5 Days In Lima – What, no Macchu Pichu?

I must have been the only gringo on the plane to Peru who wasn’t obviously on their merry way to Machu Picchu.

This is the fourth time I’ve traveled to South America, but the first time I’ve seen a plane so full of excited Europeans, with their brand new hiking boots casually juxtaposed with funky hair styles and brightly coloured jewelry.

It was a North Face fashion parade for travelers at 40,000 feet.

My random companion on the grueling 12 hour overnight flight wasn’t in search of the ultimate Inca selfie opportunity or spiritual enlightenment though.

Instead, he was a Spanish guy working with a Peruvian company that deals with the aftermath of landslides.

As well as sharing some horror stories of buried villages to help me sleep, he taught me the subtle clues that a mountain provides before it mercilessly crushes anyone unlucky enough to be in its path.

Now that’s enlightenment.

The accommodation dilemma

As with all capital cities, Lima has a massive range of accommodation options, catering for all budgets and tastes.

Nowadays, I try not to waste entire days organising accommodation and travel arrangements if I’m only going to be there for a few days. Instead, I rely on experience and instinct to get the job done quickly and free up more time for work.

I do, however, get stuck in the same dilemma every time I move on: do I rent an apartment or choose a sociable hostel so I have some company and save money?

This time I went with the sociable option, and instantly regretted it upon arrival.

“We’ve given you an upgrade since there’s nobody else here,” the housekeeper told me, as she led me to a hastily constructed bedroom/sauna behind the main building.

Upgrade basically meant I had my own toilet, which might sound good. But it also meant staying in a room with no external windows, no air conditioning and the only mosquitoes in the whole of Lima.

It also meant badly sealed windows, with the added entertainment of being able to hear everything from the communal toilet, which also had an open window and was right next door.

With the daily temperature hovering around 35 degrees, a humid haze hovering over the city and mosquitos hovering around my ripe gringo flesh, I soon found myself wishing I’d gone with the lonely apartment idea.

It was to be a very sweaty and uncomfortable few days.

So much for ‘experience’ and ‘instinct’.

A Capital on the Pacific Ocean

When I wasn’t stewing in a jet-lagged delirium in my private torture chamber, I actually really enjoyed exploring Lima.

To be honest, I can understand why it’s not generally viewed as a “must visit” part of South America. Then again, I do think it’s worth giving it a chance rather than using it as simply a necessary stepping stone to Machu Picchu.

The cool thing about Lima is that it’s a capital city on the Pacific coast. The beaches aren’t particularly special and are either massively overcrowded or only used by surfers it seems, but the ocean sunsets are undeniably breathtaking.

The city and the ocean are separated by huge cliffs, providing Lima’s unique landscape, along with the eerie fog which settles over the city on an unfortunately regular basis.

In some neighborhoods, such as Miraflores, the top of the cliffs are beautifully developed, with well maintained gardens, a great coastal path to stroll along with a relaxed and safe vibe.

The focal point is the stylish Larcomar shopping and restaurant complex, built like an amphitheater deep into the side of the cliffs. It’s one of the places to see and be seen, and has some great spots to watch the sunset and test your ability to handle alcohol with a Pisco Sour.

At the bottom of the cliffs it’s a different story though. There are vast swathes of land which could offer so much that are either deserted wastelands or apparently pointless construction sites.

It seems to be one of those places which is only just starting to realise its true potential, but is still years away from making the most of it.

But for now, any visitors will still be rewarded by one of the most beautiful sunsets you’ll find in a capital city anywhere in the world.

Downtown Lima

Having heard that the center can be chaotic and unsafe, but definitely worth visiting, I decided to take one of the ‘free’ walking tours advertised in the hostel. Conveniently, the meeting point was in the famous Kennedy Park in Miraflores – just 10 minutes from the hostel.

From the typical tourist neighborhoods by the ocean, it’s no easy task working out how to get to the center. Our guide showed us how to use the new trans-Lima electric express bus system – the quickest way to traverse the heavily congested city and avoid the terrible Peruvian driving.

Once in the center, he cleverly decided to spend just long enough in the central square for us all to start burning. They say the sun isn’t that strong in Lima, but the radiation will get you anyway.

Well, on this day the sun finally came out from behind the fog to punish the gringos who hadn’t brought sun screen.

That night I was to lie in my sweat box burnt to a crisp, mummifying myself with Aloe Vera and dreaming of winter back home.

Anyway…my mistake and nothing to do with the center of Lima, which as usual didn’t feel as unsafe as you hear, and was full of beautiful colonial buildings and a vibrant street life.

Here are a few photos:

And finally, a short (and badly filmed as usual) video of the epic changing of the guard at the presidential palace.

And just to balance things out, it’s important to remember Lima isn’t all beautiful colonial buildings or safe, modern neighborhoods.

As with so many Latin American cities, if there’s an empty mountain overlooking the city, people will build precarious homes there out of pure necessity.

The Larco museum

Many people who’ve never visited this part of the world will still have heard of the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans. And while you can find countless museums, exhibitions and ruins related to those civilizations, there are so many more pre-Columbian civilizations to learn out about in Latin America.

The Larco museum, a private collection of Pre-Colombian art, showcases 10,000 years of art from a wide range of civilizations, and is one of the best I’ve seen on my travels.

It’s set in a stunning building, excellently curated and contains incredibly well-preserved pieces, with many of them never used in life, but buried as part of elaborate funeral rituals.

It also houses the world’s largest erotic ceramics collection. Which made me laugh. A lot.

Here are a few photos to provide a small window into a fascinating world.

Peruvian food

As usual, when I visit a place for such a short period of time, I find it impossibly hard to do it justice in a blog article.

Despite only having a brief glimpse into Lima’s life and culture, one thing I did a lot of though was eating. I’d heard Peruvian food is particularly good, so I ate out as much a possible, trying everything and anything.

And my conclusion is that it deserves its growing reputation, even after the weird olive sandwich I got in a cheap downtown corner shop.

As well as the local food being fantastic, I also had some of the best Sushi and Indian food I’ve ever had. It seems the Peruvians take pride in serving excellent food, no matter where it originates from.

And last, but most definitely not least, is the famous Pisco Sour.

They warn you that it goes down easily, but when you eventually stand up to walk, it will hit you like a landslide.

I can also confirm that there’s some truth to that. Especially when my first Pisco Sour came in a glass inscribed with the helpful message “drinking in excess is harmful”.

Onward and southward

So Santiago, Chile, is the next destination. I’ll be back to Peru with Laura in a few weeks, with new walking boots, a cool haircut and seeking a bit of spiritual enlightenment.

For now though, it’s south with the aim of reaching Patagonia before heading back this way.