Getting There

From Paracas I caught a bus direct to Lima. It was maybe 4-5 hours… I honestly don’t remember as I slept pretty much all the way there. I arrived to Lima super late at night and caught a taxi to my friend’s house. Pretty straightforward trip.

The Best Part

Without question, the highlight of this leg of my trip was the opportunity to spend some quality time with my friends Vero and Sally. Simply put they are excellent people and I am incredibly grateful for the hospitality and for all of the laughs we had.

Mistura

On Saturday, 05-Sep-2015 – Vero, Sally, their workmates and I went to an epic food fair called Mistura. I was convinced by Vero to make it to Lima earlier than expected to attend this fair but honestly I had no idea how huge it was until I got there. The best food and drink from all over the country congregated on the beach in Miraflores for two weeks of pure gluttony.  We got there at maybe noon and eat and drank until 7 or 8. The strategy was to make claim to a bunch of tables and have people take turns watching them while others explored… brilliant. I alone ate:

• 2 different plates of ceviche
• 2 plates of chancho al cilindro (pork)
• 1 plate of adobo in a bread bowl
• Tons of desserts
• Lots of yummy artisanal beers
• Samples of other people’s findings

It truly was all delicious and reinforced with me how amazingly good Peruvian food can be. The seafood I ate there and over the trip, more so than anything else, was great! Having lived away from the coast for so long I had forgotten how much I love eating fresh seafood.

Paragliding

While walking along the coastline of Miraflores towards the Barranco area we began seeing lots of people paragliding. It was a beautiful day and the wind conditions were pretty solid. I had never paraglided before and am admittedly a little scared of heights; nevertheless, I decided it was worth a go!

It all happened pretty quick: I paid, met the tandem paraglider, got strapped up and withing seconds was floating on air. It was pretty comfortable and really not scary at all. We cruised along, going higher and higher… got pretty close to the Marriot Hotel, entered a cloud, and had a bit of a laugh along the way. The first landing attempt failed and the second was a bit rough, but all-in-all it was a super fun ride. I’d totally do it again.

Historical Center

While Vero and Sally worked, I headed off to the historical center of town to do some exploring. Firstly, getting there proved just how big and monstrous Lima is, especially compared to Cusco. It’s freaking huge, and getting everywhere take a while.

In the center I checked out the museums and catacombs of San Francisco, the Palace of the archbishop and the main basilica located in the main plaza. The catacombs at San Francisco were really cool and interesting, and combined with a guided tour in Spanish were totally worth the S/. 10.00 price.

I also toured Chinatown which was awesome! I ate so many min paos and had the obligatory Chinese buffet experience. I also cruised the markets and bought some food supplies that you just cannot find in Cusco. One thing I do truly miss about living in big cities is the multiculturalism and insane variety of foods you can find.

Swimming with Sea Lions

On my last day, and at the recommendation of Sally, I made my way to an area called Callao and booked a boat tour of the Islas Palomino. Similar to Paracas, there is a wealth of animal life located in this area: birds, penguins and sea lions. Differing from Paracas is that the water was much rougher and there is the possibility of jumping in the water and swimming with the sea lions! It was freakin sweet! I had not been in the water like that in a very long time, and boy was that water freezing. With respect to the sea lions we were allowed to get pretty close to them but were not allowed to intentionally reach out at touch them (a good thing). They were super cute, very curious, and eventually came and swam up around us. After about 15 minutes it was time to get back in the boat and head back to shore. A great half day trip, and totally unexpected.

Overall Impressions

Prior to this trip I had always believed Lima to just be another big city: dangerous, dirty, and just not my cup of tea. I forgot, however, about all of the great things that big cities can offer and I admit that I enjoyed my time there immensely! Bowling, great food, street markets, huge book stores, etc… were just some of the other fun things I was able to enjoy that capped off a wonderful 4 days. I will totally go back.