A Journey Through Peru :: Landing in Lima

Peru is one of my favorite countries. It is full of surprises, from landscapes where the jungle meets the mountains, to the abundance of traditional agriculture practices still being used, to the number of people still speaking the Quechua language rather than Spanish. While studying abroad in Chile, I took a month off from classes to journey through Peru, soon wishing that I had found a study abroad program in Cuzco. I traveled from Lima, to Cuzco, to the Sacred Valley, through the jungle to Machu Picchu, to Puno, to Lake Titicaca and the islands, to Tacna, and finally ending my journey by crossing the border back into Chile through Arica.

We first flew into Lima and spent a couple of days in the capital. We stayed in Miraflores at Hostel Alpes, Lima. We were excited to explore a bit of the city and indulge in the famous Peruvian cuisine.

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This photo is me eating my first meal in Peru. It was a delicious plate of rice, a veggie omelette, and a fruit salad in yogurt with a chamomile ice tea. It was a filling vegetarian meal that cost about 3 USD.

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We took a taxi to downtown Lima and wandered around all day, exploring the various monuments and churches. We first spent some time in Lima's Plaza de Armas.

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We walked by a giant chess game happening in downtown Lima.

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A church in downtown Lima. After stopping at this church we went to the Monasterio San Francisco, which prohibits cameras. It was an incredible tour and we walked through catacombs with over 70,000 bones.

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We spent our next day in Miraflores and spent a couple hours walking down the malecón (boardwalk). The boardwalk is a 6 mile stretch along the Pacific Coast. There are various parks along the stroll, including Parque del Amor.

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That evening, we walked to Parque Kennedy. We were met with a surprise - the park was full of stray cats. I'm not talking about 10 stray cats...I'm talking about 100 stray cats. These cats are protected by the Municipality of Miraflores and fed by a non-profit. We were nuzzled by cats while we ate some street food and watched a street performer.

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The next day we set off for Cuzco. We enjoyed Lima but were ready for a slower pace of life.

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Travel tip :: Lima has a great public transportation system and taxi system. However, if figuring out the transportation system seems daunting, Uber has arrived in Lima and will get you from point A to point B in a safe and reliable way.