places of worship, this civilization used adobe bricks to build everything.  It is called book-shelf architecture and has lasted until today.  In the foreground you can see some of the area yet to be uncovered.

One could say these ruins are just a place where adobe bricks are sold, but they form of a very ancient religious and ceremonial worship area. 

You can see how this ancient civilization, called the Lima People, constructed their terraced-type pyramids of worship.  Modernization would have destroyed all these ruins if the government and others hadn't stopped it.

Here you can see the book-shelf architecture that this ancient indigenous civilization used.  The space in between each of the bricks was to allow movement and shifting during tremors and earthquakes.

Only about half the the area has been excavated and it is going to be one incredible site when they uncover the remaining areas in who knows how many more years.

After visiting the ruins the site had traditional dances, music and songs depicting the early colonial period in Lima, Peru.  Very entertaining and fun to watch.

That evening we went to a spectacular water and light show syncronized to music in the most beautiful park in Lima called the Water Park.  To really appreciate the show please do a Google search under Water Park Lima Peru to see some spectacular video of the pictures that follow.

 

We decided that we would have fish for dinner one evening so I went to the store to buy some.  There were lots of choices.  Which one would you choose?

One of the many beautiful, colonial cathedrals in Lima, Peru.  

They are all spectacularly ornate and decorated inside.

We love to see and visit all the historical plazas.  This one is named after the great national hero, San Martín.

We are headed up to the top of the hill called San Cristóball, where we could see the how large Lima, Peru really is.

As we go slowly up the hill you can see how big and cramped Lima is.

We thoroughly enjoyed riding up to the top of San Cristobál in an open-air double decker bus.  We loved the perspective from the top of the bus.

Yesterday we went to Central Lima to do some sightseeing.  We visited the National Palace and it was impressive.  Here are some of the pictures inside.

This is the National Palace.  Not to impressive from the outside, but inside is another story.