Lima
The surprisingly safe Miraflores
07.02.2011 - 11.02.2011
One of the cities in South America I was advised to avoid was Lima. Apparently it is abundant with taxi muggings and street theft, however I´d paid $1100 on a tour to visit Machu Picchu and this tour just so happened to start there.
We arrived into the bus terminal in Lima some 24hrs after we´d left Iquique in Chile. The skies were grey, the city was in full swing and every taxi driver in the complex appeared to have a guilty look on their face.Within minutes we´d collected our bags, I was writing a registration plate number on my hand and we were on our way to Condor´s House Hostel. The brightly coloured hostel was in the centre of Miraflores, a wealthy suburb of Lima. On arrival here there was a completely different feel in the air. The houses appeared well kept, the shards of glass typically seen cemented on top of every wall were exchanged with electric fences and gates complete with camera´s and speakerphones. Run down old American cars were replaced by their brand new Japanese counterparts and everyone seemed to walk around with their heads up high. It was all quite a relief to be honest, the icing on the cake was the supermarket, better stocked than I´d find at home, just two blocks up the road!
As it turns out, both Miraflores and the historical centre of Lima were very beautiful and safe places. We strolled through the streets that connected Lima´s historical Plaza De Mayor and Plaza San Martin and explored the shopping centres, flower-filled gardens, and beaches of Miraflores. All of which left us feeling positively guilty about our inaccurate preconceptions of this seemingly pleasant city.
One afternoon, whilst walking along the cliffs that loomed over the beach we could see dolphins playing in the waves with the surfers. We watched them splash in and out of the water for a good half hour before we bumped into an old friend from our Ios days. Nick Deman had changed a fair bit, lost a bit of weight and grown long hippy hair so it was just as well he recognised us. Sadly it was his last night in South America and he was leaving the next day, so we arranged to go out for drinks that night.
The evening involved our first taste of Ceviche, a delicious peruvian dish comprised of raw fish marinated in Lime juice, prawns, calamari, sweetcorn and salad. A gigantic green cocktail called ´The Hulk´ which was served in a 2ft tall, novelty martini glass and a finally a few beers with an old friend. Nick had to set off pretty early the next day, so we all got ourselves an early night. It didn´t bother us too much since the next day was the beginning of our tour.
Posted by CMoore86 15.04.2011 15:35 Archived in Peru Tagged perulimamiraflorescondor_house
