Part 26 - Deepest Darkest Peru - Lima

 


Negotiating the bus system in Peru is a dark art at the best of times, and since I'm a sucker for looking important at the airport by having someone waiting for you with your name on a sign, I decided to arrange for a taxi to pick me up. And then I made a total arse of getting a picture of the guy+sign. 

Click to expand and you can make out my name! 

Even though it's close to the equator, thanks to the Humboldt current, it's often cloudy and quite cold (I even managed to go for a run today, although sadly my nearest parkrun was about 4,000km away). 
Overcast, windy, bit cold. I could have stayed in Scotland for this. 

I eventually worked up the courage to get on a bus and go into "town" for a tour - which was pretty enjoyable, until I found out I'd paid $30 for it and everyone else was getting it gratis. Still, we got to see a lot of the historic buildings of Lima, including the cathedral, catacombs, and balconies (Lima has some excellent balconies). 

Considering the reverence they gave the skeletons in the cave in Belize, it was quite a surprise to see the cathedral's catacombs had bones of thousands of dead people literally stacked high and wide in various holes and shelves. I could even have nicked one as a souvenir (if I was a total weirdo). 

Lima's historic centre is one of Lima's UNESO World Heritage sites, and its balconies play a major part in that. Some of them are covered to protect the modesty of any young ladies who might want to peer upon the street below. 

A nice balcony

Another nice balcony

Throughout Peru, I kept seeing the same symbol on the side of UNESCO sites. Apparently, during times of war, it's to inform invading armies engaging in looting and pillaging to perhaps kindly skip this building. I think I might stick one on my flat when I get back to Scotland, just on the off-chance. 


I'm not quite sure what came over me, but I decided to take a short flight over Peru in a microlight. It wasn't actually as scary as you'd think, except when the pilot decided to go into a death spiral and I was literally strapped in by a single seatbelt. See the video below - expletives drowned out by the engine. 
Overall, Lima is a lovely city and everyone I spoke to was spot on. I was lucky enough to stay in Miraflores, although other parts weren't quite as salubrious.  I didn't appreciate until I went up in the plane how big it is - over 10m folk at the last count. 

A rare sunny day

My hotel/hostel/hostal was very pleasant and cheap as chips as well. It even had a unheated swimming pool that I had no intention of getting into. But after four days, it was time to move on. I bought a ticket from a company called Peruhop, which takes you all over Peru and then drops you off in Bolivia. First stop - Paracas.

Comments

Wood said…
Hi Uncle Richie, I like your videos and photos. Your blog is so cool. From Calum PS come home soon 🌎