March 26: Lima

My last full day in Peru began with an early cab ride to the Arequipa airport. Strangely, it was there that I finally got my first glimpse of El Misti, the nation's most well known volcano. This was one of two natural wonders that I failed to check out while I was in Arequipa, the other being Colca Canyon. I simply didn't have enough time to pack it all in while relaxing at the end of my trip. Two weeks was nice, but three weeks would have been absolutely perfect. Anyway, El Misti hasn't erupted in well over a hundred years and stands at 19,101 feet (5,822 meters).

After paying my S/. 12 airport tax for a domestic departure, I hopped onto my Lan Peru flight to Lima, arriving around 10:30am. Before leaving on this trip, I had made plans to meet up with a friend of a Peruvian co-worker of mine in The States. His name was Edgar, and my instructions were to look for a guy in a red shirt and blue hat. I finally found him inside the airport, and we set off in his car for my full day in Peru's capitol. Our first stop was Lima's Plaza de Armas, which, flanked by colorful colonial buildings, was quite big and quite nice. This was an incredibly warm, sunny day, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the weather.

After the Plaza de Armas and a short walk down one of the walking streets, we hopped back in Edgar's car and drove west to the beach. My big plan was to find a nice cafe along the water and settle into a long, relaxing meal. That was my theory, anyway. Driving to the Pacific, I began to understand the enormity of this city. Not only is it massive, it's also quite busy and dirty. Automobile exhaust, mixed with smog and a marine layer, creates a terrible haze that overtakes the city. You can almost taste it when you breathe. Unlike Cuzco or Arequipa, this clearly wasn't a very walkable city. Needless to say, I was quite appreciative of the fact that I had Edgar to drive me around. When we finally arrived at the beach, we drove down the coastline looking for a place to eat. There were a couple restaurants here and there, but I found nothing that resembled a developed boardwalk with shops and cafes. It was just sort of plain, dirty, and boring. Perhaps there is a good reason for this lack of development, but I was thoroughly disappointed in the city planning. With about nine hours to go until I needed to be back at the airport for my flight home, it was beginning to look like a long day.

On our way to the beach we had passed through the famous Miraflores part of Lima. Being as it looked like a fairly decent place to spend a few hours, I suggested to Edgar that we go back to have our lunch. For whatever reason I was craving a burrito with chips and salsa. Truth be told, I'm almost always craving chips and salsa. The burning desire to have a burrito was something new. It doesn't matter. We found a little Mexican restaurant along a charming little alley close to the central park. After eating, we sat there for a while and watched soccer on TV. Really, I was just killing time until the NCAA Basketball Tournament games started from the United States. As tip-off time drew closer, we called our friend Pepe, back in Atlanta. I explained to him that I wanted to watch the tourney games, and Pepe helped me out by giving Edgar directions to a sports bar near where we were having lunch. My only communication with Edgar was in Spanish, so it was helpful to have a native speaker work that one out for me.

If I hadn't already had my fill of whatever it was that Lima had to offer, I might have felt badly about spending the next six hours in a sports bar. The Corner (or as I believe it should be called: Gringo McGringoson's), was styled exactly like every other sports bar in America... multiple TVs, slutty waitresses, and giant towers of beer. With a small table just a few feet from the bar, we watched the Argentinean Superclassico - Boca Juniors v River Plate - and both quarterfinal games from the NCAA Tourney. I ended up meeting a British guy named Paul who, thankfully, gave me someone to speak a little English with on the side. Even better than that, I had an opportunity to explain March Madness to someone who really had no idea how big of a deal it is to people in The States. George Mason upset Connecticut and Florida toppled Villanova, the former going into overtime, causing even the funny talkers get excited over American college basketball.

Edgar finally drove me to the airport after we left the bar around 8:30pm. My flight wasn't until 12:40am, but I figured there was no harm in getting to the airport a little earlier than necessary. Of course, it was nightfall when we piled out of The Corner, and I have to say that Lima is one of those cities that really improves with darkness. Then again, most cities become far more charming at night. But in the case of Lima, perhaps it's just that you can't really see the foul air, but I think it has more to do with the fact that the streets ight up well and the neighborhoods enjoy a renewed sense of calm. Miraflores, seen here from Central Park, looks quite inviting, actually. Still, my overall impressions of Peru's capitol were somewhat disappointing. Earlier, as we drove around for what seemed like forever under that brown, nasty sky, I would have argued that should an assembly be made of 100 city planners, each asked to create the world's worst city, 99 of them would come back with a detailed model of Lima. Los Angeles would get the other vote. So, overall, I'd say that it's certainly worth a visit... but no more than a day or two. And if you must spend the night, there seems little reason to stay anywhere but Miraflores. Granted, one cannot really make bold statements like this having spent a mere 14 hours in a major city (six of which in a sports bar), but I think my first overall impression jibes with most everything I had heard from other travelers.

Peru Home & Sidebar
Previous Day -- Next Day