Dear Lima, don't listen to your critics. I loved our time together.

I honestly can't understand why people give Lima two thumbs down. I think it might be one of my favourite stops. Granted my arrival was by 80min plane ride which arrived at sunset while others spend 20hrs on a bus but still.

When the hostel driver picked me up and said I had to put all my luggage in the trunk for safety purposes (even the day pack I normally keep with me when in road vehicles) I admit I was a little un-nerved. I mean his explanation was that we would be going through a neighbourhood where people sometimes break the car windows to steal bags. "Hmmm, maybe this was a place to skip" jumped into my mind but, in the end, I am glad I didn't. 

My love affair with cool graffiti was rekindled. This is the view from my bedroom window in the Miraflores neighbourhood where on night one, even though I had booked a dorm, I got a room to myself. Yes happiness was mine.

I did find it strange that only one other English speaking tourist was here (Matthew UK who I had met twice before. Once in Argentina and the other time in Bolivia - firmly proving the Gringo Trail is living strong) with only 4 other guests all being Spanish. I mean this is the capital after all and it is Easter Weekend... where was everyone?

Without much choice I decided to just go with the flow and treat Lima as a solo adventure. Here's how it all played out. Stepped out night one to get my orientation set and grab a light dinner at a cafe across from Kennedy Square which is just down from Central Park.... are you also noticing a theme here?
Great nights sleep and a barrista made Starbucks decaf, after breakfast @ Haiti, set me up for my adventure into the Centro Historico, which is basically downtown Lima. I took their version of the subway which is actually just a bus system that runs North/South along a dedicated lane on the freeway. Managed to pass through Canada quickly before getting to my final destination. Guess it was easier than I though to go home for a quick visit : )

My first stop was The Plaza Major. Pretty right? As it was the Thursday before Easter the streets were packed with Peruvian "believers" and a ton of street vendors.

Loved watching this guy try to manage all these balloons as I walked up to the the Monestario y Catacombes de San Francisco which felt like a mix between the film In the Name of the Rose and the Killing Fields which is strange since I'd say it was a positive experience overall. Go figure. 
  

Walked south through various green spaces & quickly popped into the Lima Museum of Art to check out the local photography.


Last stop, and a good reason I took the trip into town, was to arrive at the Parque de la Reserva to see the Circuito Magico del Agua at nightfall. Loosely translated this means a complete orgy of fountains. 13 staggering water fountains set to change direction in sync with symphony music and choreographed light shows. A completely unexpected thing to find in South America but well worth the visit.  Made it "home" by 8 and grabbed some Chifa for dinner. Peruvians think Chifa is a mix of Chinese and Peruvian dishes. I want to suggest it is simply Chinese food sold in Peru but I also don't want to offend my hosts so let's keep that between us.   






Day two I spent the morning wandering around Miraflores for breaky and booking my journey north but then walked to the much talked about LarcoMar Mall on the cliffs to see what the chatter is about. Here's my damaged panoramic photo of the view from the mall.  It's too hard to do these shots of water since the camera needs to stitch three photos together but you get the general idea.  Basically no mall I know has this view in Canada.

  Food courts look out onto this. Imagine.

 

From here I walked south along the cliff path to Barranco which is the oldest 'hood in Lima. It is described as bohemian and romantic. Accurate on both accounts. I am amazed that people don't say the visit to Barranco is required. It was one of the nicest walks I have ever taken and the hood has great views and a killer atmosphere.                   AB-SO-LUTE-LY loved it.

Kruz, check out the picture on the right above ... this is the DOG park! Crazy. 

Through the trees in the image to the right you can see a white structure. That's the LorcoMar Mall clinging to the cliff. I hung out on the cliffs until the sun set. You can easily see why. Then I walked into more of the central part of Barranco for a Turkish dinner of falafel and some vino tinto. Capping off the night with a piece of chocolate walnut cake and a collectivo bus ride back to the hostel for a whopping 33cents Canadian.

Now tell me you don't think Lima is at least worth a few nights stay? I know I will encourage people to do so from now on.

Heading to the beach tomorrow. Hope things are starting to warm up for you at home as well.

xo
b