Lima, Peru

Hola! Bienviendo a nuevo! Hello and Welcome Back! For those that are new, Hello! My name is Meghan and I am an avid reader and travler. I love exploring the world both through literature and physically. Most of the time you can find me reading a book next to my Golden Retriever, Wrigley, or browsing the many different travel websites planning my next trip. I love to share my love of both of these things with anyone who will listen :). When I do get around to writing out a post, I like to keep it casual and full of sarcasm. Always looking for my next read or next travel bucket list destination so please feel free to share. Now sit back and enjoy this latest post about the City of the Kings.

Let me start by saying that Peru was never really a country that was high on my list to visit. I mean it definitely would be cool to see one day, but in my head I had so many places that ranked above this South American country. That kind of all changed when I got an email from a travel flight website that I subscribe to and got a notification about round trip to Lima for $200 (out of Miami). Like who can pass on that kind of deal! Immediately started calling all my friends and family to see which poor soul I could swindle this time into joining me. Luckily, didn’t have to look very hard when my sister quickly called me back saying let’s do the damn thing. Bought the tickets instantly and kind of paused after that like what now. All I knew about Peru was Machu Pichu. But due to timing, I would only be able to stay in Lima. A city I didn’t know anything about other than that it was the country’s capital. I would quickly become very surprised about this city and everything it represented.

We arrived into Lima late on Thursday night and headed straight to hotel to get some much needed rest after a very long travel day. While there are cabs and Uber in Lima, I would definitely recommend hiring a driver to help with transportation to and from the airport. You will quickly learn that driving in Lima is incredibly stressful. Other than the occasional stop light at a busy intersection, there are no stop signs or any traffic signals. You just keep driving and give a honk while entering the cross section letting other drivers know it is your turn. As someone who was just walking around, I thought I was going to either be hit or witness a car accident every other second pretty much. Lima was also recently voted second worst city in the world for traffic, so that was fun. Would add an extra 30-60 minutes to any destination.

In my research a head of time, I found that Miraflores and Barranco were the two neighborhoods that they would recommend tourists to stay in. My sister and I stayed at Iberostar Selection Miraflores and would definitley recommend that one for those visiting. While I never had the feeling of worried for my safety, I probably would not have traveled to the city solo. Just like any city, you just need to be aware of your surroundings especially at night. If we were out at night and walking home, my sister and I would stick to the lite up areas and streets we recognized as having heavy car and foot traffic. Lima is also an incredibly massive city. Over 10 million people live there and it just expands in all directions. While we stayed mostly in the Miraflores neighborhood, would’ve loved to walk around Barranco or more into the city center if I had time. Also, while you may hear some English occasionaly, Spanish is very much the main language and it is essential to know some before going. Side note: US Dollar is widely accepted. I converted $100 into Peruvian Soles but rarely had to use that. Currency converter will be your best friend.

Knowing I only had 3 full days in Lima, I wanted to pack as much in as possible. On Friday, we explored around the Miraflores neighborhood before heading to one of the two tours we did while there. Friday’s tour was a cooking class learning how to cook traditional Peruvian dishes. We started the tour by walking through a market and getting to pick out all the different produce and meat we would be needing to use for our dishes. This was definitely something I probably would not have done by my own but was incredibly fascinating. After grabbing all the food, we headed back to the kitchen where we learned to prepare dishes such as ceviche, causa, lomo saltada and more! We also were able to try a bunch of different fruits that are very popular throughout South America. One thing I didn’t really realize before going to Peru is that is is a big melting pot of a country. You see influences from the Native Incas, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese all over. The Chinese have been such an essential part of Peruvian history that there is an entire food sub-genre called Chifa. I would say Chifa and fresh fish are the most common types of food you will see around Lima.

On Saturday, we had a packed full day starting at getting picked up around 5:30 am and not getting back till around midnight. We traveled down the coast to Paracas which is about 3.5 hours south of Lima. As soon as you got out of the city area, it is just sand dunes for miles and miles on one side and ocean on the other. Was almost mesmerizing to see. When we arrived to Paracas, the vibe was kind of interesting. It’s this entire town built around the boat tours to the Ballestas Islands. The Islands are home too many different wildlife; birds of all different kinds, seals, sea lions, dolphins, and penguins! Yes, I know, penguins are a type of bird but they get their own special shoutout as I have never seen them in nature. From Paracas, we headed inland to an oasis known as Huacachina. Sand dunes everywhere and in the middle of nowhere, a tropical oasis. After checking out the oasis for a little bit, we took to the dune buggys and got to explore the dunes up close and personal with some sandboarding. I don’t know if I’ve ever quite experienced something so naturally remarkable then the sand dunes in Peru. Multiple times I had to stop and just take a deep breath.

While it might be some time till I am able to get back to Peru, it’s a country that I wish I had thought about sooner but so grateful for the chance to explore it with my sister. There are so many hidden gems and you will meet so many amazing people while on this adventure. I hope everyone gets to experience one day this truly unique country.

Hasta la proxima vez, The Library Abroad

Books I read on this trip:

• Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score (3 stars)
• The Women by Kristin Hannah (Currently Reading)
• The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni (Currently Reading)
• The Circus Train by Amita Parikh (Did Not Finish. Got Bored)

Tours:

• https://www.viator.com/tours/Lima/Private-transfers-from-Lima-Airport/d928-158936P4 (Driver to and from airport)
• https://www.viator.com/tours/Lima/Peruvian-Cooking-Class-Including-Local-Market-Tour/d928-17020P2 (Cooking Class)
• https://www.viator.com/tours/Lima/Paracas-and-Huacachina-Full-Day-from-Lima/d928-26488P4 (Boat and Dune Tour)