Peru: Day 1 & 2, Lima

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I had been excited and nervous about coming to South America for a month on my own. Mostly, I wanted to expand on my Spanish, but also to try something completely different. And for the first time, I was doing a long term trip on my own with no one that I was planning to meet at any time. So, yes, this is a first. I was nervous. And my dad did not help my nerves.

First things first: Dad drove me to Syracuse airport to catch my flight to Atlanta then Lima. Full on, lake effect snow storm. I was a bit worried our flight would be delayed or cancelled, but if anywhere is normal in such conditions, it's Syracuse (take that NYC!). I did make my dad drop me off though so that he would hopefully avoid any worsening conditions. I got myself a bloody mary to calm myself and waited to leave the US once again. Flight was smooth, Atlanta was surprisingly easy to navigate (it may bump up a few spots based on this trip - we'll see if it is the same coming home), and I passed out completely almost all the way to Lima. I sat next to the best person ever - an older woman who was nice, but didn't say one word - she put my waters and a snack in my seat pocket while I was out.

Landing in Lima was easy, but it was 12:25am. I had had myself a good little nap, went straight through immigration, waited for my bag which was like the last one, and found the driver my hostel had sent for me. He was very not talkative, nor was the woman he was with. I think they were in an amorous mood; weird, but I just enjoyed driving through the streets of Lima without traffic. It reminded me a lot of Panama City. We took a coastal route for most of the way to my hostel in Miraflores. There my driver waited until the hostess had come out to the front gate to let me in. She gave me my room key and said to just wait to register until the morning. Woohoo! I had a nice little room all to myself, but I had to share a bathroom down the hall. However, the hostel was very very clean so no worries.

Breakfast was at 8:30 am and I came down soon after; this is really a bed and breakfast, not a hostel. They asked me what type of eggs I wanted so I ordered scrambled and they gave fresh bread with butter and jam and an obviously canned orange juice - it was fizzy but good flavor. The eggs were actually yummy - just the perfect amount of salt so I got this every day. I made small talk with an English woman who works in Cuzco but was on her way to Quito to lead some tour. Just as she was finishing up, the guy of the couple to my left started puking into his breakfast bowl. Yes, puking. A lot. His girlfriend and the host rushed him out to the courtyard and the other hostess spoke to me in spanish, muy rapido, about what was wrong with him; she was not surprised and said he was sick and maybe a concussion, but no one seemed to think it was a hangover. That sucks.

Anyway, so the hostess gave me a map and pointed out some sites and restaurants they recommended in walking distance. I also used the handy-dandy email I got from my friend's stepmother who is from Peru. So I made my way to Kennedy Square, where there is a nice church. I left too late as the church was closed and there was tons of construction in the square. Bummer. Then I walked up Calle de Pizzas, recommended by my friend. It is the local hotspot with lots of bars and restaurants just lining this one little street. Sadly, during the day it is empty. A few of the restaurants were open and were competing for the few tourists who were walking along. I started to go into one restaurant but no host was there, so I walked across the street to a guy who invited me in. They had three selections of two course meals for 16 soles (which is less than $5). I ordered the first one because it looked the prettiest. However, when the first course came out I almost gagged (visions of the guy from breakfast ran through my head). Ok, I like eggs, but I'm really not a fan at all of hard boiled eggs. When my first dish came out there was a hard boiled egg to the side and then ketchup, not my favorite condiment unless it is on french fries, with a big thing of food in the middle. It did look just like the picture, but I didn't see the egg on the picture and the yellow on the dish made me think it was all hardboiled eggs. Probably a stupid thought in retrospect, but there it was. So, in order to not be rude, I ate it and it was not nearly as bad as I feared. There was a chicken salad on top - weird but good. The yellow is actually yellow potatoes, with a layer of avocado in the middle. So very mushy but I can see why Causa Rellena is a staple here. The next dish was perfect! Lomo Saltado - I did not know what this was before, but now I will make it lots. It is marinated steak/beef with tomatoes, onions and cilantro served with rice. And french fries of course (I didn't eat the fries). Cilantro made this dish - who would have thought?

So I made my way back, buying some water along the way. Ok, I saw that the temperatures were about 75F, about 15 degrees warmer than Cuzco, but I was completely unprepared for the humidity. And I think it was more than 75. There was no breeze and sweat was just dripping down my body. My hair was a big poof ball of curls. Yeah, this was gonna take some getting used to.

Day 2, I enjoyed my breakfast and discussed with the couple about the guy's sickness. Turns out she has been working in Argentina for the last 4 months and he came to visit her five weeks ago so they have been traveling since. In La Paz he got salmonella and had to go to the hospital. When she arrived in Cuzco, she got sick from E Coli, presumably from the bathroom on the bus from Bolivia but who knows. And now it seemed he had another bacterial infection. He was sad, "I've been here for 30 days and 10 of them I have been very sick!" So note to self: hand sanitizer, bottled water, and stay out of Bolivia (Dad will be happy).

I walked along the coast this morning and it truly was a beautiful site. Surfers just below the big cliffs catching waves. Islands in the distance. A big light house with paragliders flying by. I was loving Miraflores. Another place my friend recommended is Larcomar and a restaurant named Mangos. I was not sure what exactly Larcomar was, but I made my way down via my map. I get to where i know it's supposed to be, and where lots of people are congregating, but all I see is a big concrete park. I go there and sure enough, it is a viewing platform looking down into a big outdoor, cliffside mall. Incredible! I found my way to Mangos and chose the buffet, also recommended. I ate a lot of food, but not too much - just trying different dishes. I got a mango mojito; honestly, was not a fan. And drank a whole giant bottle of water. Then, I made my way back.

It was a nice lazy couple of days in Lima and I think I will be sure to come back for a couple more days at the end of my trip. I cannot say enough good things about the Lighthouse Guesthouse - they were so nice.

I ordered a taxi for the next morning to take me to the airport. We left at 11am, but the traffic was insane once you got into the city. And you can definitely tell that Miraflores is by far the more affluent area. It was like crossing a border into a different place completely. Another thing I noticed were the cliffs were made of sandy material, many areas covered in tarps or netting. Very unusual; the cliffs did not seem all that stable. The airport was relatively easy and not as crowded as the cars and people outside would lead you to believe. But the most amazing part was the takeoff - flying first over the cliffs and ocean and back over Lima - this is a huuuuuge city! I will be back.

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Photos

Causa rellena
When I saw the hard boiled egg, ketchup and olive, I was like "wtf". Better than I thought, but I had my fill

Security personnel
They are everywhere in Miraflores and I was grateful. Friendly, observant, and identifiable.

Larcomar
multiple levels on this cliffside mall

Mangos restaurant
recommended, in the cliffside shopping mall of Larcomar

Mangoes buffet, dish 1
clockwise from bottom: corn-beef pie thing, quinoa salad (yum), potatoes and chimichurri (yum), tortellini with pesto

Mangos buffet, dish 2
Clockwise from bottom: seafood mixto (yum), arroz con pollo (yum), turkey in beer, chicken in peanut sauce, fried quinoa

Comments

[Amber]

Beautiful
Peru looks amazing! Not sure I could manage the food, but it looks awesome!!

[D MJ Binkley]

Lima
We flew in late to Lima from Seattle and when we woke up the next morning we realized there was a Starbucks across the street from our hotel. We just had to laugh. Enjoy practicing your spanish.