Huaca Pucllana is a flat-top pyramid in the middle of Miraflores District in Lima, made from adobe clay bricks by the indigenous Lima Culture around 500 AD - about 9 centuries before the Incans ever conceived of Machu Picchu.
The word "pucllay" means game in their ancient language; therefore, Huaca Pucllana is translated into
"a place for ritual games." Apparently, the kind of "game" going on at the time was the worship and sacrifice of women and children to the gods. Great. Sorry we missed it by approximately 20 centuries.
The pyramid became a cemetery for the upper class of the Wari Empire, after they conquered the Limans. The Incas took over 3 centuries later.
Fortunately, it seems that in modern times the game of fútbol is far more popular than the "game" of sacrificing women and children! Our observation is that it doesn't matter who's playing - everyone loves to watch any fútbol. However, Saturday was a big deal game. All eyes were glued to the TV for the 2012 UEFA Euro Cup Championship soccer game between Spain and Italy in Kiev, Ukraine. It started at 1:30 pm so we went in search for a comfortable restaurant/bar with a big screen TV to have lunch and watch the game. Peruvians were out partying in the streets, restaurants, bars with their Spain jerseys on! It seems, they were very partial to Spain. We didn't see a single Italy fan (at least not out in public). Spain dominated the game, winning by a landslide of 4-0. Again, confirming our presence as good luck. Prior evidence, you ask? Well, when Ecuador defeated Colombia when we were in Baños, Ecuador; when Tokyo Giants had a no-hitter winning game when we were watching the game at Tokyo Dome. See?
[Below: view of Huaca Pucllana pyramid from below. Note the individual adobe clay bricks laid upright in rows.]
[Below: Our tour guide. The 45-minute walking tours are given in different languages. Admission was S/13 per person.]
[Below: View of ruins below and of the more modern city of Lima. Huaca Pucllana used to be about 8 square miles, but buildings were built over the ruins so that only 2.5 square miles of the archeological site remain.]
[Below: Near the top of the flat-top pyramid. The holes once contained remains of sacrificed animals, women, children.]
[Below: Again, near the top of the flat-top pyramid. A place for Limans to gather. The pillars once supported a roof over this area.]
[Below: Tomb of the Wari people with skeletal remains in fetal position wrapped in various weaves/ropes found here on top of the pyramid.]
[Below: There happens to be a nice restaurant on the grounds of this archeological site with a view of the ruins from almost every table in the restaurant. A nice place to cool off with a refreshment after hiking around for an hour around the pyramid.]
[Below: To watch the Spain vs. Italy game, we headed to "Pizza Street", actually called Calle San Ramon, where there are at least a dozen restaurants serving pizza and other foods. Every place had a flat screen TV with the game on.]
[Below: We actually didn't have pizza at all. We ended up ordering some of the best tasting pollo (chicken) rotisserie (a la brasa) and grilled (a la parrilla). It came with a pile of fries and a side salad for $5.]
[Below: Getting into the "spirit" of the game with a glass of Pisco Sour, the national grape brandy drink of Peru.]
[Below: Very happy Peruvians. Spain 4 - 0 Italy.]
