Advertisement
Published: November 7th 2007
So after a relaxing evening in London with Scott & Katie, we were in 'Shamble Town' of Iberia check-in. We were delayed out of Heathrow for an hour, resulting in a mad dash through Madrid airport, luckily we had our trainers on and backpacks already checked-in!
After 11 hours of pure comfort and plane food we were here. Like Ricardo said, our taxi driver was waiting for us. As we got into what we can only describe as a 'death trap' , Ross quickly asked the driver where the seatbelts were?!?! The driver then locked us in in the car...safety first and everything!! After 30 minutes of a white knuckle ride through the streets of Lima we arrived at our hostel and collapsed into bed, a well deserved 13 hour sleep!!
Monday 5th November
So today was all about settling into the travel lifestyle, so we got up late and went for a walk to the nearest cafe and ordered "dos cafe con leche por favor". We then strolled down to the posh part of Miraflores to the Larco Mar shopping complex which sits high on the Coast Verde with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, it is
Parque Le Amor
Lots of couples canoodling!just stunning! I (Lynsey) could definitely shop there everyday. As we were walking through the streets, neither of us were expecting to see KFC, Starbucks or Pizza Hut, but there were a few.
There are a few parks along the cliff tops, including the Parque Le Amor with an impressive sculpture in the centre. Apparently the park was created for all the young lovers of Lima who had no privacy in their overcrowded family homes.
As we watched the paragliders fly off the clifftops, a woman decided to sit her pet Iguana beside us on the wall!! No problemo we thought until she walked away leaving it with us. All of a sudden the Iguana decided to make a run for freedom (smart move). Ross starts shouting to the woman..."Excuse me miss your iguana is running away." She didn't speak any english!!!
Later that afternoon we decided to visit the Parque Kennedy which is the centre of Miraflores, basically it was just another park with some flowers and "keep off the grass" signs dotted everywhere but it was ok. So we decided to move on and visit a site called Huaca Pucllana which is a vast pre-inca
adobe mound. It was quite a sight, situated in the centre of a residential area. You get great views from the top to TGI Fridays. It has survived many years and many earthquakes because the building technique is like stacking books on library shelves and this apparently is why it has stayed standing for so many years.
In the evening we decided to take it easy and stick to the safer area of the Larco Mar and had some dinner overlooking the coast which is stunning by night.
Tuesday 6th November
Today was into Lima Centro, so we jumped in a taxi and experienced another white knuckle ride! We had been advised by the hostel to stay within the tourist areas. We visited the Plaza Mayor which is the centre of Lima. Surrounding the plaza is the Presidential Palace, the cathedral and the Municipal buildings. See the photos, we think they speak for themselve. Most impressive was the cathedral which has been reduced to rubble a few times following earthquakes. Still looks as impressive as when Pizarro layed the first brick.
After watching the changing of the guards, we went for a coffee in one
of the street cafes around the plaza. As soon as we sat down an amigo decided to join us. As Gerry predicted he started a conversation with..."si, Glasgow Rangers, Celtic, Gordon Strachan, Alex Ferguson"....etc etc. Couldn't believe our luck. It got worse..."Tony Blair, Gordon Brown??" After a while and we now officially being his friend, "mi amigo, you buy me a diet coke?" eh eh... Ross finally gave in (as always) but only because it was for diet coke!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.097s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 14; qc: 53; dbt: 0.064s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Emma Jay
non-member comment
WHOA!
Whoa! Im so jealous, your descriptions and photos are bringing memories from my trip flooding back!! I got cornered by and "amigo" on those same steps, he wanted way more than a diet coke though!! eek!! Oh and you'll be pushed to find seatbelts in ANY south american taxi, or car for that matter. WAIT til you get in a bolivian taxi and realise theyve ripped the steering wheel out and attached it on the passsenger side. youll know what i mean when you see it.