Our flight to Lima arrived about 20 minutes late, meaning we missed our bus into the city and had about an hour to kill before the next one. So naturally, we decided to eat at a Papa John’s in the airport. I wish we could say we were ashamed of ourselves, but we’re not! We’ve rarely been to American restaurants while traveling, but we just couldn’t pass up the cheesesticks! After indulging ourselves, we caught the next bus and made our way into the city to our AirBnb.

Miraflores

The next day we left our AirBnb to explore the area of town we were staying in, called Miraflores. It seems to be where most of the tourists stay, and is in a fancy area of town right along the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean. John and I decided to head towards the water, which was almost impossible to see. A low fog was hanging over the city, and everything was gray. John kept describing it as pea soup. Not the best first impression!

The fog is a weird thing about Lima. It’s foggy frequently, and very humid, but it doesn’t rain in Lima. Like, ever. It averages something like just a quarter inch of rain a year! There are multiple years on record where no rain fell for the entire year.

We walked along the cliffs and through the Parque del Amor, but really couldn’t see much ahead of us. After a while we headed back towards our apartment and wandered through a market and Parque Kennedy. John had seen on Googlemaps that the park was known for cats. We were intrigued. And sure enough – it was full of cats! Meow.

That evening we might have had Papa John’s pizza for dinner. I’m a little more ashamed of this but regret nothing!

Walking Tour

The next day we got up early to go on a walking tour of Lima. Of all the free walking tours we’ve done, Peru seems to have the most competitive market, with multiple tour operators competing for business. We’d read reviews of many different companies, the most popular being the one with the worst reviews. So instead we picked a family-run outfit called Inkan Milky Way tours.

And they were great! We met in Miraflores, and then walked to the Metropolitano, the bus that runs north-south through the city in its own designated lane. We hopped on the bus, and then proceeded to immediately hop off again as the bus broke down. Womp. Our group eventually got on another bus, and made it to our downtown meet-up spot a little late. Which had apparently infuriated someone else that was waiting downtown for our tour.

“I’ve been waiting!”

“Well, the bus had issues so we’re a little bit late.”

“Well I took the bus too, and I still got here on time!”

Sassy! Lady, we’re all on vacation. Chill! She ended up being mad enough to not go on the tour. Which sucks for her because this tour was great. We learned a lot of Lima and Peruvian history as well as saw some cool buildings.

The day started off gray again, but the weather really turned around once we made it to the Plaza de Armas. And it was gorgeous! A huge plaza with a cathedral and historical buildings, including the presidential palace where the executive branch sits. We were there in time for the changing of the guards, which involved a band and color guard!

Chinatown

After the tour, we grabbed a delicious, cheap lunch (which included our first ceviche in Lima), and then sat in the Plaza, soaking up the sun and spying on a wedding in the cathedral. We then ventured into Chinatown, which was really just a huge market that was packed on a Saturday.

While walking around, John and I both noticed a man standing about 2 feet away from me giving me the creepiest elevator eyes. And this was the only thing even close to harassment I experienced while traveling through Latin America. Which, after my experience of near constant harassment while living in Honduras, was shocking to me! And very much appreciated! (Side note – when we returned home to the US for 2 weeks, I was in DC for less than 24 hours when I’d been street harassed twice.)

We quickly turned back around and found a quiet place for tea and coffee instead. Afterwards, I wanted to buy some bright, Peruvian fabric to take home as a souvenir. And haggle. I love the haggle. In the US, I can’t stand negotiating salary, but drop me in another country where I get to argue over what amounts to $1-$2, and I’m in! John, less patience for the haggle. But honey, I saved us 20 soles ($7!!!!!) on that piece of fabric!

That evening, instead of our usual Papa John’s, we opted instead for something a bit more traditional. The Casa de Ceviche didn’t disappoint, and we had some amazing pisco sours!

Huaca Pucllana

The next day we stayed close to home again, and walked about a mile or so to some ruins called Huaca Pucllana. These ruins are in the middle of the city and are from pre-Incan times. The pyramid and surrounding grounds are constructed out of vertical mud bricks. The weather had been pretty dreary until we mounted the pyramid, when the sun started to shine through.

We decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and head back to the seaside cliffs we’d tried to see through the pea soup earlier in the week. And what a view! We could see so much shoreline as well as the lighthouse in a cute park!

The park had some exercise equipment, and we decided to see how much of our gains we’d lost in the past four months. Shockingly, even though my rock climbing back and arm muscles are a distant memory, I could still do a pull up! John could do more, so we’re not completely starting at ground zero. But lack of exercise and amazing meals have taken their toll. I also tried the monkey bars, which aren’t nearly as easy as an adult as they were as a kid! And then I hopped on this contraption for shits and giggles. Seemed like a good way to finally do in my knee!

Just Ordinary Dogs in the Park

While in the park, we also saw some adorable dogs. While I was mesmerized by four chihuahuas in dresses getting ready to perform a trick, John nearly got run over by a bulldog on a skateboard. He at least had the decency to bark that he was coming through.

Turns out there were two bulldogs on skateboards having the best day ever! They could hop on the boards by themselves, push themselves along, bark to get people out of their way, and then stop and turn themselves around. It was adorbs! So adorbs I forgot to get a pic.

Barranco

The next day we got up to go to the section of town called Barranco, an artsy, boho area along the water. This was the first day that the sun was out when we left the house, so we decided to walk the 2.5 miles there. Which was beautiful along the cliffs! Once we got there, we were starving, so we opted for a restaurant called Isolina for lunch. And I’m so glad we did because it was one of the best meals we’ve had in South America! We shared a family-style lomo saltado, with beef, french fries, onions, and tomatoes over rice, and paired it with a pitcher of maracuya juice to drink. Amazing!!!

Afterwards we wandered around town and over the Puente de Suspiros. We’d read a sign in the park that we’re pretty sure said that the bridge wasn’t stable and shouldn’t be walked over, but closer to the bridge there wasn’t a sign or anything keeping people off the bridge, and plenty of people walking across it. We quickly scampered across 🙂

We then sat in the main plaza on a park bench, because we’re retired and that’s what we do.

Afterwards, we went in search of tea and coffee. Throughout our time traveling, we’ve really struggled to find good coffee and tea. This time it was my turn to be disappointed. I can’t wait for some good tea when we’re back in the US!

What’s Next?

That evening, we headed back to Casa de Ceviche for our last ceviche, arroz verde, and pisco sours in Peru. Lima, you were lovely and we’re going to miss you! But now, time to head north of the Equator. Mexico, here we come!