4 Days in Lima

Friday, December 28, 2012
Lima, Peru
25th

We are going to have a rest day today . Catch up on some much needed rest. Surprising the huge shopping mall across the road is partly open, and so are a lot of eateries. At least we wont go hungry. For tea we eat at TGI Fridays. This is the first time on this trip we have splashed out and eaten in an upmarket restaurant.

26th

Today we catch the bus into the city. We are joining in on a Bike tour of the city with Mikes Bike Tours. The ride last for around 5 hours. We see the good and bad side of the city. The tour is very informative. We learn a lot about Colombia and Bogota's very violent, corrupt and chequered past. We see the Emerald dealers trading emeralds. Lots of homeless people including 1 guy that has lived on a street corner for the past 20 years. Its an interesting city, but not one I would choose to live in.

27th

We are heading to a small village called Zipaquira . The place is famous for the Salt Cathedral. This was a old slat mine which became unprofitable to mine. So it was turned into a underground Cathedral. Unfortunately the pictures do not do it justice. It took about 1.5 hours on 2 buses to get here. About 2 hours in the Cathedral. The highlight was the reflection pool. Its something that can only be appreciated by being there.

The return trip turns out to be a problem. As we are getting off the bus a guy drops some coins in front of Alan. Well this is the distraction to pick-pocket his mobile phone. Alan only discoveries it missing as the bus drives off. We try to run after it, but no chance. This spoils a great day.

When we arrive back at the apartment Alan cancels the sim card and hopefully wipes the phone remotely. We have to do a police report to claim insurance. We are not sure how this will work, as we have no idea where the nearest Police station is. A quick visit to reception we find out we can do the report online .

28th

Early start the flight leaves for Lima at 8.20am. It’s a smooth flight and we arrive on time. Our driver is waiting and gets us to Miraflores in about 1 hour. The traffic is horrendous. We are only about 20ks from the airport.

The apartment is nice and the location is great. We unpack and head out on a walk to see the area. It reminds me a little of South Beach in Miami, or Surfers Paradise. Plenty of nice parks around. So many high rise residential buildings.

The view from the cliffs at Larcomar are amazing. Lots of guys paragliding from the cliffs. The Larcomar shopping centre is built right on the edge of the cliff, so you always have an uninterrupted view of the sea. There are a lot of fast food outlets in the food court. We decide on ChinaWok. The food is great and cheap. All the outdoor tables have a fantastic view of the sunset.

29th

Another nice day greats us. Its around 20 degress C and not much humidity. A lot of walking today. We check out some of the sales in the department store, but nothing is cheap compared with home. We decide to make our own lunch today. A couple of bread rolls, some ham and cream cheese make an excellent lunch under some huge palm trees in a small park. We continue our walk and end up back at Larcomar where we eat at Chinawok again for tea. Another great day comes to an end.
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