The Battle of Angamos- October 8th

Miguel Grau Seminario holds an important place amongst Peru’s heroes. His military accomplishments, as well as his distinguished and courageous disposition earned him the title of Knight of the Seas (“Caballero de los mares”). At the end of the 20th century, he was also named the Peruvian of the Milenium.

Miguel Grau commanded the great “Huascar” which was the most brilliant ship of the Peruvian fleet of 1879, during the War of the Pacific. This fleet was inferior to that of the enemy Chileans. After losing the valuable battle ship “Independencia,” in the combat of Iquique (during which the “Huascar” sank the Chilean battleship “Esmeralda”), Miguel Grau was given orders to avoid direct combat with the Chilean fleet. Thanks to the superior speed of the “Huascar,” Grau was able to cruise along the coast creating havoc in enemy lands.

On October 8th of that same year, the monitor “Huascar” was captured after the battle of Angamos, during which its commander was killed. The morning of October 8th saw the ship fleeing from its Chilean aggressors; Grau, knowing combat was inevitable, shot cannons towards the Chilean ship “El Almirante Cochrane.” These shots provoked the eventual retaliation and destruction of “Huascar.” Miguel Grau was killed by a projectile from the Chilean ship. The destruction of the “Huascar” was the final step in the clearing of the Peruvian seas, which allowed for the Chilean invasion by land, of the southernmost portion of Peru.

Beautiful Things...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I was inspired to put together a slide show of the different types of artwork we have come accross. In general I find myself intrigued by religious art. I was surprised by this myself as I still consider my Spiritual Wellbeing to be "Under Construction". I love my Greek Orthodox Icon(straight from Greece...thank you Vivian), my Shinto Torii gates and my ornate Christian cross all the same. Here in Peru I find I am partial to the artwork resulting from the Spanish Christian influences combined with the indigenous Peruvian style. I have included an example in this slideshow. The style is known as Esquela Cusquena (Cusco School). Note the face of the Virgen Mary setting atop Pachamama (or Mother Earth). I don't think the photo does the painting justice, however, the colors are vivid, and the work is very detailed. Anyway.....just a few beautiful things to share with the masses.

Antique Homes Tour in Central Lima

Heath and I were able to go on an Embassy organized tour of various antique homes in the central Lima area. Fantastic, grand and over-the-top big. Spanish, French, Moorish, and Indigenous styles, to name a few. Lima is a huge city with so many things to see. Central Lima is a great area to stroll around, eat and take in the sites.

Tango Anyone?

Heath and I were walking around in Miraflores after dinner one night and saw a large group of people watching something. Of course had to see what they were doing. To our delight we had the pleasure of watching couples doing the Tango. Heath and I considered "Wowing" everyone with our Cha Cha, but decided we best not embarass ourselves. Viva Peru!

A Little Bit of This....A Little Bit of That......

Life moves along here in Lima. The kids and I convinced Heath that we needed a puppy. Little Pisco, or Sweet P, to her friends is very cute and does a lot of peeing, pooping and sleeping. It's like having a baby around......anyway, the cats seem to like her so all is well. The kids started school and are fairly disgusted with their new early morning schedule. They have a chaffeur who drives them to and from school named Tiofolo. He is a very nice man. My Empleada (maid), Fidela, is keeping the house spic and span and is cooking some great Peruvian food for us. I am already not looking forward to having to do all my own cooking when we move back to the states. Maybe I can bring her with me. She has a 3 year old named Kiara who has come to work with her on occassion and the kids have had a great time "taking care" of her. All in all we are doing really well. Hope all is well......

Can you say Peru????

So...the kids and I have been here for 3 weeks today. Heath is more of a local having been here for 6 weeks. We are getting situated and things are starting to feel "normal" again. Our first shipment of household goods arrived (dishes, pictures, books) and I am slowly unpacking the boxes. The more times I move, the slower I am getting my home in order. There are boxes everywhere and I am totally OK with this. We are already making travel plans.....Cali, Columbia (hopefully) in a few weeks, beach cities at Christmas and Machu Picchu in February. There's always something going on in the city so we really don't need to travel far to experience something new. Hope you enjoy the photos. We'll keep you updated. Chow chow as the Peruvians say......

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Visiting So. California before heading to Peru

From Bend we moved on to Huntington Beach, CA to stay with my parents. Heath was able to stay for about 2 weeks during which time he and I made a trip to Chicago for fun. I was able to enjoy HB through the end of June with the kids meeting me mid month after spending a few weeks in OR with their Nana. I had a really nice time in HB. I was able to see my brother and his family for my niece's highschool graduation. Also made a trip to Palm Springs with the girls for a very relaxing weekend. I had some really good, long chats with my BFFs and was able to reconnect with some old friends I had not seen in a very long time. As much as I was ready to move on and get to Peru, I was very sad to leave. It's great to have a place like that to go to.