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