Day 60: Our Favorites in the "Garden City" of Lima, Peru

Perhaps we didn't know what to expect. Perhaps our expectations were low. Perhaps the guidebooks scared us into assuming Lima was similar to our experience in Quito, Ecuador (you know...crime, pollution, urban chaos).

Regardless, we are pleasantly surprised about this wonderful "Garden City" of Lima. We've been having difficulty trying to come up with a comparable city that captures the essence of Lima. After much discussion over a 'few' Cristal cervezas, we think we figured it out (yea, right!). Of course, we are talking primarily of the nice Miraflores, San Isidro, and Barranco neighborhoods. The miles and miles of paved walkway and parks along the coastline remind us of Southern California with all the joggers, cyclists, and roller bladers. Everybody here, young and old, are out exercising. The shores are covered with surfers as well, but Lima doesn't give off a surfer vibe at all. The ocean seems to only be a backdrop to this massive, cosmopolitan city. However, the city is nothing like the SoCal city of Los Angeles. It is more reminiscent of a large capital city like Washington DC. In combination of the ocean and city, we thought Barcelona, Spain was the best comparison. We can feel the high-end influence of diplomats, international business people, and expats amongst the upper class Peruvians residing in the high-rise condos overlooking the ocean. Yet, even the nicest areas possess that South American edginess with graffiti on walls, massive security gates/walls, armed guards, etc. that makes any traveler a little worried about wandering off at night. We don't dare to imagine the conditions in the really rough side of town, closer to the city center and up into the shantytowns on the hillside.

[Below: coastline of Miraflores. See our YouTube video of Miraflores Coastline.]

Sometimes, when we are having difficulty finding words to describe something, someone else has already eloquently put them on paper. Such is the case with Lima. Lucien Chauvin in "Lima: 10 Things to Do" for TIME Travel summarizes this city best:

"Peru's sprawling megacapital is actually a mosaic of many smaller cities. Comprising 43 districts with nearly 9 million inhabitants, Lima is a study in contrasts, with ultramodern seaside neighborhoods butting up against gritty shantytowns that cling to barren hillsides. It is one of the world's few megacapitals that can claim a golf course in the middle of the financial district, and where executives can go surfing before high-powered breakfast meetings. Although it's built in a desert — Cairo is the only other metropolis drier than Lima — it's known as the "Garden City" and is home to one of world's largest fountain parks."

We've only been here for a couple of days, but here's a few of our favorite parts about Lima.

[Below: our hostel, Hostal Porta, at $45/night for a double, is tucked away in a residential street in the exclusive Miraflores District where hotels go for $300-500/night. This hostel is 2 blocks from the ocean front, 4 blocks from the upscale seaside entertainment complex - Larcomar, about 6 blocks from nice restaurants in Miraflores, 7-minute walk to Parque Kennedy and its surrounding bars and restaurants catering to backpackers/tourists, and plenty of small tiendas, lavanderias, banks, etc. to get errands done.]

[Below: Supermercado Vivanda, an upscale grocery store, reminiscent of a Whole Foods with lots of international and Peruvian groceries. We could live here with this kind of grocery store. Located in Miraflores on the corner of Avenida Benavides and Alcanfores.]

[Below: Charming brick and cobblestone streets full of restaurants. Boulevard Suche (between Alcanfores and La Paz) in Miraflores. Also, Calle Tarata between Avenida Larco and Alcanfores.]

[Below: Larcomar, upscale shopping and entertainment complex on the cliffs of Miraflores. It houses plenty of restaurants with a view, including American establishments such as Tony Roma's, Chili's, Burger King, Starbucks, etc. Be prepared to pay for the view, but well worth it! We realized we hadn't heard so much North American English until we were at Larcomar with all the tourists.]

[Below: Copa de Vino Blanco and the obligatory Pisco Sour - the national grape brandy drink of Peru, at one of the nice bars with a view at Larcomar.]

[Below: A long walk along the coast to the Barranco District for another charming scenery. This is called The Bridge of Sighs (Puente de los Suspiros), a lovely wooden structure spanning the Bajada de Baños, a stone walkway that runs down to the Pacific Ocean.]

[Below: A GREAT local restaurant find, Puerta Cerrada, in Barranco. They're not kidding when an appetizer, entree, and drink - all traditional Peruvian dishes - can be had for only 8 to 12 soles (US$3-5). This was our appetizer, rocoto relleno (stuffed peppers). Rocoto is a Peruvian chili that packs some heat.]

[Below: Paragliders all along the seashore. Best place to take-off and land is in Miraflores. Tourists can get a 10-minute tandem ride for $50. We enjoyed just watching them zoom by! View our YouTube video of paragliders taking-off and landing.]

[Below: BEAUTIFUL parks of Lima!]

[Below: A stroll along Avenida Pardo, a tree-lined pedestrian walkway in the middle of the avenue.]

[Below: Parqué de Amor. Park of Love!]

[Below: Selling Andean scenery artwork at Parqué Kennedy. This area has a lot of regular (not touristy) shopping malls and supermarkets. Just regular Limans hanging out on a Saturday afternoon.]

[Below: Yup, an actual Peruvian hairless dog! Feels like leather.]

[Below: Peruvian empanadas. Came with a lime! Never thought to squirt lime juice on empanadas, but it was a nice complement. Yummy.]

So, we've been "a little" busy exploring Lima! You can probably see why the name "Garden City" is appropriate for this megacity.

See the entire Peru Photo Album.