“Can you take us to the Gold Museum?”
we asked Paul, a Peruvian taxi driver.
“Yes, no problem,” he replied.
Our friend Joyce and I managed some
Spanish, and together we bargained really hard. Paul agreed to take
us to the Gold Museum for 60 nuevo soles, equivalent to US$20.00.
There were five of us; so the fare was not really bad for a half hour
drive.
The Museo Oro del Peru holds over 8,000
pieces of pre-Hispanic gold. They mainly originated in the north
coast of Peru, and from the Moche, and Lambayeque or Sican periods.
The display rooms are organized by the
type of material on exhibit. We started on the ground, or main
floor, where there are more than 20,000 hand combat weapons from all over the world, and from different periods. It is considered to be
one of the most complete in South America.
This collection is of fire arms, side arms, missile weapons, and large contusion type weapons.
“Have you seen a nut clever?” asked
Bert while pointing to a knife with a hook that could cut one's testicles out in one swift move, no more fooling around! Perfect for Loreta Bobbit fans.
“Look at that sword from
Afghanistan!” I'm surprised that they have a collection from that country, I said.
“What about this serrated knife? Do
you think it will hurt to use it?” asked Dave.
We moved from one room to another
browsing through all the different kinds of weapons, sometimes we
were serious, and at times laughing. Within its eight rooms, one can
distinguished The Samurai Room, The Room of Historic Personages,
where uniforms of different high commanders of the Armed Forces and
Police can be found, as well as the various garments of Presidents of
Peru and the world.
Special mention is reserved for the
Tizona de Pizarro, unique pieces with their class of bows, and swords
encrusted in gold.
It was made by the armer Mateo in 1539 for Don
Francisco Pizarro. Seeing Pizarro's bows and sword gave me the image of a tyrant riding in his horse ready to give orders to attack the Inca tribes.
We also admired the complete sets of
metal armour, and shields worn by their warriors during this period of time.
We could only imagine how hard it must
have been to fit into these suits of Armour. Maybe Vaseline would
help?? Furthermore, we talked about how one could wear all this
heavy metal; let alone be riding horses and charging at one another.
Some are so fascinating with strange details, and projections, while
some are almost laughable looking!
There were several suits of metal body
armour, that I thought looked like what Heidi Klum would wear for a
Sports Illustrated pictorial. A few pieces were for the protection,
and cover for the hands, and finger nails, making them look like gold
and silver gloves, with matching manicures en vogue!
The museum was founded by Miguel Mujica
Gallo. He started this collection at an early age. His love of
hunting led him to acquire many old weapons.
On seeing a pre-Columbian Tumi, (ceremonial knife), he was fascinated by it, and this led him to acquire an extensive collection of pre-columbian treasure, as well as the many weapons on display.
The Tumi cuchillo, (knife in Spanish),
is the most important piece of his collection in the Gold Museum. It represents uses for both religious, and medicinal purposes. It was used by the Lambayeque, during the period of 900 -1450 AD.
“The high priest used the Tumi for
sacrifices. The sacrifices were carefully chosen by the high priest
and the victims ages ranged from 14-16 years-old.
They were usually drugged by giving them the chicha drink which served as an anaesthetic, and also caused hallucinations. They also gave them the extract from cactus leaves called San Pedro,” explained the guide.
“For medicinal purposes the Tumi was
also used to find out if a person had a brain tumour, or just a
persistent headache. The Tumi was used to drill, pump and open up
the skull, and it was later patched with gold before burying,” he
continued.
``One would be shit out of luck, if he
had a headache during the Ìnca period,`` joked Bert.
Anyway, the gold museum was divided
into the Main Room where the main objects associated with the royal
tombs, could be found. Here, we marvelled at the country`s large
collection of gold artifacts. There were breast plates, walking
sticks, golden gloves, tunics, and a head dress in the shape of a
half moon. All could rival King Tutankhamen's gold collection in
Egypt. All of these belonged to the high priests, and symbolized
might and power. We saw nose rings more than a foot wide and
wondered if that was the right size for Dennis Rodman?? Hundreds of
earrings as wide as bracelets looked very heavy and were carefully
lined up in several glass cases. There was a golden mask, a rodent
shaped vessel used for keeping coca leaves, and lots of clothing with
gold thread.
