Andrew Clem home
Andrew Clem banner

Blog post


Monthly archives
(all categories)


March 21, 2017 [LINK / comment]

An avalanche of photos from Peru

I really got carried away with posting over 150 bird photos and nearly 100 scenic photos of Peru over the past few days. (And that's not all: There will be even more photos from Colombia and Florida over the next couple days or so.) The word "avalanche" above alludes to the ongoing natural disaster in which heavy flooding over the past few weeks has caused many landslides and road closures. Indeed, those floods prevented me from traveling east of Lima into the mountain region, as I had hoped to do. (See the next-to-last photo below.) The complete set of photos (including seven panoramic views) can be seen on the Chronological photo galleries (2017) page. As an introduction, I present below some of the highlights.

In my report of birding ventures in Peru yesterday, I described my day-to-day activities, so I won't go into any more detail than necessary in this blog post. On my first day in Ventanilla (a suburb located about 15 miles north of Lima), my brother-in-law Roberto took to the beach in Ventanilla, and on the way, we stopped at the Humedales (Wetlands) de Ventanilla, a wonderful nature preserve.

Ventanilla Humedales sign

February 20: Ventanilla Humedales sign.

The next day, Roberto and I hiked to the top of the steep ridge that borders Ventanilla on the south, providing spectacular views of Ventanilla. In this photo, the Jacobs' house is just barely off the left edge toward the bottom.

Ventanilla soccer stadium from ridge

February 21: Ventanilla soccer stadium from top of ridge.

Two days later, we took a drive across Lima to Roberto's house in the district of Surco, on the southeast side of the city. We stopped at beaches in the upscale districts of Miraflores and Chorrillos, enjoying beautiful scenery.

Chorrillos boats, clubs

February 23: Boats, private clubs in Chorrillos.

After another two days, I took a solo bus ride through Lima, passing through the heart of Miraflores, where many embassies (and American fast-food establishments) are located. It's quite a contrast to the shanty towns that continue to spread around the metropolitan area, a reminder of the sharp class divisions that make governing Peru (and similar countries) so challenging.

Miraflores park, playground

February 25: Miraflores park, playground.

After spending a day of socializing (it was my sister-in-law Nelly's birthday!), Roberto and I returned to the Pantanos de Villa nature preserve, located south of Chorrillos. It was a very successful visit, bird-wise.

Pantanos de Villa pond, platform

February 27: Pantanos de Villa pond, platform.

On my final day in Lima, February 28, I took care of all the normal tourist destinations, in particular the Plaza de Armas in downtown Lima. On the north side is the Palacio del Gobierno, where the President resides, on the east side is the Lima Cathedral, and on the west side is the Lima Municipal Government building. It is a stunningly beautiful place, and I took advantage of the bright sun and clear blue skies. For the first time, I went to the Palacio Legislativo, and was fortunate to be given a guided tour by a knowledgeable staff person there. I learned a lot about Peruvian history and legislative practices.

Palacio del Gobierno

February 28: Palacio del Gobierno (Where the President resides.)

Lima Cathedral, Plaza de Armas

February 28: Lima Cathedral, Plaza de Armas

Palacio del Gobierno

February 28: Palacio Legislativo (Where the Congress convenes.)

While in downtown Lima, Roberto and I walked to the other side of the Rio Rimac, which was a raging torrent. I was amazed to see that the water level in the emergency overflow channel is actually higher than the level of the adjacent highway!

Rio Rimac, highway

February 28: Rio Rimac (flood stage; water above adjacent highway)

At the end of that busy day, we passed by one of the local secondary schools in Ventanilla, and I was delighted to see that its exterior is decorated with images of the nearby wetlands. It was very reassuring to learn that people in Peru are conscious of the precious heritage of nature with which they are blessed, and of the need to conserve it.

Victor Andres Belaunde school

February 28: Victor Andres Belaunde school, in Ventanilla.

Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 22 Mar 2017, 1: 07 AM

(unformatted URL)
      .



This post is over a week old, so comments are closed.


© Andrew G. Clem. All rights reserved. Your use of this material signifies your acceptance of the Terms of use.


Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007:

Category archives:
(all years)



This (or that) year's
blog highlights

Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.


Explanation

The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:

  1. Wild birds (LAST)
  2. War
  3. Science & Technology
  4. Politics
  5. Latin America
  6. Culture & Travel
  7. Canaries ("Home birds")
  8. Baseball (FIRST)