¨El que no debe ser nombrado¨

I am surprising myself a bit by writing my second consecutive blog entry, but here it is! We´ll see how long this lasts, but I have high hopes.

Today, also known as Independence Day in the States, has been my day off visiting important historic museums of Peru. I saw two. Chiclayo, the city I´m staying in at the moment, is centrally located in an historically important region where there are a number of fascinating ruins. Sipan, Farreñafe, and Túcum are the remains of pyramids that are still being explored by archaeologists; in fact, some of these burial sites where only ¨discovered¨in 1988. Instead of actually going out to see these sights myself, I took the easy way out and went to the beautifully curated Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipán in Lambayeque, a small city about 15 minutes away from Chiclayo. On the combi ride over I met a lovely Peruvian couple who were on their way to a food festival right being held on the museum grounds. The museum held a treasure trove of gold artifacts found in these pyramids.

I went out for a lunch of fried fish and marshmallow cookies for desert ( marshmallow covered with dark chocolate) on my way to my second museum, the Bruning Museum, which holds some beautiful black and white photos from an archaeologist (Mr. Bruning) and some of the artifacts he found. It was very interesting as well.

On the coliectivo ride back to Chiclayo I was beginning to despair about my lack of Spanish skills and how I wasn't connecting with Peruvians as much as I would like. But, I walked to the Marcado Central, a big bustling mega mart of street venders, and I had two very nice interactions with some women fruit and flower vendors, both of whom warned me strongly of the robbers in the area. And at my hotel I had a nice little impromptu Spanish lesson with the man at the front desk .

And, the title of this addition might seem a little random, but I am reading Harry Potter (2) in Spanish! I´ve been at it for a week and am on page 20, but it´s giving me hope for a larger vocabulary in Spanish!!