Peru Travelogue, Part 1 Lima

[Surfcrest]

Peru Travelogue, Part 1 Lima

Peru тАУ Empire of Hidden Treasures

A four part travel article on Peru, South America
Part 1 Lima
Part 2 Cusco
Part 3 The Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu
Part 4 Puno & Lake Titicaca

Our journey began in late August, an easy afternoon flight to LAXтАжtime for a drink in the lounge before boarding our next LAN overnight flight onward to Lima, Peru. Fortunately we were flying on a Boeing 767, a plane much better suited for sleeping in than CathayтАЩs Boeing 777. The crew is quick to feed us and to get the lights out for the southward journey across the Equator. With only an eight hour flight from Los Angeles to LimaтАжI was still able to get six hours of sleep before they started serving breakfast. The 767 has adjustable window tint instead of pull down shades and so while I was finishing the last of my morning coffee, I was able to fiddle with the tint and appreciate how bright it was outside before we descended down into the clouds, compared to the constant blue tint of the cabin.



If youтАЩve ever been to Lima before you will know that it is usually cloudy or hazy. It is essentially a city built on a desert slope leading upwards into the Andes. The winds donтАЩt always blow weather into the city from the sea like most other Pacific Coastal destinations and so quite often the smog of the city gets trapped above. ItтАЩs certainly not my favorite South American City for natural beauty, but there are certainly other charms that make it, at least a worthwhile stop over before continuing upwards into the Andes. In the summer months it can get quite warm in Lima, warm enough for swimming in one of their better beaches and most the most popular, Asia Beach. Usually though, it doesn't get too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. I was there this time in August and so the temperature was quite chilly. Nevertheless, the coast all along Lima is good for surfing year round, with long rolling waves typical of what you might find in Waikiki Beach. The surf is at its best down in the Barranco District, but a wet suit is a must in August.



For one, if you are heading up into the Andes to explore the Inca sites you may want to stop off at LimaтАЩs Museo Rafael Larco Herrera in the San Miguel District to appreciate what silver and golden artifacts remain of the Inca culture that werenтАЩt melted down into bullion for the Spanish Empire at the time. The relatively small museum also has an exhibit of figurines and pottery in their erotic gallery, featuring many ancient Inca in various sexual positions. The exhibit is unique because the Spanish were horrified by the depictions and had thought at the time that they had destroyed them all and so these indeed are the lucky few to have survived. You are also able to tour the warehouse of non exhibiting items housed and labeled in their storage shelves.



Lima is also quite famous for their cuisine and most especially their Ceviche, a dish typically made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices, such as lemon or lime and spiced with aj├н or chili peppers. Also quite good in Lima is their sushi, based on a big Japanese population and the availability of fresh seafood. Lima also has a fairly substantive Italian population which lends to some excellent Italian restaurants in the city and many fusion style restaurants blending Japanese, Italian and Peruvian in the mix.



Peru is renown for their potatoes, it is where the tuber was first domesticated and where you can find over a thousand different varieties. Of course this staple of many diets around the world since colonization has saved many from starvation. It is not uncommon anywhere in Peru to be served a variety of potato you may have never tried before and many of these tubers you can see in the Indian markets around the country and in Lima, although you may not recognize them as potatoes.

Of course, another thing that the Peruvians are famous or more so infamous for is their Coca leaf. And while this leaf can be refined into many of the most destructive drugs known to man, the Peruvians and the Inca chew it in its natural form to help them adapt better to life in high altitudes. While Lima and Trujillo are on the coast, the coast slopes rapidly into the Andes range where cities such as Cusco, Machu Picchu and Arequipa are 3400 and 2300 meters above sea level or between 7700 and 10 800 feet. The Coca leaf supposedly helps you cope better with the altitudes especially if any type of physical exertion is required.



While in Lima, IтАЩm staying in Miraflores..probably the best area to stay for tourists despite the distance to the historical center of the city. There are some great hotels in the district including some good properties high up on the cliff, looking out to the sea. This is where you will find Larcomar, a modern shopping center build into the side of the cliff overlooking the ocean. If you are looking for western food such as Tony RomaтАЩs or T.G.I.F., this is where youтАЩll find it. There are plenty of better and cheaper places to eat in Miraflores, especially around John F. Kennedy Park and in and around the side streets in this area especially Avenida La Mar and my favorite of the bunch Astrid y Gaston ( Although this one is not cheap).

