Spring Break, Day 8, Lima Peru

 April 7, 2023

After breakfast, I repacked my bags and went down for the taxi the desk had arranged.  

These are pictures of my hotel room in Cusco.

Shower

this is the view to the courtyard from my window.  A few
nights I wrote my blog out there to be among other people.

I was whisked to the airport.  Then whisked to Lima.  My accommodation have arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport and take me to the bed and breakfast in Miraflores.  The neighborhoods are very important in Lima.  Sometimes a street name will be the same in two different neighborhoods, then you have to be very specific about which neighborhood.  I checked in and had to carry my bags through their house, through the courtyard and up a steep spiral staircase to my room--the proprietress helped me up half of it.  The door can't open all the way because of the bedside table.  It is a very small room with a twin bed, bedside table and bookcase for your things, then a desk in an alcove and a tiny bathroom.  The rooms inside the house share a bathroom.  No air conditioning, just a weak fan on the bookcase that I could plug in.  Lima is HOT and HUMID!  So after getting situated, I went in and asked the woman (a couple own the B&B--an extension of their home) how to get to the historic center.  Looking through the travel book, there's not a lot to do in Lima.  I decided to do the walking tour of historic Lima that they recommended.  So I asked her how to get there by bus and she wasn't sure.  She suggested that I take a taxi.  I walked to a commercial area of Miraflores (the B&B is in a residential area) and got cash (the taxi had been more than I expected) and then bottled water.  Most of the markets in Cusco and Lima were little hole in the wall, corner markets with a few sets of shelves.  Across from the bank where I used the ATM was an actual supermarket with real food!  I got water and a croissant sandwich and some oatmeal/quinoa bars.  I went across the street to a walking path with benches and found one in the shade to eat my sandwich.  Then I decided to hail a taxi--I've never done that before, so that was a new experience! He took me where I needed to go and I took my walking tour.  Being a holiday weekend, the historic area was packed with tons of people!!  But I walked around, trying to find shade where I could and spent time sitting in shade and people watching, trying to stay cool, drinking tons of water and reapplying sunscreen.  One of the stops was a park along the river.  It was slightly cooler there, so I found a bench to people watch.  I eventually got up and re-walked the streets of the area, deciding that the park was the coolest.  When I stopped in a plaza, a tourism worker talked to me and I asked him to explain the buses.  He did, but recommended Ubers because the bus system is very confusing to use and Ubers are cheaper than taxis.  

This is the Plaza San Martin where the walking tour
in the guide book starts

Gran Hotel Bolivar--the city's first fine hotel across the
street from the plaza

Iglesia San Merced--a church originally built
in 1541.  It held the first mass in Lima

This is the Jíron de la Unión--an pedestrian street that
was once the center of the aristocratic life in Lima.  Now
it's filled with cinemas and bargain shoe stores.  And a lot of
people this holiday weekend!

Plaza de Armas

This is the Catedral de Lima, built in 1535 on land
secured by Pizzaro (a famous explorer for those
who have forgotten 5th grade social studies)

Moorish architecture

Palacio de Gobierno--the Presidential Palace

the Catedral

Creepy church people in black hoods

I believe these are the remains of the original city wall

More city wall

Parque de la Muralla--on the edge of the Rio Rimac (a river)

A balloon seller

Selling more of the palm things--these are in cones with sprigs
of plants and a crucifix

Both the tourism worker and the guide book recommended an evening light show over by the stadium.  I was walking in sandals all day (without my feet building up the correct calluses for sandals), so I could feel blisters on the bottoms of my feet.  But I decided to walk to the stadium--it was only supposed to be a 45 minute walk across town.  Well, the way was through some dodgy neighborhoods and it was getting later and darker.  So I tried to stay near other people walking in my direction.  They probably thought I was some type of creep!  Eventually I arrived at the park.  It is filled with fountains and at night they were lit up with colored lights.  I found a place in the grass (like other people) and waited for the show to start at 7:30.   There were so many people there!  7:30 came and no music or flashing lights, but it's Peru and Peru has its own time.  Finally, I got up and walked around, finding a line of fountains that were starting to flash.  There was supposed to be music and lasers.  Saw lasers a few times, but overall it was quite disappointing.  A few times I could faintly hear some music, so I wonder if it was a better show on the other side of the area (there was a fenced off area around the fountains about the size of a soccer field or larger).  It was very slow though and eventually I left.  

There had been a bunch of restaurants with pop-up cafes outside the entrance to the park, so I went out there and had some dinner.  Then I called an Uber to pick me up.  We got a little mixed up about the pick-up, but eventually I found them but it took forever to get out with all of the cars leaving at the same time. Got back to my lodging and left a nice tip via the Uber app (the charge for the ride home was only a few dollars).  Plugged in the fan and fell asleep.