Orientation – Lima Style — Lima, Peru

Posted by Laura Gardner in Travel Blogs on November 2, 2009 | no responses

Lima, Peru

Alright, so after a great deal of stalling on my part – and several not so subtle hints from friends to get this blog a crackin’, I write to you with updates on Lima – and my newfound home in Cusco – now slightly over two weeks into my Peruvian adventure. I plan to be much more regular about updates going forward, but for now, consider this a series of three “catch-up” posts (one on the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu forthcoming) – with highlights from the journey so far – hence their unusual length. And for future reference, I’ll keep this blog link in my Facebook and Google status updates so you can check in on me from time to time

Down The Rabbit Hole

Let me first just say that my first few days down here (including the 10 hour flight to Lima) were like stepping into an entirely new dimension. Even just getting onto a plane where 95% of the passengers were speaking Spanish felt like entering a parallel universe – one that somehow had been hiding from me for far too long (and yet a challenge that I so welcome). How humbling to be starting from a place where you know absolutely no one, and only enough of the language to get by. I can only imagine how immigrants to the States feel – overwhelmed, excited in some cases, but surely petrified.

That said, I had a wonderful flight (gracias, Lan Chile – especially for the fabulous reclining seats) – and I spent a few hours chatting up one of the stewardesses (Angelina) in broken, but functional Spanish between meal services. I’m sure she sensed that I was a gringo from about a mile away, and yet she was totally excited to lend a hand – writing me a long list of places to visit in Lima/the surrounding suburbs, and giving me her number with an offer to tour the city (a great offer, though it didn’t end up happening because she got called in to work another set of flights that week). Made it into Lima around 1am and per my reservation, had a “green cab” waiting to take me into the city, as I was warned in advance by Francis (the owner of the hostel I had reserved) that other non-sanctioned cabs could land me in a potentially precarious spot, especially late at night. Exhausted, but feeling the buzz of arriving in my “new home,” I had a nice chat heading into the city with the cab driver, who pointed out some of the different neighborhoods on our way into town, and clearly spotted me as a “first-timer” in South America. Oh boy.

I finished my first very long day a little after 2am greeted by a shy, middle-aged man named Julio, one of the hostel staff at La Casa Miraflores. We chatted briefly, I filled out the hostel registration book, and after declining his very generous offer of a Pisco Sour (a rite of passage for any Peruvian traveler), I was shown to my single room (figured it was better to start out with my own room for a few days). Totally modest, fluorescent green walls, and about the size of a service box on a tennis court, but a single bed has rarely ever looked better.

Getting Into Travel Mode

I would describe the next couple of days as a bit of “honeymoon period” – acclimating to hostel life, getting oriented in the city, and figuring out everything from lukewarm hostel showers to money-changing and public transportation. It’s worth noting that while I’ve done some traveling in the past (Mexico, Spain, France) – this is really the first time I’ve done extended travel (and on my own) outside the US. Fortunately, as I came to realize, Lima is relatively user friendly, if not all that fascinating in and of itself as a South American capital. For the sake of time, I won’t go into all the details of my first five days in Lima, but here are some highlights…

Lima is a very energetic, at times crowded, and quite often polluted capital city. Home to about 8 million, Lima has several suburbs to the South, the most popular being Barranco and Miraflores, the latter being where my hostel was located. While very urban in character, Lima is interesting in the tension between its modern “machismo” culture, its Spanish colonial past, and more recently, the influx of many impoverished Andean immigrants to the area. More than half of Limeños live below the poverty line, and yet there is a burgeoning middle class in several of the surrounding suburbs – which gives the city the distinct flavor of a society in transition.

My first few days, to be sure, were more often filled with “basic traveler’s discoveries” than anything else. Figuring out what the heck to do with my money belt/fake wallet combo (I’ve developed a sophisticated submarine metaphor, if anyone is curious), buying a SIM card for my phone, and stocking up on bottled water and snacks – feeling a bit like a survivalist bringing “sustenance” back the cave. While my hostel was filled with a fair number of interesting folks for the first two days – a very nice group of Brits on 2-month holiday from “Uni” (University), a Kiwi named Jack who jammed with me on guitars stashed in the common room, the professional cyclist Florin and his fiancé from Holland – the hostel was a bit more low key than I had expected (a bit more suited to couples, especially given the beginning of this “lower” season in travel). As a consequence, I ended up checking into another hostel in town after three nights – a well-reviewed place on hostelworld.com called the Backpackers Family House – which ended up being a much more social – and hence better – experience (more on this in a minute).

