Blogs from Lima, Lima, Peru, South America - page 2

13th June – Fly back to Lima (via Silustani) After our exertions on Lake Titicaca yesterday, we both had a remarkably good nights sleep although I think this was down to exhaustion rather than acclimatisation!!! So, our adventure is nearly at an end. We were picked up at the hotel at 08:00 although our flight, from Juliaca airport, wasn’t until 13:14. Why so early? I know!! Let’s squeeze in another ancient archaeological site as if we haven’t seen enough already!! We were told it was on the way to the airport anyway. So that makes it OK, does it?? As the bus climbed up the road leading out of Puno, the driver suddenly swerved as a car pulled out in front of us without indicating. We heard a dull thump on the side of the bus ... read more

In hindsight we could have spent less time here and found another place in Peru for a week or so. We found Lima too big, busy and crowded for our liking, particularly after the charm of Cuenca. Traffic in and around Lima is brutal so we avoided taxis and Uber and walked, 75km last week. The apartment was excellent and of all the districts we felt Barranco was the most genuine and the best bet for us. There are 6 panoramas in the section above. They change every 5 seconds. 1. Barranco beach on a hot weekend. Too crowded for us. Reminded us of Sauble Beach on a long weekend in summer. 2. An Incan inspired wall mural in Barranco. 3. Plaza de Armas in central Lima. 4. From Miraflores, looking south to Barranco. 5.Huaca Pucllana. ... read more

Today we are having a quiet day, just wandering round Miraflores. We walk along the Malecon for a couple of miles through the line of parks, until we reach Larcomar; a shopping mall built into the cliff side. On the way we find Paddington Bear – who knew he’d made it back to Peru? Then we walk back through Miraflores via the central park, which might be called Parque Kennedy, or may be named after some random date. Here, dozens of very well fed stray cats live amongst the flower beds. We stop at Café Buena Vista for a drink and a microwaved empanada. Not the best lunch, but the café is on a cliff overlooking the ocean, so at least it’s not kidding about the view being good. We spend the afternoon watching tennis on ... read more

Today we are flying to Lima. I’m so looking forward to returning to sea level – very sea level as our hotel is only 400 metres from the ocean. We are back to flying with LATAM, the only airline we have used in South American without problems. And sure enough, we are due to land at 11.06, and by 11.07 we are sitting in a taxi en route to our hotel. We are staying in Miraflores, an upmarket suburb by the Pacific. The hotel is nice but backs onto a scrap metal yard, so is rather noisy during the day. But if you peer over the car wrecks, you can just glimpse the ocean. After lunch in the neighbouring chicken shop, we go for a walk on the promenade which runs along the cliff top. It’s ... read more

Only one day in Lima, so decided to do a suggested walking tour of the old downtown area and do a bit of Miraflores if we had time. It was a late start because of our late arrival. We had a small but adequate breakfast before setting out at 10:15. Originally we thought we’d take a taxi into downtown but the owner, Aluaro told us to just take the bus as it only costs 1.5 soles instead of about 20 for a taxi. Also in Lima the taxis don’t use meters and you have to agree (or haggle) about a price, so we thought we’d give it a go. It was just a short walk of about 10 minutes and we saw the 301 bus arriving and rather than wait for the lights, we made a ... read more