My greatest joy is bringing my children and grandchildren together, and this holiday season, 12 of us ventured to explore Peru! What a great adventure it was!
Peru is a country of great contrasts along the west coast of South America. It’s famous for its Amazon River, great natural beauty surrounded by the impressive Andes Mountains and their unique 15th-century world heritage site Machu Picchu. And who can ignore their world-class cuisine!
Our plan was to see Lima, the capital, then fly to the Amazon for a three-night cruise, then fly back to come to Machu Picchu and other cities in the Sacred Valley. From there, we would head to the historic Cusco, a city with both Inca and Spanish culture, before flying home.
We began our journey after a seven-hour flight from JFK, arriving in Lima at night — (we were still in our time zone — and heading to our Marriott hotel located along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
On our first day, that bright sun made the ocean sparkle as we climbed into a van that took the 12 of us on a tour of Lima that showed us historic sites, government buildings, the president’s palace and locations that were built during the 16th century with Spanish colonial architecture and then the contrasting modern districts with new luxury homes and apartment buildings.
Sadly, we passed a synagogue, but only with our guides pointing it out did we know that. There wasn’t any signage, but a menorah on the roof gave us a clue. We did see menorahs placed by the Chabad of Lima strategically next to Christmas trees in the neighborhood near the synagogue.
We got off the bus after our “riding tour” and walked through many neighborhoods, both rich and poor. We walked past the president’s palace and government buildings around a pretty plaza. Josh bought an impressive Inca-designed poncho that made us all laugh — he was emperor for a day!
It was Christmas Day and in the historic square, many indigenous people were in their native colorful clothes. It made me smile to see so many families doing what we were: holidaying togeth
While in the van, we got a history lesson from our guide reinforcing what I had just read in “The Last Days of the Incas.” I find it fascinating how a civilization so sophisticated to build the impressive and ingenious Machu Picchu with millions of people living under their control. The Incas lost control of their country to Spanish conquistadors.
Food is a central part of Peruvian culture, and one afternoon we donned chef’s aprons at the Hotel B and were introduced to an award-winning chef de cuisine to prepare a three-course Peruvian meal of ceviche, steak and a crunchy apple tart we made under the chef’s guidance.
But before lunch, we sat at a long wooden table that accommodated us all and were delighted by the “sommelier” who showed us how to make Pisco Sours. Delicious!
Meals together were a big part of our adventure, and each was more delicious and beautifully prepared than the last. After all, Peru is famous for its cuisine and many Peruvian restaurants are now opening on Long Island and in the five boroughs.
After our jam-packed day in the country’s capital, we got a good night’s sleep as we looked forward to our flight to the Amazon and a cruise on the longest river in the world!
As we approached our cruise “hotel” on the Amazon, The Aria, our eyes lit up and we reached our rooms, each one with a glass wall overlooking the water and the lush land filled with greenery.
Today, Peru faces challenges with great poverty and great wealth and many other natural resources like electricity and minerals, which are controlled by the Chinese, who set prices.
Time will tell if Peru remains a peaceful beautiful place on Earth in South America. But we had extraordinary days in Lima and remarkable ones on the Amazon River.
Stay tuned for our family adventures being in the Sacred Valley and in Machu Picchu
