Blogs from Lima, Peru, South America

On our last day in Peru, we had another early morning start. We had to ride from Urubamba to Cuzco for a morning flight to Lima. But that meant we had some additional time to do some exploring around Lima. Our hotel in the Miraflores area was the same hotel we'd had before and we were treated to the beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean on our drive along the Malecon. After checking in, we decided to explore the Parque Kennedy area this time. The avenue where the park is located was a typical business center type street lined with shops and businesses for the most part but, at one end of it, we came across El Parquetito, a cute Café with outdoor sitting where we decided to have lunch. The essential Pisco Sour accompanied a ... read more

Poet, novelist, and travel writer William Graham resides in Stowe, Vermont. Many of his works of fiction have been inspired by his trips to the southern hemisphere. See his South American Novels series on Amazon. Several feet above the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean flew millions of birds called skimmers that were flying to spend summer in the North American continent. From horizon to horizon, the avian convoy stretched and undulated like a giant snake. It was a marvelous display of nature’s beauty. And where did I see it? In a wildlife refuge in Lima, the sprawling capital of Peru. For many visitors to Peru, the number one travel goal (and with good reason) is to visit the Incan sites in and around Cuzco and then make the journey to the iconic Machu Picchu. Expl ... read more

Lima - 22nd December 2020 The Main Square of Lima is located in heart of Lima, founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535, is a World Heritage Site, declared by UNESCO. The Square was the headquarters of the Spanish Colonial Government and was heavily damaged during the earthquake in 1746. Lima is the second largest desert capital city after Cairo in Egypt. The city is located on a desert strip between the Pacific Ocean and Andes Mountains. The Government Palace was originally built by Francisco Pizarro, governor in 1535. The most recent alterations to the building were completed in the 1930s. It was interesting listening to our guide,Vanessa, talk about the distinctive balconies. During the Spanish Colonial rule of the 17th and 18th centuries, the stand-out features of public and private buildings was the addition of balconies ... read more

We went straight from Medellin to Barranco, the area in Lima that was recommended to us, the colonial barrio with the hipster flavour. Tired from 5 weeks in Colombia Daria needed a rest, we get a room on airbnb in a pretty house hosted by Peruvian descendants from Tuscany; a house with a lot of 60’s design taste, nice sofas, pretty textiles and art books for flicking through, the predominant colour is brick red. The guy that runs the bed and breakfast is called Juan Carlo - he lived 8 years in Florence and speaks good Italian with funny Tuscan dialetc, very helpful guy, he told us places to go, little restaurants in the area and enjoyed a lot to chat in Italian with us. Daria loved the house and found every possible excuse to stay ... read more

We've had a fabulous day in Lima today, thanks to our friend and Debbie Wiener's cousin, Perla. She gave us a real insider's view of the city. She started but driving us around the better residential neighbourhoods where grand neo-colonoal buildings have been restored, mostly as office buildings, and mix with new housing and apartment buildings. There are lots of pleasant small parks, including one which is an olive grove, rthe emnants of an olive farm that previously occupied the entire area. We had coffee and a traditional Peruvian caramel cookie at Perla's local cafe. Then we went to Museo Larco, a beautiful private collection of ceramics, tapestries and metal craft from pre-Columbian Peru, set in an elegant mansion draped in multicolour bouganvillia. The museum is particularly known for an entire room of erotic ceramics, which ... read more