In the Vase Room, there were a
variety of vases that contained liquids, which were used for
different rites. There were golden drinking vessels, pots of gold in
the shape of birds, and gold rattle drinking vessels. They were
mostly used by the high priest who carried out religious ceremonies;
worshipping the sun.
The Mummy Room displayed
a variety of mummies from the central coast, as well as metal
objects, and pre-Hispanic fabrics from the Vicus period . There
were skulls covered with gold, while some had funerary masks. My
guess is that these were the unlucky ones who had migraines!
They were used by the Lambayeque
rulers. In the Copper Room, there was an exhibition of copper
objects used in agricultural activities.
Our whole morning was spent on the
interesting tour at the Museu Oro del Peru. Our next stop was at the
Inca Market in Miraflores. It is located at the neighbourhood which
was full of prosperous, young residents. It probably has some of the
best homes. It is, without doubt, one of the most popular places for
tourists, foreign expatriates, and locals (who can afford it). The
coastal district has a lot to offer in form of cafe's, restaurants,
bars and clubs.
The Inca Market is where artisans sell
nearly everything that Peruvian craftsmanship has to offer. There
were the typical souvenirs, awesome artisan craft work, beautiful
jewelry, clothes made of Peru`s famous Alpaca, t-shirts, pottery,
paintings, wooden carvings, and leather work from all over Peru.
Our shopping for the day, done, we
headed back to the Marriott Hotel where we waited for our free
shuttle bus back to the port. Many
thanks to the friendly and very helpful staff of the Marriott Hotel.
The free wii-fi was also a nice treat!!!
One thing we like about Holland America Line is that we get pampered at
every port stop. The free shuttle bus service was really a welcome
treat; especially after a long day of touring and shopping. We were
back on the ship shortly after 6:00 pm where we enjoyed a very
typical South American barbecue! Ole!
we asked Paul, a Peruvian taxi driver.
“Yes, no problem,” he replied.
Our friend Joyce and I managed some
Spanish, and together we bargained really hard. Paul agreed to take
us to the Gold Museum for 60 nuevo soles, equivalent to US$20.00.
There were five of us; so the fare was not really bad for a half hour
drive.
The Museo Oro del Peru holds over 8,000
pieces of pre-Hispanic gold. They mainly originated in the north
coast of Peru, and from the Moche, and Lambayeque or Sican periods.
The display rooms are organized by the
type of material on exhibit. We started on the ground, or main
floor, where there are more than 20,000 hand combat weapons from all over the world, and from different periods. It is considered to be
one of the most complete in South America.
This collection is of fire arms, side arms, missile weapons, and large contusion type weapons.
“Have you seen a nut clever?” asked
Bert while pointing to a knife with a hook that could cut one's testicles out in one swift move, no more fooling around! Perfect for Loreta Bobbit fans.
“Look at that sword from
Afghanistan!” I'm surprised that they have a collection from that country, I said.
“What about this serrated knife? Do
you think it will hurt to use it?” asked Dave.
We moved from one room to another
browsing through all the different kinds of weapons, sometimes we
were serious, and at times laughing. Within its eight rooms, one can
distinguished The Samurai Room, The Room of Historic Personages,
where uniforms of different high commanders of the Armed Forces and
Police can be found, as well as the various garments of Presidents of
Peru and the world.
Special mention is reserved for the
Tizona de Pizarro, unique pieces with their class of bows, and swords
encrusted in gold.
It was made by the armer Mateo in 1539 for Don
Francisco Pizarro. Seeing Pizarro's bows and sword gave me the image of a tyrant riding in his horse ready to give orders to attack the Inca tribes.
We also admired the complete sets of
metal armour, and shields worn by their warriors during this period of time.
We could only imagine how hard it must
have been to fit into these suits of Armour. Maybe Vaseline would
help?? Furthermore, we talked about how one could wear all this
heavy metal; let alone be riding horses and charging at one another.
