If Cuzco was the quiet child with the unique personality, Lima is the eccentric, outgoing brother... craving attention and screaming at all hours of the day. Having spent the last 4 weeks in quiet, everything-is-within-walking-distance Cuzco... I was a bit shell shocked when I arrived at the Lima airport yesterday.
Lima is huge. Home to 11 million people (while Peru only has 30 million people total), 1 out of every 3 peruvians live here. It is a sprawling metropolis with groups of skylines. Most unique is the fact that the city hangs on cliffs that overlook the beautiful Pacific ocean. A quick 20-minute hike down a path takes you to the actual coast, but the city lies high above on beautiful rock-tops that overlook the sea.
I am staying here in la Muniipalidad de Miraflores, a district right off the pacific ocean, about 20 minutes drive to the center of Lima. When I arrived at the airport, I was happily greeted by my own name written on a sign held by the driver who was there to pick me up. For a few bucks I had arranged for him to get me at the airport and drive me 30 minutes south to my hostel in Miraflores. When I arrived, tired from a combination of traveling and the night before in Cuzco, I was introduced to the hostel. It's a beautiful old building that has been converted into a youth travelers' oasis. With nice lockers, wide bunk beds and a big family room I have already met lots of people passing through Lima or here for the long-haul. Juan, the guy who runs the place gave me a great orientation to the building as well as the surrounding city on maps. While Lima has been known to be home to crimes against tourists from time to time, Miraflores is a very safe area.
Yesterday I walked all the way south to the center of Miraflores via Ave. Pardo. I passed great restaurants, grocery stores and about a million office buildings. After 20 minutes or so I took a right onto the main drag, Ave. Larco which took me past the expansive, green Parque Kennedy towards the beach. Lima reminds me slightly of Tel Aviv with the 70s-esque architecture and apartment buildings overlooking every road. The veiw from the top of the cliffs to the beach is amazing. Right next to the Marriott, is the famous LarcoMar shopping center, a 3-story outdoor mall carved into the cliffs. I was all set to have a great Peruvian lunch yesterday when, there, right in front of me was a giant Chili. The restaurant "Chilis" was right ahead. While I fought my urges, the possibility of having a nice, hot (for some reason all peruvian food is served luke-warm) meal with some decent french fries just called to me. I sat down, ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich, and was in absolute heaven.
From LarcoMar I walked back North, this time right along the cliffs back to the hostel. On the way I passed the famous Parque de Amor (Love Park) which features a massive statue of a man and a woman in kissing the throes of passion (not joking). Along the route are a million other small parks, playgrounds and grassy areas to sit. It was great- and as I have said, the views are beautiful.
After a mid-afternoon nap, I headed to "Norky's," one of the restaurants that Juan recommended to me. I ordered their famous dish and my favorite dish, the Lomo Saltado and found myself in gastronomic paradise. I retired back to the hostel, hung out chatting with some new friends and then had a well-deserved sleep.
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This morning I decided I wanted to see the historical center of Lima. Lima, as you may know, is not only the capital of Peru, but was the capital city of the monstrous Spanish Empire when they ruled South America centuries ago. The center of it all (both the country and the former empire) was La Plaza Mayor in the center of Lima. Today it hosts El Palacio Gobierno (the government palace, where the president lives) as well as El Catedral, the official post office and other stately buildings. The architecture is a unique fusion between Peruvian and Spanish. It was really pretty. I walked around for awhile and then walked a few blocks North to El Convento San Fransisco (the San Francisco Monestary), one of the oldest on the continent and home to the famous Catacoumbs, thousands of tombs underneath the floor of the church. Down below, our tour guide told us stories of some of the over 70,000 people buried there over the past 5 centuries. Bones are literally everywhere, scattered among the low-ceilinged, candlelit stone corridors. It had a very Indiana Jones-like feel. One of the funniest things for me was seeing the paintings of Christ in situations like the last supper; in the center of the table was Cuy (guinea pig) as well as corn and potatoes. It goes to show you that Christianity (and all religions) really morph themselves to the culture of the country they're in.
Following the advice of my Lonely Planet guide, I headed back to El Palacio Gobierno to see the pageantry-filled Changing of the Guards at 12 noon. Throngs of slow-motion high-stepping Peruvian soldiers marched to the sounds of the military band. It was cool to see. I then headed up to a unique part of the city, "BarrioChina" (Chinatown). Very interesting to see...
After paying a visit to another Plaza to the East and walking around the center for about an hour longer, I decided to try public transportation to head back to Miraflores. While it was tough to get going, I eventually found my way on the Metropolitano system and ended up getting off of the high-speed bus in an area I recognized. I walked about 20 minutes toward the beach and decided to descend the 300 steps to the beach below the cliffs. Following the advice of Jenna, who pointed out that I am so uniquely commitment-free, I just sat on the pier for about 2 hours and read my book. Listening to the waves and just reading with the Miraflores skyline just over my shoulder. It was sublime. I took my time walking back, often stopping to sit on a park bench for 10 minutes or grab a coca-cola at one of the many street-side cafes (think Nice or Madrid). It was truly a wonderful day.
This evening I moseyed on back into town, grabbed a great dinner at LarcoMar and actually went to see a movie by myself. It was great with the exception of the national earthquake/Tsunami drill that happened at 8:00 sharp. The movie was paused as the entire movie theatre, shopping center (and, I'm told, the entire country) walked out into the street to areas that are supposedly safe for such natural disasters. After a few minutes we headed back in, and the James Cameron flick continued. Only in Peru.
I'm having a great time here and I'm sad that it's coming to a close before I know it. I plan tomorrow to hit up some museums and maybe try some surf lessons or paragliding.
Love from Lima!
Greg
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