A short day in Lima, 2022
After getting up very early for the short hop from Cusco to Lima, we had a few thoughts about flying out of Cusco airport. There are only a few gates, the line to just get into the terminal is chaotic (you have to show a same day boarding pass to enter the terminal at all), and there’s nothing to eat or do while you wait for your flight. Well, except for the vending machines. Admittedly, we arrived at the airport at 7:30am for a 9am, so maybe there would be some cafes open later in the day, but not when we were there.
Once we got in the air, the airplane actually pressurized down to the equivalent of 8000 ft altitude, making our ears pop as if we’re landing rather than taking off. The air down at sea level in Lima felt so nice compared to the thin air up in the mountains. For this one night in Lima, we decided to stay in the Miraflores district, which is about a 45 minute drive from Lima airport.
It’s a good thing that we’ve traveled in cars in various cities around the world because the driving in Lima is…crazy. I’m pretty sure stop signs and lane lines are just suggestions and not actually adhered to. At one point during the drive, there were four lanes that merged into two lanes after a stop light. But even with the insanity of the situation, it resulted in a sort of organized chaos on the other side. While there were no discernible lines of cars, all the drivers knew where everyone else was, and yielded when they needed to, so even though mirrors were being tapped from time to time, we all made it through with no major accidents.
Once we got to our hotel in Miraflores and freshened up, we wanted to wander the coastal neighborhood. First off, we needed coffee and found a cute little coffee shop a block away:
It reminded us a bit of Blue Bottle in SF because they really take their time to make each drink, but it was a very good cup of coffee and much needed after not having anything at the airport before our flight.
We then continued to wander to the coastal mall that’s in the area. The park at the top was cute, and full of people relaxing and enjoying the view of the water. There was also an eco fair happening, so we checked out the stalls and noticed many beauty and bath products, clothing and accessories, and jewelry for sale. Jerry saw a cute shirt with an alpaca design, so he got that to take home with him.
Weird as it is to call out a mall, this one was cute, and tucked nicely into the bluffs. It was nice to walk around enjoying the outdoor atmosphere and views:
Weird as it is to call out a mall, this one was cute, and tucked nicely into the bluffs. There’s a also big surfing beach here, with a statue in memory of an iconic surfer from the area:
We also explored a couple sweet parks, one for lovers (Parque de Amor):
And one for cat lovers (actually in honor of JFK, weirdly):
Finally, we wandered to the edge of Barranco to see the museum of contemporary art. It was really cool (and has a fantastic park attached), but the largest of the three exhibit rooms was temporarily closed for updating. On the plus side, we got a big discount on the entrance fee.
After a pit stop back at the hotel, we walked to our early dinner reservation at Maido. Some say it’s one of the top ten restaurants in the world. The tasting menu was inventive and delicious, merging Japanese technique with Peruvian flavors. We were delighted and stuffed by the end of the 3 hours we spent there:
