The Pen and The Sword: The Adventure Continues…Parque de las Aguas, Lima, Peru

Sunday, my family and I hopped a public bus in Lima (An adventure in itself) and wrote over to one of Lima’s big attractions, a huge public park filled with giant fountains. The words “huge” and “giant” are understated. Lima’s Parque de las Reservas (Park of the Reserves, named after a militia unit in some battle or another) is the current Guinness record holder for the largest fountain complex in the world. This place has 13 works of oversized wet art, including an animated array on the same order as the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, a giant central fountain that spews 250 feet straight up, and a number of smaller sculptures. We had visited this place a few weeks before, but we were going to try something new.

We wanted to see it at night.

After standing in line for only about ten minutes, we finally gained entry. The fee is reasonable, 4 soles (about $1.50) per person. Outside the park, there are plenty of candy apple and cotton candy vendors, so of course we had to partake of some cotton candy (another whole sol for each of those). Peru’s economy is bustling – if there is a market for something, the industrious Peruvians will fill it, even if selling cotton candy isn’t a great income, it beats poverty.

The place was pretty crowded, but it wasn’t noisy, and it was virtually litter-free. The crowds milled slowly to each fountain, including the tunnel of water, and the fountain of the children, whose primary purpose seemed to be soaking everyone who dared get close to the skin.

Did I mention it was dark? At night, the fountains are lit up by rainbow-colored lights that often change, giving the waters a spooky appearance that lives up to the name, “The Magical Circuit of Water.”