Pachacamac Ruins

The team took a day trip to the Pachacamac Ruins south of Lima. Peru is actually one of the original cultural hearths on the planet, and the earliest peoples often gathered in these few valleys where rivers penetrated the desert on their way to the sea. Pachacamac is one of those few three valleys around Lima, home to the ancient people the Lima, replaced in turn by the domainant Wari, and then the Ischma, and finally the Inca. Each built their temples here, so the sight is like a tour of 1,000 years of temple building. When Pizzaro and the Spanish arrived in 1500s, they stayed here, before having the entire site buried in sand and establishing the catholic city of Lima nearby.

A terrified Sara is stuffed into the back cabin of Jose's small station wagon!


In case you were wondering if Lima really is a desert city, here is the few just to the south of the city.


View of the site-most of the site is still unexcavated; view of the ancient pyramid from about 1000 AD


View of the principal north-south street of the ancient city; view of the base of the Inca Temple of the Sun, on which you can still see some of the Red paint in which the entire temple was painted.


Ted the Archeologist; the world's ugliest dog--you decide which is which


Ted and Sara enjoy the tour

Our guide-another great one

view of the Inca temple overlooking the fertile valley and the Ocean, this is where the sacrifices were made, including very rarely, virgin girls!