Hello everyone, it's been what feels like days since I last posted, but I've been in Lima, Peru for only about 18 hours. After two very turbulent American Airlines flights (one to Miami and the other to Lima), we found ourselves at the relatively new international airport in Lima at 5AM. Since we've had unpleasant experiences in the past with checked baggage on international flights, we decided not to check any baggage on this trip. Because of this, we were able to pass right through baggage claim after smoothly clearing Peruvian customs. Less than an hour after we landed, we were on the road with the driver hired by our hotel to transport us.
Our first drive through the South American metropolis of Lima gave us some views of the city's early morning commotion and its very densely packed residential areas. As South America's second largest city, Lima is home to 1/3 of Peru's population, and a majority of its economic power. The drive, which took us from the airport to the Barranco district (the location of our hotel), took place mostly on the new highway along the Pacific coast. Lima is located on the top of a very large cliff, so the views from the drive (of the shore, cliffs, and distant hills) were quite beautiful, even after a sleepless night on two turbulent plane rides. By 6:30AM, we were in the lobby of the bed and breakfast we'll be staying in for our first night in Peru.
Because the hotel was going to begin its free breakfast service at 7:30, we decided to stick around for that time to come. While my parents got some coffee, I attempted to catch up on some sleep in some of the chairs in the main lobby. Fortunately, I was able to do so, waking up to a nice ham and cheese sandwich at around 7:45. Until our rooms were ready, we took a short stroll around the very nice neighborhood surrounding the hotel. The Barranca District is located right next to Lima's cliff, so the views of the highway and Pacific shore below were spectacular. Even more incredible was seeing the surfers in the frigid ocean below, determined to catch the perfect wave on a cloudy Sunday morning. Once our rooms were ready at around 8:45, I got another precious hour of sleep before going out to the city.
Our first destination, in the Barranca district, was the Larco Mar shopping center. This unique mall, built in the Limean cliffside, is famous not for its selection of stores and restaurants, but for its breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. In addition to gazing at the spectacular views with some morning pastries, we picked up our train tickets for the trip from Cusco to Macchu Pichu at the local Peru Rail office. In just this short portion of our travel, I realized that even though this country may look very different and foreign from places in the First World, globalization has made people all around the world, Lima not excepted, adopt the consumerist ideals and attitudes of the Western World. Larco Mar was filled with teenagers and adults alike, shopping for American and British music, drinking coffee at Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, and dining at TGI Friday's and KFC.
After a crazy 15 minute taxi ride down Lima's main freeway (home to an interesting rapid transit system comparable to Boston's Silver Line), we arrived in Lima Center, the city's historical center to see a variety of sights, both expected and unexpected. We were first dropped off at the Iglesia de San Francisco where we were given a tour of its Franciscan Monastery. This massive, palace-like building was once the home to the Franciscan friars of Lima, who ran the church. Throughout the monastery, we saw luxuriously sized rooms, ornately designed walls and ceilings, exquisite paintings by Italian artists, and catacombs filled with the remains of the Franciscans who lived there before. Although the renovated monastery was very nice, it brought to my attention a great irony in the Franciscan order. St. Francis of Assisi, who founded the Franciscan order within the Catholic church, devoted his order to promoting the idea of "simple living," whereby people would live without luxury and unnecessary spending. The monastery at the Iglesia de San Francisco seemed to showcase the exact opposite. The walls of the monastery were decorated with tiles imported from Spain, the bars on the gates in the front were coated in gold, and the library was filled with shelves made of exotic cedar from Panama. The money spent in the construction of this Franciscan "monastery" could have probably been used to help feed the thousands who lived in poverty around it. I'm sure St. Francis would've been ashamed.
Our next two hours in the city can be described as aimless wandering throughout Lima's old district. Something quite spectacular that we encountered while exploring the area was the incredible amount of celebration in the streets. There were hundreds of dancers, musicians, drummers, and military horsemen parading through the streets as thousands watched. We assumed that there was a special event occurring in the city, but later research debunked that notion. It seems like every Sunday, religious and civil parades occur throughout the city. This reflects Peru's very social culture quite well.
By about 2PM, we were absolutely exhausted. Because we travel to Europe so much, our bodies probably thought (after our long flights) that we were 5 hours ahead in time, when we were in reality at about the same time zone. Before we returned to our hotel in one of the most nerve wracking taxi rides of my life, we had a pretty large lunch at a small restaurant that served local cuisine. I had a surprisingly delicious set of large beef slices with fries and rice.
Between 4PM and 6PM, we spent some time resting in our hotel. Although I didn't get any sleep, I got some relaxing time to start writing this entry. At around 6:30PM, we decided to revisit the Larco Mar shopping center in the evening. The walk there, through busy roadways under palm trees and large apartment buildings, was quite similar to our trek from Burj Khalifa to the faraway metro station in Dubai on New Year's day. I must say, if the Peruvian government could do something about the pollution that plagues the city, it would be a very nice place to walk. The hills on the sides of the freeway to the shore at the bottom of the cliff are dotted with some paths through lush, green gardens, but the smell of exhaust and gasoline is a huge turnoff.
At Larco Mar, what we saw was in deep contrast with what we saw in the morning. The mall in the morning was a nice, quiet place where people were drinking coffee as they gazed on at the ocean, but at this hour (7:30PM) there were likely hundreds of people shopping, eating fast food, and socializing. It actually reminded me quite a lot of the Corniche in Abu Dhabi (where people of all ages ate and socialized on the Abu Dhabi waterfront), but 100m above the water.
