Lima - Miraflores

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Lima is rich with culture and flowing with life. Pizzaro, the Spanish conquistador, conquered the Incas here. Because of its already defined heirarchical system and location, it became the spanish capitol of Latin America. Spanish architecture is prevalent in the center of town, whereas the rest of town is very modern.

Day 1 (Thursday) - Got to the bus station at 6:30 in the morning. I had been told that there wasn't much to see in Lima, so I decided to see if I could get a bus ticket out that night. I now regret this line of thinking but this trip is not one for regrets, so I am putting it out of my mind. There is no central bus station in Lima, which is a big pain in the butt. However, there are clumpings of bus companies around town. I knew of one bus company that provided international trips, so I made the mile walk there, with my big backpack on back and the small one up front. It turned out that of those bus companies, the only one that made trips to Quito was Ormeno, the one I knew of. I booked a trip for 5pm, though was shocked how expensive it was ($80). I was able to leave my big bag there, which was a nice relief, so I decided to make the couple mile journey to Miraflores, an upscale portion of town, by foot. It was a nice little walk, giving me a great feel for the city. I walked through a business district, just as people were getting into work and saw a demonstration for one of the local municipality's transportation authority. You will be happy to know that I did my part and carried the balloon they gave me for several miles. I didn't stand out at all (sarcasm): white with white man fro and a balloon. I got quite a lot of looks. I made it to Miraflores before 10:00. I walked down to the cliff above the beach and soaked in the sights. It was nice to be in a big city that wasn't surrounded by mountains. On the way back, I walked past an incredibly nice tennis club with regular and clay courts. At the main park in Miraflores, I decided to grab breakfast and a coffee and people watch a bit. The area was very western, which got me thinking that there was a good chance this was my best opportunity to get a new ipod. After breakfast, I walked around and found a mall with a radio shack. I bought an ipod imposter for $30 that the clerk claimed would work with itunes. As luck would have it, there was a Loki Hostel across the street (I stayed at a Loki in Cusco). Even though I wouldn't be staying there the night, they said I sit in the restaurant to work on my new mp3 player. Two songs came with my new music box, Barbie Girl and Say You Say Me. None of my other songs would load. I was frustrated and decided to check my old ipod again just as a desperate measure, even though it didn't work two days ago. The heavens shone down upon me because this time it worked before what was supposed to be a 36 hour bus ride. I grabbed a late lunch there then walked back to the Ormeno station. At the station, I met a girl named Vanessa from New Zealand then a guy named Jimmy from England, who were also going to Quito. It is always nice on bus rides to have other English speakers on the bus with you even if they don't sit next to you. Should customs be a pest, there is strength and numbers or should the bus decide to leave you at a bathroom stop, they can shout to stop. The bus was supposed to take off at 5 but we didn't end up boarding till 5:30 and took off at 6.

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Photos

Thoroughfare
Tree lined streets

Beach
From the cliff overlooking it