Lima

On of the numerous plazas

 After another overnight bus from Huaraz, which is starting to become our second bed these days, we arrived in Lima. We had arranged a flight from Lima to Cusco, which left the next morning at 7am. We had been told on numerous occasions that Lima was dirty, dangerous, and all around awful. So we had no remorse only staying there a day.

We got to our hostel and got situated then headed out in the city to explore. Ok, maybe it is because we only stayed for a day, but Lima was great. It was the most modern city in South America we have visited so far and it was pretty clean as well. We were in the Miraflores area of Lima that is kind of touristy but nice. We walked to the board walk that was full of commercial shop and American exports like Toni Romas, that made us laugh. They only export the best of the states like, MacDonald’s, Burger king, KFC, and Pizza Hut. No wonder the world has all these ridiculous stereotypes of Americans.

After wondering around and stopping in a few shops we began our hunt for El Rincon del Bigote, a cevicheria that was recommended to us by a local we met in Huaraz. After literally an hour of walking back and fourth through the city, we managed to find the place. It was a tiny spot and we had to wait in line for a table, but it was well worth all of it. This is the best ceviche I have ever eaten. If you are in Lima this is a must. We had a scallop ceviche to start, the house specialty. It was perfect. We then had a mixed ceviche and a mixed chicharron, fried seafood. Everything was so fresh it just melted in your mouth, and all the flavors were perfectly balanced. I am planning another trip to Lima just to eat that ceviche again.

The church above the catacombs
This guy wants nothing to do with the incence vendor

When our delicious meal unfortunately came to an end we went to the main plaza’s in Lima and went to see the Catacombs. The catacombs were very extensive, but we only got to see a small portion. I was also a little shocked that the first archaeologists had rearranged the bones in large piles. All the skull were together, the femurs were together, and so forth. The guide said they had thought it made an impressive display for the tourists. Oh dear, it also destroyed all the historical integrity. I would have really enjoyed seeing how the catacombs were when they originated. It was a fun little tour none the less, and after we stumbled on a churros stall that had a line around the corner. We were astounded at the demand. Any churro commanding this much attention was worth a try. We waited in line for twenty minutes, and were not disappointed. For those of you not familiar with churros, they are fried dough covered in cinnamon and sugar. Delicious on there own, but these were filled with vanilla custard. Are you ready to make a trip to Lima yet?

The main plaza at night

We walked around the plazas a bit at night. They are stunning with the large balconies on the buildings, giant fountains, and all the lights. Speaking of fountains, we then went to see the magical fountains, a huge park full of some impressive fountains and some not so impressive. At night they light them with neon lights and they move to music. It was a lot of fun even though it was a bit cheesy.

Some of the not so cheesy fountains

We had a quick dinner then went to bed early since we had to be up at 5am. We were all disappointed that we had only given Lima a day.

Christina