Before I left La Casa Miraflores, however, it’s worth noting that I had one particularly great experience on my third and last night there. It was an especially empty night in the hostel, and with several of the requisite Irishmen sleeping off a big night on the town, I resigned myself to some much needed travel-guide reading in the common room. But what I had intended to be some relaxing planning time ended up being a 4-hour epic conversation with none other than Julio, the hostel’s evening caretaker/guardian angel. I mentioned him before, but Julio is an incredibly unassuming guy, and was quite shy in front of most of the boisterous Euro/Anglo hostel dwellers. Yet over a couple of Pisco Sours, we ended up practicing our respective Spanish and English (tons of fun), and before I knew it, he was educating me on everything from Peruvian geography, to politics in Lima, to his life growing up in the Inca capital of Cusco. Turns out he was a native Quechua speaker (the language of the Andean population in Peru), had spent a number of years as an elected representative in Cusco’s local government, and – like me – had a passion for teaching, having spent the last 5 years teaching the equivalent of 2nd grade in a local primary school close to downtown. In short, a totally humble, interesting, sweet guy – salt of the earth. We wrapped up a little after 3am, and I remember feeling pleasantly surprised by the evening’s turn of events. More on this to come, but this was the first of several events so far on my trip that has absolutely convinced me (even more than before) that I MUST come back from this trip fully fluent in Spanish, however long it may take. It feels like such an important part of me that is missing, and will be such a critical part of becoming a part of people’s lives and the culture down here.

I spent the next several days at my new hostel, meeting some great travelers (Peadar Forbes – I will seriously miss the tacos at Super Rueda with you) and exploring colonial and cultural sites in the city. Nothing too crazy, but a handful of things worthy of mention…

- Absolutely loved the Backpacker’s Family House (the 2nd hostel I stayed at, also in Miraflores). It’s run by two incredible local guys, Pedro and Christian, who were willing to bend over backwards to make my stay a great one. Pedro and I, in particular, took to practicing Spanish regularly – and he gave me some great tips on navigating the sites in Miraflores and Lima Centro (including my first pre-Inca site at Huaca Pucllana – see attached pictures). Had one especially memorable night with ten of us travelers (Irish, Australian, Brazilian, Peruvian, English, Argentinian, Danish, and American) packed around a patio table sharing stories and indulging in several cases of Cusqueña beer (el mejor cerveza de Peru). Ah, if only the UN had the same generosity of spirit as a bunch of world travelers sharing a “pint,” perhaps international relations these days would look quite a bit different.

- I learned quickly that you cross the street at your peril in Lima (and as I’ve found, nearly everywhere else in Peru). I smile – and grimace a bit – when I picture the flurry of “colectivos” (mini-buses) streaming down the streets, a flurry of black smoke in their wake, with a guy or gal hanging off the side, hustling passengers in to make it to the next destination. It’s actually quite remarkable – drivers in Lima create “openings” that don’t exist and pedestrians are less than an afterthought – it all makes New York and Boston seem civilized.

- Some incredible local food here, including ceviche (next to godliness), wonderful varieties of sweet/non-sweet breads (or “pan”), and my new passion, drinkable yogurt (yes, I’m serious). We Americans dabble in the art of drinkable yogurt, but in South America, it’s a dairy section unto itself – a way of life. Not much more to say here, other than that I’m now drinking said yogurt (preferred brand – Gloria) just about every day.

- And lastly, had an absolutely wonderful last day in Lima in the company of a new friend – Julio Puertas (not to be confused with the hostel staff member from earlier). Julio had been referred to me by Dan Fischer (one of my South American travel gurus) and for good reason. Julio took me to a great restaurant in Barranco where we sampled the best ceviche I’ve had yet, drank Chicha Morada (made from Peruvian purple corn – really good), and afterwards, collectively worked to further polish my Spanish skills. He was even kind enough to see me off on the bus to Cusco, leaving me with several great music recommendations for the road which I’m eagerly following up on (Soda Stereo, an Argentinean rock band, is now at the top of my playlist). If you’re out there, Julio, thanks for a wonderful time. If I come back to Lima on this trip, it will be in no small part because of you.

And so I left Lima after 5 days, and though I probably could have done with a day or so less in the city, I departed feeling a bit more situated and a lot more “travel ready” for destinations further down the road.