As with most colonial style Spanish cities, the historic zone or city center is dominated by a Plaza de ArmasтАжor main square. This area of town is about 8 kmтАЩs north and inland from Miraflores. LimaтАЩs historic center is quite beautiful, the architecture very European, a mix of Spanish and Italian six to nine story buildings either bright white or in pastelsтАжeach decorated in their own style. They still do the changing of the guard in front of the Government Palace each morning at 11:00 AM. Also of interest in the area is the Archbishop's Palace, and the Lima Basilica Cathedral, which houses the tomb of Lima founder, Francisco Pizarro. The Plaza Mayor itself is the exact spot where Pizarro founded the city of Lima. Pizarrro was the Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire and distant cousin of Hern├бn Cort├йs who conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico City.



Calle de San Pedro in the downtown core will lead you to other beautiful squares in the area, each with their own individual charm. It will also lead you to LimaтАЩs bustling Chinatown and the street markets in the area selling everything cheap and made of plastic. ItтАЩs a great area of town to see the people and to watch the fascinating porter services set up all through the markets, men with big rubber boots and massive dollies ready to take whatever you buy where you need itтАжno matter how high it is piled. You can sometimes see teams of these porters moving truckloads of goods through the pedestrian only parts of the city. This service you will also see everywhere else in Peru, especially in the Andes where travel using the wheel is impossibleтАжand so youтАЩll see these men of all ages carrying massive loads on their backs or strapped to their bodies.





The only similarity of Peru to Thailand, is with the many massage places and services scattered throughout the country. These girls, although IтАЩve also seen some boys, have very little if any formal training and so the quality is only going to be so good. Lima also has a fairly strong gay presence and some rather nice looking men on many of the social sites like Manhunt.



My last area of the city I explored on this trip was to the Barranco area the more bohemian of the 43 districts in Lima an interesting area with some good trendy restaurants and bars, artists, galleries, a vibrant music scene and some beautiful beaches stretching along the coast. Situated just a little bit south of Miraflores, itтАЩs easy to get to and from by taxi, especially late at night.

All through Lima and indeed Peru, you can see a strong Police presence. IтАЩm not quite sure if this is for the stability of the country or to make tourists feel safer or in response to some terrorist threat. Whatever the case it is not unusual to see small patrols of well-armed police officers with their large muzzled police dogs. IтАЩve never had any bad experience in Peru before, but IтАЩd still tend to use a money belt while roaming around the city, especially through busy markets. A photograph of your passport is also a handy thing to carry around, especially if you are planning to join any tours.



I speak Spanish fluently, my partner does not. I would say Lima or Peru is a country where knowing some Spanish is not absolutely necessary. My partner had few issues getting around on his own okay. Peruvians are a very social people, much like their Chilean neighbors to the south and so for me one of the highlights was gabbing with some of the many people we met on this trip. Be they conversations in the back of a taxi cab, with guides taking us through some difficult mountain passes, or with the fascinating conversations I was able to have with the local Inca people I met throughout the country. For the Inca, Spanish is their second language too and so makes conversation muy, muy facile. A common way of greeting an Inca man is to exchange Coca leaves. I bought a nice bag for the leaves early in my trip while in Lima and I never missed the opportunity to check out some of the best leaves in any market, so to have something good to exchange with the guys I met.



Of course, Coca leaves are illegal outside of Peru and BoliviaтАжas are all the derivatives, candies, Coke made with Coca and so this all must be left behind when departing Peru or youтАЩll have trouble with the Customs dogs when you get back home.

A few days is probably enough time for Lima, especially if you are on your way to see the rest of the country. One thing that might keep you there longer is the Mistura festival, or the food festival reknowned around the world and held in early September down on the beach near Miraflores.

After a week in Lima, we were off to the airport to catch a flight to Cusco.

Surfcrest

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[Khor tose]

Good report. Hang on to those coco leaves for Machu Picchu if you have a problem with altitude sickness. They really do work well for that.
You will find police and army in a lot of the towns in Peru, as the Shining Path (local communist insurgents) are still very active in Peru.

[Smiles]

You're much too kind. The Shining Path are terrorists (a particularly nasty subset of 'insurgents') ... they murder innocent people for The Cause.