Lima, Peru

Lima, Peru

Lima was the last stop on our trailblazing 1 week trip to Peru. After spending a couple of nights in both Lake Titicaca and Cusco/Machu Picchu, we arrived in Lima for a 2-night stay. Our hotel sent a driver to pick us up at the airport and to get us to the hotel safely. We were staying in the Miraflores area that is well known for being safe.  The hotel was about 40 minutes from the airport and the driver charged us about $15 for the trip in a nice SUV.

After we arrived at the hotel, we got everything in the room and went out for a walk to see the area. Our hotel was very close to several parks in Miraflores and within a few blocks of many restaurants and bars. The location could not be better for seeing Lima, walking distance to everything you would need.  Miraflores is an upscale area with many Embassies being located there. It felt very European to me, similar to Frankfurt or Munich.

Dinner

After walking around for about 1.5 hours, we decided to get dinner near the hotel. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, several of the restaurants we wanted to visit were not open. Therefore, we decided to stop at one of the pubs down the street from the hotel for some tapas and some liquid refreshments. This was a great choice, we both ate and had several drinks each and the bill was about $35.  There was a Peruvian brandy on the menu that I wanted to try. Since I was wanted to sample some, the waiter brought us a couple of shot glasses of each type for us to try for free. After dinner, we went for a walk around before returning to the hotel for the night.

Day 2 in Lima

Due to this being our only full day in Lima, we needed to see as much as possible. After a great breakfast in the hotel, we headed out to see Museo de Sitio Huaca Pucllana. Huaca Pucllana or Huaca Juliana is a great adobe and clay pyramid located in the Miraflores district of central Lima, Peru, built from seven staggered platforms. and was built between 200 AD and 700 AD. Unfortunately, we ran into another pandemic issue, they had very limited tours and were fully booked except for a few Spanish-speaking tours.  Sadly, we had to only see what we could through the fence around the complex.

We were feeling dejected, we decided to walk to the coast down side streets to see more of the town.  The walk to the coast was about 35 minutes through several small parks and residential areas. This path shows you how international Lima is, several Embassies, foreign restaurants, and stores are in this area.  The Miraflores area in Lima truly felt like a western European city and I liked it.

Pacific Ocean

The Lima coastline is full of parks and cliffs overlooking the ocean and reminded me of the California coast around Malibu. We started our walk along the cliffs at Parque del Amor.

There is a statue of Paddington Bear in Parque Salazar along the coastline in Miraflores.

We ended the walk along the coast at Larcomar Mall. Larcomar Mall is built into the side of the cliffs with stores and several restaurants overlooking the ocean. Since it was time for a bio break and a snack, we decided to have some lunch before continuing our walking tour of Lima.

Avenue José Larco

Since we weren’t able to find my sister the scarf she wanted, we walked up Avenue José Larco and looked in several of the shops. Also, this was the direction we need to go to return to the hotel area.  Unfortunately, we did not find what she wanted in the stores. However, there was a market near the hotel that had several stalls open and we found something close there. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted, but it is what she would get.  We found some cheap t-shirts and a few other items for family members. We returned to the hotel to drop off the newly acquired items and to take a short break.

Barranco

Barranco is an artsy area on the coast just south of Miraflores with a Bohemian vibe. A lot of small shops, street art, and streets littered with cafes and restaurants. It is a fun place to walk around and just relaxing by the ocean. We were lucky that it was not very busy with tourists due to the pandemic. However, it was quite busy.

We spent a few hours walking around before finding a place to have dinner. My wife and I shared a half chicken with fries and several drinks and our bill was about $8. We barely finished our meal as it was a lot of food. Therefore, $4 each for a big meal with drinks is not bad for a tourist area. Did I mention it was delicious? After dinner, we walked around for a few minutes before grabbing a taxi back to Miraflores.

Last Night in Lima

We returned to the hotel around 6:30 and packed most of our items as we were leaving early the next morning. Once that was done, we went out for a short walk and decided to stop at one of the local pubs on our street for a drink before calling it a night. I could have stayed in Lima for a few more days, but our trip was over and it was time to return to Atlanta.

Conclusion

Lima, especially the Miraflores area is a great place to visit. It has a European charm, at discount prices compared to what you would pay in Europe. There are so many things to see and do in the area and can be done on a relatively low budget. Our trip to Peru was way too short to see everything. However, the pandemic and our short visit did limit what could be seen. I would highly recommend going to Peru and spending some time in Lima.