Some are so fascinating with strange details, and projections, while
some are almost laughable looking!
There were several suits of metal body
armour, that I thought looked like what Heidi Klum would wear for a
Sports Illustrated pictorial. A few pieces were for the protection,
and cover for the hands, and finger nails, making them look like gold
and silver gloves, with matching manicures en vogue!
The museum was founded by Miguel Mujica
Gallo. He started this collection at an early age. His love of
hunting led him to acquire many old weapons.
On seeing a pre-Columbian Tumi, (ceremonial knife), he was fascinated by it, and this led him to acquire an extensive collection of pre-columbian treasure, as well as the many weapons on display.
The Tumi cuchillo, (knife in Spanish),
is the most important piece of his collection in the Gold Museum. It represents uses for both religious, and medicinal purposes. It was used by the Lambayeque, during the period of 900 -1450 AD.
“The high priest used the Tumi for
sacrifices. The sacrifices were carefully chosen by the high priest
and the victims ages ranged from 14-16 years-old.
They were usually drugged by giving them the chicha drink which served as an anaesthetic, and also caused hallucinations. They also gave them the extract from cactus leaves called San Pedro,” explained the guide.
“For medicinal purposes the Tumi was
also used to find out if a person had a brain tumour, or just a
persistent headache. The Tumi was used to drill, pump and open up
the skull, and it was later patched with gold before burying,” he
continued.
``One would be shit out of luck, if he
had a headache during the Ìnca period,`` joked Bert.
Anyway, the gold museum was divided
into the Main Room where the main objects associated with the royal
tombs, could be found. Here, we marvelled at the country`s large
collection of gold artifacts. There were breast plates, walking
sticks, golden gloves, tunics, and a head dress in the shape of a
half moon. All could rival King Tutankhamen's gold collection in
Egypt. All of these belonged to the high priests, and symbolized
might and power. We saw nose rings more than a foot wide and
wondered if that was the right size for Dennis Rodman?? Hundreds of
earrings as wide as bracelets looked very heavy and were carefully
lined up in several glass cases. There was a golden mask, a rodent
shaped vessel used for keeping coca leaves, and lots of clothing with
gold thread.
In the Vase Room, there were a
variety of vases that contained liquids, which were used for
different rites. There were golden drinking vessels, pots of gold in
the shape of birds, and gold rattle drinking vessels. They were
mostly used by the high priest who carried out religious ceremonies;
worshipping the sun.
The Mummy Room displayed
a variety of mummies from the central coast, as well as metal
objects, and pre-Hispanic fabrics from the Vicus period . There
were skulls covered with gold, while some had funerary masks. My
guess is that these were the unlucky ones who had migraines!
They were used by the Lambayeque
rulers. In the Copper Room, there was an exhibition of copper
objects used in agricultural activities.
Our whole morning was spent on the
interesting tour at the Museu Oro del Peru. Our next stop was at the
Inca Market in Miraflores. It is located at the neighbourhood which
was full of prosperous, young residents. It probably has some of the
best homes. It is, without doubt, one of the most popular places for
tourists, foreign expatriates, and locals (who can afford it). The
coastal district has a lot to offer in form of cafe's, restaurants,
bars and clubs.
The Inca Market is where artisans sell
nearly everything that Peruvian craftsmanship has to offer. There
were the typical souvenirs, awesome artisan craft work, beautiful
jewelry, clothes made of Peru`s famous Alpaca, t-shirts, pottery,
paintings, wooden carvings, and leather work from all over Peru.
Our shopping for the day, done, we
headed back to the Marriott Hotel where we waited for our free
shuttle bus back to the port. Many
thanks to the friendly and very helpful staff of the Marriott Hotel.
The free wii-fi was also a nice treat!!!
One thing we like about Holland America Line is that we get pampered at
every port stop. The free shuttle bus service was really a welcome
treat; especially after a long day of touring and shopping. We were
back on the ship shortly after 6:00 pm where we enjoyed a very
typical South American barbecue! Ole!
