I think I remember liking Lima

Yay! I'm in Peru!

After six days in Santiago with our own apartment and relatively not much to do or not wanting to do much, we hit the streets of Lima with a renewed sense of vitality. Perhaps knowing that we would soon be home took our moods to a more positive level. I think that it was mostly that Lima and Peru, in general, is a really interesting place.

We didn't have any luck couchsurfing in Lima but we didn't try very hard either. While it was our favourite way to travel it also became a chore to search for compatible hosts and compose individualized requests to each potential host. Instead, we stayed at a hostel in Miraflores, a popular area in Lima.

The hostel had a friendly and helpful owner but also some (ok, only one!) unwanted guests. The morning after we arrived, Jay was in the ensuite bathroom when I rolled to my side in bed and found myself face to face with a cockroach! OK, I'm exaggerating just a bit. The c-word was on the floor and I was on the bed but STILL it was closer than I wanted it to be. Now, normally this is when I would go into hysterics and scream for Jay to get rid of the thing...and that's exactly what I did! However, I then usually insist that we pack up our bags and move on but I guess I've matured? grown accustom? I'm not sure what has happened but I no longer needed to vacate the premises. And that, my friends, is how traveling around the world has changed me. haha...just kidding.

Once I recovered from my scare and showered, we set out to explore the neighbourhood. Not far away was a historical site, Huaca Pucllana, which was used from 400-700 A.D. as a ceremonial and administrative center. We were able to get a peek into the grounds even though it was closed for the day and Jay went back the next day for a guided tour. It was quite a sight to see all the small, handmade clay bricks stacked into pyramids and platforms.

Huaca Pucllana


in Miraflores

Another day was spent wandering in downtown Lima. It was extremely hot and sunny so we took a cab from Miraflores to the Historic Centre of Lima. Hailing a cab in Lima is easy and once you know the going rate it is easy to negotiate with the drivers. We say 10 pesos, the driver says 12 pesos and you say no, no, 10 (that's what the hostel guy said we should pay) and the driver says 12 and starts driving...so you pay 12 and get out at your destination, thankful that you made it in one piece.

The Historic Centre of Lima is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, much to the pleasure of Jason. Another one to add to the back of his travel notebook and eventually this blog (see previous entry). A hint of the city's colonial past is evident in the main square and a few surrounding blocks. It's quite beautiful.

Historic Center of Lima - Plaza de Armas

Cathedral of Lima


Plaza San Martin

After several hours of exploring the historic centrer and scouring bead stores for my friend, Emily, we had worked up quite an appetite. Luckily for us, Lima is very vegetarian friendly. We would pass vegetarian restaurants on the street by accident. In almost every other city we've been to, if we wanted to find an exclusively vegetarian place we would have to ask someone or find it on the internet first.

Jay looking forward to his vegetarian delights

View of the Pacific Ocean from Lima

We squeezed in one more stop just before sunset, sat in Amore park and strolled along the coastal path high above the highway and beaches below.

Chau,
Corina

flat people explore south america

after recovering from jet lag...the flight from tokyo to sao paulo took its toll on flat people and 3-d people alike...the flat penners delighted in the fresh air and green grass found in parque do ibirapuera. they especially enjoyed climbing a huge tree with roots that hung to the ground from its branches.


the flats were a bit disappointed when we reached the top of corcovado hill in rio de janeiro and cristo redentor was covered in scaffolding. seeing their sad faces, the construction workers offered to stop what they were doing and pose with the flat penners. then there were smiles all around :)


flat jane and flat owen spent an afternoon with uncle jason at the football museum in maracana stadium. they learned that football in south america is actually what canadians call soccer...so what do they call football?


uncle jason spent hours at the pool making friends with pedro the parrot at our hotel in huacachina, peru. but uncle jason was quickly forgotten when the flats came out to play. pedro loved to play peek-a-boo with flat owen.


pedro didn't play nice with everyone though. he nibbled uncle jason's ears and nose and then started in on flat hannah's hair. some people's pets...sheesh.


the flat petroffs were very impressed with how the incas could build their homes on top of a mountain. flat jane asked the tour guide how many people used to live at machu picchu. apparently over 1000 people used to live here over 600 years ago. the incas were probably wiped out by small pox and the city was lost to the world for the next 400 years.


if you look closely (imagine the picture above turned 90 degrees counterclockwise) you can see that the mountains have the shape of a person's face. the biggest mountain is the nose and from this view it is like you are looking up it. the tour guide explained to the flat penners that the profile of the nose is just like the nose of the inca people and is characteristically peruvian even today.


and then there were 2...no, no, no...the llama didn't eat flat ellie! she just decided that she really liked machu picchu. she was so interested in the history and the story of the incas so she has become the youngest, smallest, and flatest tour guide in all the world! i guess we're not the only ones that have learned to follow your dreams!


how can you visit peru and not have your photo taken with a llama? well, that's what flat jane said anyway. luckily, this llama was on its best behavior...no spitting!


the flat petroffs enjoyed a day of hiking in yosemite national park, california with auntie corina, uncle jason and their travel buddies, ron and ali. this waterfall was the lower of two stacked on top of each other called lower yosemite falls.

we hope you have enjoyed the adventures of the flat people! they are now safely tucked into the camera bag for our flight home tomorrow...except for flat ellie who we hope to see again the next time we are in machu picchu.

see you all soon,
corina and jason