Chiclayo is know for being surrounded by amazing ancient ruins and interesting museums. No one ever told me about the disturbing playgrounds.
This one is a mere half block from where we’re staying. Our hotel, perhaps suitably, is part of a casino.
Every night we have the same joke: I tell Cleo I’m going downstairs to play a little blackjack, and she has to talk me out of gambling away our trip money. Confronted by the image of all of us selling fruit on the streets of Chiclayo, I stay in our room.
The odd playground is part of an odd park dedicated to the muses. Here’s our favorite muse, the muse that discourages gambling in strange places:
Many of the muses are, for unknown reasons, wrapped in fabric like Cristo art works, which contributes to the general oddness.
The playground has a heavy Disney motif (though something tells me Disney isn’t making royalties off of it). The friezes of the characters are the most disturbing part.
They may be the reason we’ve seen no children playing here; the only other humans have been two mototaxi drivers chilling out.
This is the artist’s signature. The abandoned sneakers next to it are, for me, the coupe de grace.
