Lima
After a fulfilling Peruvian meal, I had a perfect dessert at the ChocoMuseo.
Alright, day one. It officially begins! I landed in Lima on the morning of March 3rd, and stepped onto the South American terrain as an official backpacker. The Lima airport was buzzing with travelers, but a ton of locals as well. Anxious and excited, I collected my bags, quickly exchanged some USD money for the local Peruvian Sol (I know, exchange rates are terrible at airports), and went looking for my arranged ride. My Airbnb host Sandra arranged for her friend Jaime to pick me up and drop me off at her place. After searching for about 5 minutes, I found Jaime, who was carrying a white piece of paper with my name, which apparently is spelled "Shena" in Peru. Jaime was a really sweet guy and we chatted with my limited Spanish to Sandra's apartment. I got to use the words playa (beach) and sol (sun) successfully in a sentence so obviously, I was a total pro.
We got to Sandra's place about 30 minutes later. Her apartment is located in Miraflores, one of the trendier and upscale neighborhoods in Lima, and I thought it would be a great place for me to stay and ease my way into the traveling life. I was right; as soon as I arrived, she got me settled into her modern apartment and made me a papaya banana smoothie... ultimately beginning my papaya obsession. But I made it, and I could finally relax.
On my last day in Lima, I did a food tour with Delectable Peru and had the guide, Erika, all to myself! Erika was such a great guide and first took me to a fantastic restaurant in Lima, where we made my first Pisco Sour (signature drink of South America), causa (potato and chicken salad dish), and finally beef and potatoes.
After resting up on my first day in Lima, I ventured out in the neighborhood. Lo and behold I ran into the beach and had a great time people watching
I got to hang in the back with the kitchen staff and help purposely set some things on fire, mainly my beef and potatoes. The tour concluded with everyone's guilty pleasure, a trip to ChocoMuseo, where I learned about cocoa trees and the process of making dark, milk and white chocolate. I decided to top off my plentiful education time with a brownie a la mode, at which point I'm thinking "I could really get used to the backpackers life". But after spending 4 great days in Lima, it was time to set off again - to the coveted islands of Galapagos!
DAY 1: ROUND THE WORLD BEGINS
DAY 2-3: GETTING LOST IN MIRAFLORES
I had a couple great days exploring the neighborhood of Miraflores and got a glimpse of the Lima nightlife with Sandra. During my days in the city, I wandered around different neighborhoods, stumbled onto different beaches along the coast and found some gorgeous architecture. I also visited Larcomar, which was a ritzy shopping district in the Miraflores neighborhood. Getting around the city was interesting. Since Lima is one of the biggest cities in Peru, I thought there would be more people who spoke English. But after a while, I gave up asking if people spoke English, and I decided to whip out more of my rusty Spanish.
DAY 4: PERUVIAN FOOD TOUR
TRAVEL TIPS: LIMA
