Day 1 in Lima
It's 11pm and my day is finally coming to an end! Dios mios, what a day. On top of the travel to here which was documented previously, I also did two tours and walked around two neighbourhoods on my own.
The first tour brought me from my neighnourhood of Miraflores to Centro Lima where we visited many museos y catedrals (museums and cathedrals). We visited the Plaza San Martin which commemorates the Argentinian born liberator of Peru from the Spanish dominance in 1821. Many of the war museums we visited pay hommage to the fallen generals and procers (influencers) who fought against the Spaniards and their fierce ennemies, the Chileans. I'm sure happy that I didn't wear the jersey Julie-Anne got me as I would of been either beaten, robbed or overcharged!!
We ate a traditional meal of pollo a la brasa, papa fritas and ensalada fresca. Basically, chicken cooked over braises, fries and salad. The sauces they provided were something else, one was corn based and the other was made of hot peppers. Very tasty.
We then sampled some chicha, which is traditional fermented corn beer that the Inca priests used to drink to speak to the spirits! It was quite tasty...not very hygenic though (see pictures below).
Super tasty...not very sanitary...
We visited a few parks as well, some had 400 year old olive groves, which were planted by the Spanish, some parks were commemorative of other heroes and occasions. I walked from my hotel to Parque Kennedy which was built in honour of JFK.
This sums up the first tour, I then camr back to the hotel, explored Miraflores, gathered some supplies ( water as the tap water isn't drinkable, Inca Kola which is a local delicacy that tastes like cream soda and sun screen/after sun as I got a nasty burn on my neck).
The night tour was to see the beautiful illuminated fountains of Lima, this was built 10 years ago and is a major attraction in Lima. I usually like to explore but I'm happy that I had a guide to explain things, had the timing down to perfection for each fountain and helped by taking my picture. They dropped me off in Barranco, which is known for it's nightlife. I found a nice restaurant that served antichucho, which is basically braised meat and/or vegetables skewers with a side of potatoes and white corn. Once again, very delicious.
I walked around for a while but it hit me that I had barely slept and that I should rest up so I taxied back to the hotel and enjoyed some well deserved sleep!
Pic 1 : A view of the Rimac community, built on a mountainside.
Pic 2 : Part of the Circuito magico del agua
Pic 3 : Antichuchos de pollo con papas y maiz blanco