Time to explore the Miraflores
district of Lima - it is the area with many of Lima's hotels - no
inspiring architecture here. I tried the sea front first - to watch the
mist and low cloud drift in from the sea. One or two surfers were
trying their luck in the dark-looking sea way below the cliff-top
lookout by the LarcoMar shopping and restaurant complex that perches on
the distinctly unstable looking pebbly cliffs. Apart from the surfeit
of Alpaca wool shops this modern complex could be anywhere in the
(commercial) world. So, back through Miraflores to look for the
South American Explorers Club HQ -- which when I first saw it I thought
it was closed, as the gate to this suburban house stuck amongst
rectangular office blocks was locked. However, this was just top
security & eventually I was let in to peruse the mass of
information on everything to do with travelling in Peru. I am not sure
though that the $60 joining fee is worthwhile just to help me plan my
10 free days at the end of the Ramblers tours I am leading...
Some time later I headed back to the sea
front to find a place to eat. I found that OK, and had a tasty sea-bass
in spinach & cheese sauce, but I couldn't find my wallet at the end
of the meal - yes, the legendary pick-pockets of Lima had
struck...however, forewarned is forearmed, and the wallet only
contained enough to pay for the meal and one credit card, which I duly
cancelled once I had got back to my room & checked under the bed
for any stray wallets! One card down, only three more to go....
Sept 12
Carefully emptying my pockets, I
set out for Lima centre. This involved standing on the side of the road
and trying to identify which of the hundreds of rattling and smelly
combis vying for passengers actually went in the right direction. As
the Avenida Arequipa goes virtually the whole way from Miraflores to
the centre then any bus where the conductor is shouting "todo Arequipa"
is the best bet. One sol (i.e 20p) later, having had a swerving and
stop-start journey, I got out about 1.5 k from the centre of Lima.
Walking in the general direction of the Plaza de Armas I began to dislike Lima yet more - there are few attractive buildings - the ones that exist are swamped by unfinished looking concrete boxes. Smelly traffic was everywhere, and half the roads were under construction. I should have been impressed that there was an almost total lack of big international chain shops, but somehow that added to the run-down appearance of the centre. And why were there so many shoe shops (and why were half of those Bata shoe shops?).
The Plaza Grau, submerged in traffic
Looking forward to a view over the river from the old fortifications I was somewhat disappointed to find an almost dry river bed looking more like a linear gravel quarry. The scene was brightened up though by the pastel shaded houses clinging to a hill on the far side of the river.
My general negative feelings were improved somewhat by
the rousing sounds of the military brass band accompanying the changing
of the guard at the President's Palace and the amusing marching step of
the guards - a cross between the goose-step and a ballet move! Given
that I will be having a conducted tour of the centre with the group in
a fortnights time I decided just to wander around - and after an
hour or so of that all I wanted to do was head back out of the centre
again! Fighting through the people trying to sell me software around
the bus stop I managed to pick the right bus that headed back to
Miraflores.
In the evening my spirits are raised again as I came across a small amphitheatre in the Parque Central in Miraflores packed with mainly middle aged Peruvians singing and dancing the evening away. From a distance I thought it was a political or religious rally; close up it was a lot of people just having fun!
As the group arrives tomorrow this blog is likely to dry up somewhat.....
Back to Peru Trip Index
Sept 12
Carefully emptying my pockets, I
set out for Lima centre. This involved standing on the side of the road
and trying to identify which of the hundreds of rattling and smelly
combis vying for passengers actually went in the right direction. As
the Avenida Arequipa goes virtually the whole way from Miraflores to
the centre then any bus where the conductor is shouting "todo Arequipa"
is the best bet. One sol (i.e 20p) later, having had a swerving and
stop-start journey, I got out about 1.5 k from the centre of Lima. Walking in the general direction of the Plaza de Armas I began to dislike Lima yet more - there are few attractive buildings - the ones that exist are swamped by unfinished looking concrete boxes. Smelly traffic was everywhere, and half the roads were under construction. I should have been impressed that there was an almost total lack of big international chain shops, but somehow that added to the run-down appearance of the centre. And why were there so many shoe shops (and why were half of those Bata shoe shops?).
The Plaza Grau, submerged in traffic
Looking forward to a view over the river from the old fortifications I was somewhat disappointed to find an almost dry river bed looking more like a linear gravel quarry. The scene was brightened up though by the pastel shaded houses clinging to a hill on the far side of the river.
My general negative feelings were improved somewhat by
the rousing sounds of the military brass band accompanying the changing
of the guard at the President's Palace and the amusing marching step of
the guards - a cross between the goose-step and a ballet move! Given
that I will be having a conducted tour of the centre with the group in
a fortnights time I decided just to wander around - and after an
hour or so of that all I wanted to do was head back out of the centre
again! Fighting through the people trying to sell me software around
the bus stop I managed to pick the right bus that headed back to
Miraflores.View
across the Rio Rimac
The military band fails to wake all
the spectators..
In the evening my spirits are raised again as I came across a small amphitheatre in the Parque Central in Miraflores packed with mainly middle aged Peruvians singing and dancing the evening away. From a distance I thought it was a political or religious rally; close up it was a lot of people just having fun!
As the group arrives tomorrow this blog is likely to dry up somewhat.....
Back to Peru Trip Index