Blogs from Lima, Lima, Peru, South America - page 92

We weren't suppossed to end up in Lima, but because we didn't get on our flight....we decided to make the best of it by spending a day in Lima. We stayed in the Miraflores area and we were pleasantly surprised at the beautiful views of the Cliffs and the ocean. Watching the the Paragliders sail off the cliffs high above us was really exciting to see........until we decided to try it ourselves!! ... read more

Here we are at our next stop in South America - Lima, Peru!! Following our brief flight from Quito to Lima, we decided to head out for the remainder of the day to see the sights of Lima prior to meeting the group with whom we will spend the next three weeks touring Peru - from the bountiful life of the Ballestas Islands, the mysteries of the Nazca lines, the ancient city of Cusco, the rigours of the Inca trail, the ephereal beauty of Machu Picchu and the jungle of the Amazon. After checking into our hotel (at which point we realized we´d been spoilt in Quito), we headed out to the ancient, pre-Incan ruins of Huaca Pucllana. This mud-brick pyramid dating from at least the 4th Century was constructed by one of the regional civilizations ... read more

This evening we called a taxi and went to the renowned restaurant Astrid y Gaston in Lima. A 10 nuevo soles trip took us to an interesting building with a tiled floor, high ceilings, attentive waiters and a fascinating (and complicated, for those of us lacking experience in Peruvian menus) selection of food. There is an oriental slant to traditional Peruvian cooking and after starters of ceviche (also spelled as cebiche, seviche or cevice - a form of citrus marinated raw seafood salad), Jen had a delicious fresh prawn and rice dish and David put away most of an oriental beef and pepper dish that was tender and tasty. All was well, even the 320 soles bill, until we tried to get a taxi back to our hotel in San Isidro - a fifteen-minute journey. A ... read more

Jen decided against a spit-roast meal of guinea pig - from what we saw of them in Ecuador last year it leaves nothing to the imagination - the poor little creature is impaled on a large-calibre spit intact (feet, teeth, etc.). Jen decide to sample her first cuy in a stew in Cusco. David had a pizza and asked how she was getting on when he was halfway through a quite passable Napolitano. "Not very well" is a rough translation of her response, inasmuch as there was little meat on what was still a largely intact rodent. Subsequently Jen tried it in the form of a rough terrine (tortology?) on a couple of occasions and pronounced it gamey but a little unremarkable. ... read more

This morning we embarked on a Lima city tour at 09:00. We were the first on the ‘bus and by the time we had finished the round of the hotels it was 09:50. In fairness, there was a slight delay due to a suicide - an individual had apparently flung himself or herself to their intended death from a high-rise block in a busy side street. We started at the slightly tacky Huaca Huallamarca - a Maranga adobe pyramid describing the history of Lima 200 BC to 500 AD together with some mummified corpses. We moved on swiftly to the city centre where we saw some magnificent balconied Spanish colonial buildings until we got to the Cathedral. The forerunners of this magnificent building had been destroyed by earthquakes and the current edifice dates from 1755, although ... read more

Day 1 on the tour to south america!!! flight wasn't too bad for 16 hours or so! no delays at least. although i did almost slap a woman in the face on the plane! it was completely accidental....don't know what i was dreaming about but i woke up with my arm shooting across the aisle! got to the hostel no problems...ant tell you much about the city as it was dark when i arrived and i cant really see me going out tonight. just a few beers at the hostel bar me thinks. well, its not much od an opener but i know mum will appreciate it to know i got here safe and sound!! Ben kisses where appropriate... read more