FAR HORIZONS Archaeological and Cultural Tours BLOG
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1Posts by Heather Stoeckley:
La Cuidad de los Reyes
March 23rd, 2009By Heather Stoeckley
Lima is much more than just a one-night stand for travelers to Peru. Preferring to quickly move onto Cuzco and Machu Picchu, or even Iquitos, the gateway for Amazonian explorations, most people choose to bypass any city sight-seeing and use Lima simply as a necessary layover from their international flights.
What first struck me about Lima was its brightly colored houses and buildings, painted intentionally in order to contrast against the often foggy skyline. As a San Francisco native, I immediately felt at 
home with this aesthetic (and climate). I began my journey in the historic quarter, where remnants of the city’s colonial past are ever present, particularly as you walk through the streets and peer up at the wooden balconies that characterize its buildings. After touring the cathedral and the magnificent Convent of Santo Domingo, I moved on to Barranco, an artistic district on the coast with a distinctly bohemian vibe. A short walk will take you to El Puente de los Sospiros, the Bridge of Sighs, where you can sit sipping a pisco sour and observe the sun setting into the ocean. And, as the gastronomic center of the Americas, Lima offers a fascinating variety of dining experiences that will leave your taste buds dancing! Known for its variety and quality, Peruvian food reflects the many influences of different civilizations which have passed through its borders… and Lima is the best place to sample these culinary achievements.
My recommendation: don’t skip this center of commerce, culture, and history. A day or two spent exploring the city Pizarro called, “The City of Kings,” will leave you yearning to discover more!
Libya: Not Just Sand and Camels
March 2nd, 2008By Heather Stoeckley
In March of 2008, I was fortunate enough to accompany our second group trip to Libya, a country that is home to many awe-inspiring archaeological sites: Leptis Magna, Cyrene, Sabratha and Ptolemais. All stand as testimony to the past glory and architectural beauty of the Greek and Roman empires. Few experiences in life can rival the feeling of standing humbly beneath the Septimus Severus Arch at Leptis Magna; with eyes agog, one cannot help but to marvel at the pure grandeur and intricacy of its design. Then there is the magnificent Temple of Zeus at Cyrene and the elegant amphitheater at Sabratha, both of which sit picturesquely along the coastline with the azure waters of the Mediterranean as their backdrops. After visiting all of these sites throughout the course of our trip, it became ever so clear to me why Libya, so mysterious and unknown a country to many westerners, is such a coveted travel destination the world over.
But Libya is much more than a nucleus of pristine Greco-Roman archaeological sites, glorious though they may be. Libya is also the bustling metropolis of Tripoli, where the winding
streets of the old medina are sharply contrasted by the burgeoning of modern buildings. And in the west lies Ghadames, the land of the Berbers, where a stroll through the old town is a step back into time. From here, we traveled by 4X4 jeeps to Grand Erg Oriental on the western border with Algeria and Tunisia, where the great sand sea of the Sahara stretches far and wide. The jeeps dropped us off at a Tuareg tent where we watched as a Berber man demonstrated traditional bread-making methods using underground ovens. After a delectable sampling of this treat and a quick respite under the pillow-strewn tent (tea included!), we set forth up the sand dunes for a panoramic view of the impending sunset. As a human caravan traveling along the crest of the dunes, we steadily marched towards our final destination and eventually perched ourselves atop the tallest and farthest mountain of windblown sand. As we watched the sun’s slow
but determined descent towards the horizon, a small group of Tuareg men – who punctuated the nude background with their native bright blue dress – drummed rhythmically on their traditional instruments. And when the sun finally set, anticlimactic though it always is, the clouds turned pink and there was nothing but sublime silence.
I will always remember Libya with fondness, not only for its glorious architectural monuments, but more so for the sheer bliss I experienced while watching the sun retreat into the vast Sahara landscape.
