Day 1 
July 6
Lima, Peru

Bienvenidos a Peru! 

On day one, July 6th, we took a city tour of Limas. Like Manhattan minus the subways and public buses, Lima is awash in taxis. On the sustainability score card (which I will be tracking from here on out), Lima loses puntos (-10). There are collectivos and privately run buses, but their routes contradict one another, therefore leading to much congestion. 

First, we dropped by the Museo Larco, a beautiful repository for Pre-Colombian art work. You forget that you're in a city of 9 million behind it's flowered gates and in the midst of its lush garden. The artwork conveyed a deep connection to the Pacha Mama and united the entire country. The museum did not hide from the country's brutal past. Paintings from the Spanish conquest period showed how Spanish attempted to ingrain their injustice in the Incas and other indigenous groups through works of art. One in particular depicted the line of kings and showed how the Incan rulers "naturally" transitioned into the Spanish kings. 

This couple did a lot of laps around the Plaza de Armas. 

We hopped in another cab (no more demerits at this point) to downtown Lima. We wound our way through the Plaza de Armas and onto the grounds of the Catedral de Lima. The pigeons dive-bombed a fountain while sales people hocked their wares - pushy, but not too pushy. 









The Casa de Literatura stood out today. A converted train station, the museum was wedged between the Catedral de Lima and the Basilica de San Francisco, two much more well known tourist sites. The museum is dedicated to hands-on learning and has a very strong community feel. High school and university students sat on picnic benches on the back patio sketching and writing. Inside, a library dedicated to Mario Vargas Llosa, a Nobel Prize winning Peruvian author, served as a quiet reading space for locals and tourists alike. Reading and writing have a deep connection to Peruvian culture. We witnessed many libraries and book exchanges along our day tour. But, what really set this museum apart was the hands-on nature of its exhibits as well as accessibility of the didactic material. The art work took on a message of inclusion and political debate as well as tolerance for Peru's wide array of cultures and languages. I took away a number of ideas from the museum regarding how to embed social and environmental justice through writing modules in the APES class. 

Revolutionary art in La Casa de Literatura

Revolutionary writing is an urgent matter

The final stop of the day was the Basilica y Iglesia San Francisco. We viewed the 16th century artwork and toured the courtyard. Franciscan monks walked around, going about their business, which added to the historical ambiance. The end of tour took us into the catacombs where 25,000 Franciscan monks and their novices (apprentices) were buried in large cubical containers within the crypt. No photos were allowed, but let me tell you, the dim lighting and low ceilings and the thousands of bones made it the perfect Halloween stop. 

We ate dinner that night with two Fund for Teachers Fellows from Kansas City. We walked around Miraflores and enjoyed an outside meal. 

Day 2
July 7th
Lima, Peru

The day started off on a bad note. A meeting I had with representatives from Grupo GEA was cancelled. Grupo GEA is a non-profit consulting group that supports sustainable development projects in Peru. I was hoping to see their project called Esoescuela, which is an environmental education program in Lima schools. But, I will correspond with their representatives and will conduct an interview by phone later on during the trip. 

But, we did see some examples of sustainable development work.  Lima is a very clean city. There are trash barrels everywhere and a robust recycling system. Plus 5 for Lima on the sustainability scorecard. I also saw a netting system to prevent rockfalls along the coast.  The netting covered every square inch of the very loose, conglomerate rock that makes up the cliffs. Plus 5 for Lima. That brings Lima to a neutral sustainability score for the two days. 

I took a lot of strange looks for posing in front of this grocery store's recycling center

The netting system around the rocky conglomerate cliffs. 

We took an urban hike down to the beach called Larco del Mar. Post beach, we hopped in yet another cab and made our way to the airport. Cusco is next. My next blog post will come after a few days. Only 2 more days to Machu Picchu! 

Buenos noches a todos.