5/28

Today we got up early and caught the bus to Caral! Caral is an ancient civilization, the oldest civilization in the Americas. It is located in the Supe Valley which is north of Lima.  Caral was built around 2000 years before the birth of Christ, and parts of it still exist today. It was discovered by Ruth Shady in 1994, so there is still a lot about the people of Caral we do not know. The tour guide took us around the grounds of Caral and explained the purpose of the existing monuments. Some has been reconstructed to add to the effect of the civilization. The part that I thought was the coolest was the sun dial which still stands tall today and very accurately told the time (there is a picture of it down below).
The trip took about 4 hours each way, but we hit a lot of traffic on the way back so it easily could have been more like 5. We got back to Miraflores around 8 pm. Then we had about 4 hours to eat, shower, and get ready to go out to "La Peña," which is a bar in Barranco (a district right next to Miraflores). We met at the bar around 12 pm. The bar had a dane floor that we all could dance on sometimes, but at other times we had to get off to watch Peruvian dancers, or Peruvian singers. It was a very interactive bar, and it was a lot of fun.
We didn't end up leaving until about 3/3:30 am but all fell asleep right away because we had gotten up around 5 am.

A view of the mountains from Caral

A temple of Caral

Another temple of Caral

Another view of the mountains from Caral

The steps up to a temple of Caral

Another temple of Caral

The sundial in Caral

The bases of the houses of Caral

The last beautiful view of the mountains from Caral

Some goats we saw while leaving Caral

Me and Anna at "La Peña!"