15/11/12

After being reunited with our backpacks we grabbed a taxi with the dutch girl heading towards the Miraflores area of Lima.

Lima is a city larger than London and the rush hour traffic threatened to make it a painful journey but our taxi driver got us quickly to Miraflores where we arrived in even bigger jams caused by road closures. A quick chat with the driver confirmed that we had arrived during a full earthquake evacuation drill. Shops and offices as well as emergency services personnel were all taking part.

Our taxi driver had to ask a local policewoman for directions to our nominated hostel. Arriving at the correct address, there was no clear indication that this was a functioning hostal. Having said goodbye to our taxi, we decided to walk around the area to find a different hostal - not having a map we would have to rely only on what we saw.

Both tired and hot from the sunshine it was a fractious time as hostels were in short supply. Eventually we settled on a nice hotel (unfortunately with a nice price tag). Sometimes it's nice to splurge now and again!

Showering and changing we felt human again and we went out for some food and a thorough exploration of the local area. Lunch was a vegetable buffet housed in a converted railway carriage with a number of antique furnishings. Very good food in an Agatha Christie-inspired ambience. The whole thing was excellent!

After lunch we wandered to a viewpoint giving a great view of the Pacific Ocean and the Lima coastline. We then spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the Barranco area before grabbing some supermarket and street food combination and returning to the hostel for a relaxing evening to recharge fully.

16/11/12

We enjoyed our inclusive breakfast at the hostel (what a novelty!) before stepping out to appreciate some of the sights of the neighbouring, district Miraflores, renowned for its exclusivity.

Walking along the busy roads our first destination of LarcoMar was reached after half an hour. LarcoMar is a rather upmarket shopping centre built into the cliff so that some of the shops are underground. With astonishing views of the coast and sea below and with numerous cafes and restaurants together with a park area on top, it's a very popular spot for the wealthier locals to hang out. Indeed the park was full of skateboarders trying out their moves as we wandered through.

Still with great views of the sea but a little further along was Parque del Amor, a small park dominated by a statue of two people sitting and kissing. Kirsty's view was that it was a ropey statue and the man had "worse toes than you"! This said, the park is bordered by a very colourful wall covered in quotes and phrases about love. For this reason (I hope rather than the statue) the park is popular for brides and grooms to obtain extra photos on their wedding day.

Turning inland we wound our way through the exclusive streets of Miraflores, spending a few minutes in Plaza Bolognesi appreciating the fountain before moving on to a delicious sandwich shop for lunch. Lima has many people who speak English which although initially great for us, won't help me with my Spanish! The owner/waiter of the sandwich shop spoke flawless English and was a very friendly chap.

Rested and well-fed we walked the half mile or so to Mercado Indio, a handicraft market selling items made from all over Peru. The market was huge and reasonably quiet and we spent a few hours looking at the various stalls and their wares. We bought some earrings and a pot-holder but the shoe stall didn't have Kirsty's size. Fortunately the shoe-stall owner mentioned some other branches around town which might be worth visiting.

Firstly we made our way to Parque Central and Parque Kennedy, the heart of Miraflores and a very cosmopolitan area due to the pavement cafes and Western-inspired restaurants which cater to the foreigners staying in the upmarket hotels in this area.

We bought some churros (thin long doughnuts full of dulce de leche) from a street vendor before entering one of the shoe outlets. Here we found a pair of funky shoes for Kirsty at a price everyone was happy with! One happy wife!!

Our final stop in Miraflores was for ice-cream and coffee before making the long walk back to Barranco and the hostel. Despite an expensive day, we went to a local cheap restaurant nearby to enjoy some more rotisserie chicken and chips at a bargain price.

17/11/12

The day started with another lazy morning in bed before once again consuming the free breakfast of bread, jam and coffee - a typically South American breakfast.

The hostel was short of staff but we checked out of our room and left our bags in the common area before setting off. The only member of staff was the gateman (security is a big issue in this part of the world) who was happy to help us get a taxi to the historical centre. After stopping a few and getting a few quotes, we decided there must be a cheaper and better option so discussing it briefly with the gateman, we decided to board one of the shared minibuses that zoom up and down Lima roads.

[Lima doesn't have a formal bus network - instead shared minibuses are the transport of choice. With a placard in the front window stating its destinations, each minibus is flagged down at the side of the road. As you clamber in, you state your intended destination to the driver (or possibly conductor) and pass your money down to him as you find a seat.]

We grabbed a minibus heading to Miraflores before getting off, getting a drink and grabbing a second bus heading the centre. Having no clue where we needed to get off, we sat with a map in our lap and appealed silently to the bus conductor to give us a sign when we needed to get out.

Walking 5 minutes along the road, we found ourselves in Plaza San Martin. Within the square the local skateboarders seemed to be carrying out a mass demonstration with a stage and loud speakers. We walked on following the pedestrian street of Jiron de la Union where among other things we passed Iglesia de la Merced before reaching the central parade ground, known as Plaza Major. This square is flanked by the Archbishop's palace next door to Lima's cathedral with the Government Palace on another side. With it being Saturday midday the square and surrounding streets were full with both tourists and locals. We sat in the square and enjoyed the two empanadas we had just bought from a local vendor.

Our last port of call was the central market which was surrounded by China Town from where some aromatic smells were emanating. We were disappointed we had just eaten!

The market itself was a normal local's market which we explored at leisure and where Kirsty had an in-the-moment purchase of a pink and purple shopping bag. I have no idea why, can you imagine the colours, pink and purple?!? Outside the market was a butcher-type place which was cooking meat skewers out front. Looking too good to refuse, I spent a little time working out how to order (buy ticket inside, hand ticket to griller outside, get skewer) before stepping forward and getting a chorizo on a stick. It was good!

We then returned to the hostel after catching two buses back to Barranco (we're old hands at public transport in Lima now!). We grabbed our bag and moved into our posh hotel 200 metres down the road where we had twin beds but our own bathroom! The reason for the change is our decision to join an organised tour group for a couple of weeks.

Meeting our new group, we went out to a local restaurant to try some traditional Peruvian cuisine. We went for the most famous dishes of the region: anticuchos (skewers made from beef hearts) as a starter and lomo saltado (beef, vegetables and chips all stir fried together) and aji de gallina (a type of mild chicken curry). The food was great and the ambience, in a traditional restaurant with live Creole music (from Peru) was amazing. Latin America at its best!

18/11/12

Enjoying a reasonable sleep in my twin bed, when the wife woke up, we got ready and went for breakfast joining Sarah at her table.

After breakfast we returned to the room to take advantage of the ensuite facilities before popping to the supermarket. Being Sunday, the streets were much quieter, shorn of both people and much of the traffic. Altogether a far more chilled atmosphere.

We bought some goodies for the bus ride this afternoon to Nazca before returning, checking out of the hotel and taking a private bus to the bus station. We collected our tickets and had enough time for a coffee before boarding.