And then there was Peru, Day 1 & 2

So, expect a few updates from us here and there while we are traveling abroad, but sadly pics and videos are not on the menu. What has happened in the last few days?

We flew to Lima Peru, from Denver to Dallas-Ft Worth to Miama to Lima. Arriving at 4:30am, we took a cab to where we were slated to stay the next night. The airport is 20km or so from Miraflores (the ¨tourist district¨), and the ride at 5am on a Sunday night was quite a site. Basically, it looked like the abandoned ruins of a once giant metropolis. No cars. No lights. Shantys built on top of each other. We later learned that some of what looked like destruction was actually construction...it just has the tendency to look like a bombed out schell of a building while being built.

The place we were staying ended up being nothing more than a guys house with a few rooms/beds for rent. Don´t get me wrong, it was a decent place, and the proprietor was SUPER nice and helpful...but it did make us wonder how this place got to be number 4 on B&B´s/Inns in all of Lima...and you could book with Travelocity?!?

Anyway, the place was dead at 5 am, so we went to nearby Lion Backpackers, which was kind of gross, but at least a place to sleep until it was daytime again. We slept for a few hours and then went back to our B&B (Tradiciones was the name), and found out that it was full, despite the reservation.

We spent the day wandering around Miraflores, which is basically the nicest part of Lima, but is not a place worth going out of your way to visit. We had an awesome lunch of ceviche, which is the local (Peruvian) specialty of raw fish (whitefish, I believe) marinated in lemon/lime juice. Highly recommended!

Our walk took us to the ocean, which sits 200 or so feet below some perilous cliffs, that are basically just hardened mud with a few stones in them. Angelo, our host, said that it hasn´t truly rained there in 2000 years (just a sprinkle here and there). That´s a good thing, because a lot of infrastructure would be sent sliding into the ocean. There is decent beack all along the coast, but you´re not supposed to swim in/near Lima, due to pollution...plus the water is freezing. There were a few hearty surfers out there.

After a quick stroll through Parque al Amor, where numerous couples were full on making out (clothes on, of course)...perhaps it was the giant sculpture of a man and woman in passionate embrace that set the tone?

We strolled back through downtown Miraflores, which surrounds Kennedy Park. Nothing special of note, but there were a LOT of people out and about. Milling. Looking at the photography exhibit. Snacking. Etc.

We got back to B&B Tradiciones, and luckily they had space for us (there was a backup plan), and we ended up getting dinner from an enormous supermarket nearby.

Okay, so I´ve been doing this too step by step, so I´ll speed it up.

The next day we went for a run down by the ocean, which had mixed results. There were cars going by fairly often, but at least we didn´t have to wait at streetlights. This is a good time to mention that it´s basically first come, first serve in terms of traffic. Whoever gets their nose out there first gets to go, and while there are walk signals, you certainly don´t get the kind of space from cars you´d like, they speed on by the second you´re out of their path.

Also, on side streets, cars honk twice politely to announce that they´re speeding through, and other cars should make way. Of course, it´s very similar to the honk that every taxi driver gives when they see us walking (assuming that the tourists need a ride somewhere). So basically, we´re getting honked at all the time.

We looked for a lunch place that we had seen in our Lonely Planet, but could not find it. The two books we had gave different addresses, as well as a location on a map that was also wrong, so we ended up at Tropical. Asking for a menu, she pointed to the tiny 2 inch by 2 inch scraps of paper on the table that listed the lunch menu. Choose one of these 5 appetizers, one of the 5 mains, and you get juice and desert. It was $3. The food wasn´t fantastic, but you can´t really argue with prices like that!

In the afternoon, we went downtown (taking a cab, and becoming best friends with the driver who gave us his cell phone number so we could call him and get a tour of some of the outlying cities when we returned from Cuzco) to what we determined was basically the only really scenic view in Lima, Plaza Mayor. Flanked by important (gov´t, cathedral, etc) buildings on all sides, it´s a great little plaza. But, after about 3 minutes, you want to wander along. A little girl came up to us, trying to sell these colorful little string people. We had already been conned into buying some the day before, so we were´t falling for it. I talked to her a bit in spanish, and learned that she does this every day, which made me sad. Her brother? excitedly told us that he knew the english word for Monkey!, which Janet and I found pretty amusing.

The Museo de la Inquisition was next (Museum of the Inquisition....pretty close to english right?). We didn´t want to wait an hour for the English tour, so we took the spanish one, and after each room I translated to Janet what I picked up. The cool part was that the museum was actually in the official headquarters for the inquisition of all South America...which unfortunately gave us some pretty lofty expectations. I think in the end, they just recreated many of the things as best they could.

The downtown is pretty giagantic and dirty...so much noise, people and pollution. We wandered a bit, looking for the art museum (but forgot our book with the map), and not even the guy who sold tourist maps could help us (he actually had never even heard of the National Art Museum, even though it turned out to be less than a half a mile away...and closed on Mondays).

We took a cab back and ended up once again wandering aimlessly looking for a restaurant that didn´t seem to exist. We finally found it, only to learn that sadly tonight, all they had was spaghetti?!? So we ate Korean?!? Which was quite tasty, except that we forgot about all the appetizers and free soup they bring you, and overordered.

Next stop, Cuzco (where all the tourists go).