OFF TO LIMA
25th April to 29th April 2017
Day 1-4
We love Lima. This is our 2nd time here in 2 years. Our lovely Carlos was there to greet us again and it was it was great to see a familiar face. Peruvians are so good at tourism because they are very efficient, proud and have a wonderful eagerness to please. Carlos was our guide last year and this year he was our friend.
We stayed at the Britania in Miraflores as we did last year. The hotel is close to Kennedy Parque where you can get a Mixto Sanguch for dinner for 10 Soles = $3 and they are delicious. Hot turkey, beef and pork on a bun with red onion, salad and Aji which is the most fantastic hot chili sauce.
The food market presents fruits and vegetables from the Amazon and other regions. Peruvian cuisine uses the entire animal. Nose to tail. We had cow lung – Peruvian/Indian fusion from a lady selling the meals out of a box on wheels. Another great dish is Leche de Tigres which is a bit like Cerviche but served in a cup with milk. Sounds revolting, looks revolting but is delicious!
A memorable excursion was walking to Barranco with Carlos, a Bohemian area next to Miraflores. This whole area is pretty nice with its art galleries, cafes and town square. From there we walked across to Larcomar shopping centre. We are not into boutique shops but the bars facing the Pacific Ocean are fabulous as they are set on top of the cliffs. This is a must see for an afternoon Cerveza.
From Miraflores it is a 7 kilometre walk to Lima. The day we walked, there was a huge but peaceful demonstration although, there was at least 50 police with riot shields leading the way. Apparently, there is a demonstration every week from gay rights to corrupt judicial systems.
Lima is a beautifully historic city. Our walk included the Monastery of San Francisco. We went to the Catacombs last year which are worth seeing. The whole atmosphere of Lima is all enveloping. Its history and the mix of local ethnicities is presented.
At night, we went to Parque de la Reserva. A series of 13 illuminated fountains that were built to commemorate the people who fought in the defence of Lima during the war of the Pacific. It was impressive but not worth a tour. A taxi would get you there and back for a quarter of the price.
Our next day was the Community tour which is unfortunately marketed as Shanty town tour through Haku tours- info@hakutours.com. This was worth every cent as our guide Jimmy took us to the town known as Villa El Salvadore and introduced us as a friend to the local market vendors. He told us that we should always accept food if offered without offering to pay for it. Always greet people and look them straight in the eye. We met an apothecarist that was scraping the flesh from the biggest Aloe Vera leaf we had ever seen. He had a variety of potions in coke bottles to cure every ailment.
We passed a volunteer hospital that was made out of shipping containers where the locals can go for free.
The fruit and vegetables in the market would be classed as 2nds or 3rds by Australian standards however our guide was so proud of the produce you couldn’t help but think that we are all a bit to finicky when it comes to our fresh food. The passionfruit were bigger and tasted like passionfruit, the lady finger bananas were dodgy looking but tasted delicious.
With the money from our tour fee, Jimmy, our guide, purchased a quantity of fruit and vegetables and as we struggled up the steep yellow stairs to the top of the town we gave away the purchases to the local people who needed extra support. This tour was an eye opener as staying in Miraflores, we were sheltered from the poverty that laid just South of the city. The yellow stairs signify the political party that built them. The way up to the top poorer houses is steep and initially the area was sand dunes so everything is carries up by hand.
The people here are happy and friendly. They don’t have much in the way of material things but the community is a family that we don’t often have at home.
Two Travelling Bags 