Miraflores, Lima

Everyone around me had warned me about Lima; that it was dangerous, unsafe, especially for a girl traveling alone.  Furthermore, people seemed to illustrate a picture of Peru as an underdeveloped country, full of begging streetchildren, gangs, drug wars, and thieves.  Mind you, most of these fictitious ideas were coming from people who have never traveled to Peru at all, much less South America.

Once I stepped off the plane, these ideas were eradicated, as I was in a highly modern, spotless, gleaming airport.

The airport was also one of the most organized airports I had ever been to in my life, and I've been to quite a few of them.  There must have been hundreds of people waiting on the immigration line with me, from all over the world, and unlike the check-in line at LaGuardia, this line moved fairly rapidly.  I knew I had come to the right country to start my travels.

Miraflores is an affluent district within the city/ province of Lima.  I'm sorry, I didn't take too many pictures, but I assure you, it was very beautiful.  Actually, the city reminded me a lot of New York, high-rising buildings, people always in a rush from place to place, windy neighborhoods, and a large flowery park in the center of Miraflores.  The most memorable aspect of Lima (and I imagine, of Peru in general) was the food.  Even the scrambled eggs for breakfast were absolutely scrumptious.  The hot chocolate is creamy, rich and carries an aroma of cinnamon and cloves.  My favorite thing to eat in Lima was the pollo al la lena, or wood-fire roasted chicken (see below for picture).

I spent a week in Miraflores studying Spanish at an amazing Spanish school, along with travelers from all over the world.  I made friends with a couple of Norwegian girls, Maria and Carolina, and an elderly American couple, Judy and Howard.  Judy and Howard have been sailing around the world for about seven years in a sailboat. They've been in Lima for a few months studying Spanish, and waiting out for a good wind.  I'm not sure how to say that in sailing terms.

The last day of our Spanish classes, all of the students went out to eat anticucho at another old colonial district in a different section of Lima, called Baranco.  Anticucho is a traditional Peruvian specialty, it's skewered, roasted cow's heart.  I didn't take any pictures, but I did sample it-- it kind of tastes like a well-seasoned steak.  However, I couldn't settle with the idea of eating cow's heart, so I ordered grilled chicken.  Carolina ordered a traditional dish, she later realized was the stomach of a chicken.  Needless to say, she didn't eat very much.

Pena del Carajo was recommended by the teachers at the school as a non-touristy, local hangout.  Penas are traditionally places where locals go to listen to traditional music, like Criolla, and eat traditional food with their families.  It's a bar/ restaurant with a very traditional feel to it, or at least it was supposed to be.  We were allowed in after waiting 45 minutes on line.  Our tickets included a house Pisco sour, which is a traditional drink made with raw egg, cinnamon and Pisco, a Peruvian liquor.  I didn't like it very much.

The traditional Peruvian hangout spot turned out to be rather rowdy and club-like for our tastes, instead of traditional instruments, they started playing Lady Gaga and reggatone.  It was, however, filled with locals and not tourists.  Not so much into the club/ bar scene, we left very early.

On my last day in Lima, I went out to lunch with Judy and Howard to eat roasted chicken.  Oh my goodness, it was amazing.  Also, a cooked salad with beets, carrots and avocados-- so yummy!

More pictures here:

Miraflores, Peru

I headed off to Arequipa, Peru -- more to come soon.