For dinner, we ate at a pseudo-Italian restaurant near our hotel after taking a scenic route on the cliff's edge. The meat lover's pizza that we had wasn't bad, but it wasn't the most interesting thing about this place. Ordering food and dining here made me really realize how easy it really is to communicate with people without a common language. Neither the waiter nor the cook could speak any English, and our Spanish is limited to a basic vocabulary of around 100 words, but we were able to complete our order and communicate an issue with drinks purely through hand gestures, pointing, and some limited vocabulary. Following our dinner, we returned to our hotel, exhausted after a full day of interesting activities in Lima.
Right now, I don't have any pictures uploaded (the ones shown are not ones we've taken), but when we get home and have more reliable internet, I'll post a gallery of pictures for everyone to see.
Tomorrow, we'll be getting up at 5AM to make a flight to Cusco, from where we will take a train to Macchu Pichu on Tuesday. We're still uncertain as to what we'll be doing tomorrow in the ancient capital, but you'll be the first to know what we've done. Until that time comes, Adios!
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| Lima, Peru |
Because the hotel was going to begin its free breakfast service at 7:30, we decided to stick around for that time to come. While my parents got some coffee, I attempted to catch up on some sleep in some of the chairs in the main lobby. Fortunately, I was able to do so, waking up to a nice ham and cheese sandwich at around 7:45. Until our rooms were ready, we took a short stroll around the very nice neighborhood surrounding the hotel. The Barranca District is located right next to Lima's cliff, so the views of the highway and Pacific shore below were spectacular. Even more incredible was seeing the surfers in the frigid ocean below, determined to catch the perfect wave on a cloudy Sunday morning. Once our rooms were ready at around 8:45, I got another precious hour of sleep before going out to the city.
 |
| Larco Mar |
After a crazy 15 minute taxi ride down Lima's main freeway (home to an interesting rapid transit system comparable to Boston's Silver Line), we arrived in Lima Center, the city's historical center to see a variety of sights, both expected and unexpected. We were first dropped off at the Iglesia de San Francisco where we were given a tour of its Franciscan Monastery. This massive, palace-like building was once the home to the Franciscan friars of Lima, who ran the church. Throughout the monastery, we saw luxuriously sized rooms, ornately designed walls and ceilings, exquisite paintings by Italian artists, and catacombs filled with the remains of the Franciscans who lived there before. Although the renovated monastery was very nice, it brought to my attention a great irony in the Franciscan order. St. Francis of Assisi, who founded the Franciscan order within the Catholic church, devoted his order to promoting the idea of "simple living," whereby people would live without luxury and unnecessary spending. The monastery at the Iglesia de San Francisco seemed to showcase the exact opposite. The walls of the monastery were decorated with tiles imported from Spain, the bars on the gates in the front were coated in gold, and the library was filled with shelves made of exotic cedar from Panama. The money spent in the construction of this Franciscan "monastery" could have probably been used to help feed the thousands who lived in poverty around it. I'm sure St. Francis would've been ashamed.
Our next two hours in the city can be described as aimless wandering throughout Lima's old district. Something quite spectacular that we encountered while exploring the area was the incredible amount of celebration in the streets. There were hundreds of dancers, musicians, drummers, and military horsemen parading through the streets as thousands watched. We assumed that there was a special event occurring in the city, but later research debunked that notion. It seems like every Sunday, religious and civil parades occur throughout the city. This reflects Peru's very social culture quite well.
By about 2PM, we were absolutely exhausted. Because we travel to Europe so much, our bodies probably thought (after our long flights) that we were 5 hours ahead in time, when we were in reality at about the same time zone. Before we returned to our hotel in one of the most nerve wracking taxi rides of my life, we had a pretty large lunch at a small restaurant that served local cuisine. I had a surprisingly delicious set of large beef slices with fries and rice.
Between 4PM and 6PM, we spent some time resting in our hotel. Although I didn't get any sleep, I got some relaxing time to start writing this entry. At around 6:30PM, we decided to revisit the Larco Mar shopping center in the evening. The walk there, through busy roadways under palm trees and large apartment buildings, was quite similar to our trek from Burj Khalifa to the faraway metro station in Dubai on New Year's day. I must say, if the Peruvian government could do something about the pollution that plagues the city, it would be a very nice place to walk. The hills on the sides of the freeway to the shore at the bottom of the cliff are dotted with some paths through lush, green gardens, but the smell of exhaust and gasoline is a huge turnoff.
At Larco Mar, what we saw was in deep contrast with what we saw in the morning. The mall in the morning was a nice, quiet place where people were drinking coffee as they gazed on at the ocean, but at this hour (7:30PM) there were likely hundreds of people shopping, eating fast food, and socializing. It actually reminded me quite a lot of the Corniche in Abu Dhabi (where people of all ages ate and socialized on the Abu Dhabi waterfront), but 100m above the water.
For dinner, we ate at a pseudo-Italian restaurant near our hotel after taking a scenic route on the cliff's edge. The meat lover's pizza that we had wasn't bad, but it wasn't the most interesting thing about this place. Ordering food and dining here made me really realize how easy it really is to communicate with people without a common language. Neither the waiter nor the cook could speak any English, and our Spanish is limited to a basic vocabulary of around 100 words, but we were able to complete our order and communicate an issue with drinks purely through hand gestures, pointing, and some limited vocabulary. Following our dinner, we returned to our hotel, exhausted after a full day of interesting activities in Lima.
Right now, I don't have any pictures uploaded (the ones shown are not ones we've taken), but when we get home and have more reliable internet, I'll post a gallery of pictures for everyone to see.
Tomorrow, we'll be getting up at 5AM to make a flight to Cusco, from where we will take a train to Macchu Pichu on Tuesday. We're still uncertain as to what we'll be doing tomorrow in the ancient capital, but you'll be the first to know what we've done. Until that time comes, Adios!
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