Back in Lima and cool weather!


Advertisement
Peru's flag
South America » Peru » Lima » Lima » Miraflores
June 19th 2009
Published: June 19th 2009
Edit Blog Post

I’m back in Lima. Actually it’s Miraflores, an upscale suburb of Lima that is very popular with tourists, very safe, and is very much like any U.S. city. I got to the hotel about noon and immediately went to KFC for lunch. I know that’s sad, but I had to have some American food for a change.

I'm pretty spoiled after having internet access last week. My hotel here (Hotel las Palmas) is comfortable and convenient, but it doesn't have wi-fi so I have to hike over to a nearby Starbucks to access the internet.

The last couple of days haven’t seen any writing because, to be honest, I haven’t done much. When I returned to Iquitos I just didn’t want to be out in the heat and humidity any longer so I spent a lot of time hanging out in the hotel room or down on the Malecon overlooking the river.

I was able to put together a slideshow of photos from the jungle that is a little interesting. I put it together in about an hour, but neglected to add sound which would have helped a lot. I came to concentrate on video, but am glad I took photos as well since it looks like I may not be able to post video until I return home. Here's the link on our Vimeo channel: . (The resolution quality is really good (high definition) which means it's a BIG file. It's best to let the whole thing download before watching it. You can also expand it to full-screen, too, and it looks pretty good that way.)

Last night was spent with my family in Iquitos. They are wonderful people and I really wish they lived closer. I was worried about the language barrier (and it was a problem), but I had a great time with everyone last night. Unfortunately, my father-in-law left town on Monday. We hung out in the lobby of the hotel for awhile then went to meet my brother-in-law, Sandro, when he got off work at a hotel on the Malecon.

It was the first time I’ve talked to any of them in months. It was great to see Cristian and Pier. They have certainly grown up a lot. My littlest cousin, Jose, didn’t exactly take to me, but he liked playing aroung after awhile until he got sleepy and grouchy.

Dinner was great - polla a la brasa (roasted chicken) for all. Ten people and I only paid about $33. Most of us couldn’t even finish out plates, too. It’s amazing how much you can get for your money in Peru.

It's a typical cool (about 64 degrees), and overcast day in Lima. No sign of the sun and everything has a depressingly gray cast. There is something happening here at 11 pm tonight, but I don’t know what it is. Things are being set up in the Parque Central across from the hotel. I saw a news report earlier, but couldn’t understand enough to figure out what’s going on. Since I don’t have to get up in the morning, I guess there’s no reason not to at least check it out if I can stay awake that long.

I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow. My guess is that I’ll do some sightseeing along the coast and maybe take a taxi into the center of town. I’ve seen just about everything several times so maybe I’ll look for something new to do. There are some tourist trips run by the city available in the park, but I’m just not sure how energetic I’ll be.

I’m pretty angry at myself for not bringing a heavier coat. It's pretty cool in Lima now and it’ll be down around freezing each night in Cusco and I don’t have much of anything for that kind of cold. Daytime find the temperature rising to a sunny 70 degrees or so which means I won’t need more than my light jacket most of the time. I tried to find a coat this afternoon, but there was nothing that looked decent except some really heavy ones that I don’t want to carry around when the temperature rises each morning. After two trips and lots of looking around, I decided on some sweaters which will also be useful when I get back home. (I really don’t need any more coats and jackets.) At about $13 each, I got a good deal.

Nine more days to go in Peru before heading home on the 28th. The time in Cusco should be interesting since I’ve only spent a couple of days there before. Of course, I can’t wait to get to Machu Picchu and spend time in that incredible. More than anything else, I remember how really magical the place was. I never believed anyplace could be so moving, but it is all that and more. Should be a wonderful experience.


Advertisement



Tot: 0.088s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 14; qc: 64; dbt: 0.0548s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb