20th Oct. 2016
When we (eventually) started researching where we wanted to stay in Lima, it quickly became apparent that although we wanted to visit the Centro Historico, actually most of the hotels and the tourist infrastructure was centred around the Miraflores district a little to the south of the centre. We decided that the best compromise was to split our time in Lima and have a couple of nights in both the centre and in Miraflores.
Before we head up to Miraflores, though we have one last trip into the centre to check we have seen all we want. Surprisingly the park inside Plaza Mayor is still closed off with a policeman at each entrance – it may be something to do with the reconstruction work going on around the fountain. Or, it might just be “because”. The cathedral is impressive on the outside, but inside they are hosting a display of religious art and want 20 Soles entrance fee and we are feeling cheap (and not in the mood for religious art). And anyway, how could it be better than yesterday’s Monasterio de San Francisco?
At the rate that we have been taking photos (over 100/day on average), I am starting to run out of memory cards for the cameras. Since, the main shopping street, Jirón de la Union runs between the two main squares and close to our hotel, this seems an ideal opportunity to replenish stocks. Well you would think so, but whilst there are plenty of mobile phone shops tucked in between the clothes stores and the slot machine arcades I don’t see anywhere selling cameras. We make do with the Peru equivalent of Curry’s but they only have Micro-SD and not full size SD cards. Does nobody take pictures with anything other than their phones these days??
There is no underground line in Lima, but instead they have a (limited) Metrobus system – buses with their own dedicated lane in the road and defined stops at raised platforms like a train. Linea C connects the centre with Miraflores and beyond and so that is what we will use for our transfer. Fortunately, our guide yesterday explained to us that whilst you do need a Smartcard to enter through the barriers, the locals will be happy enough to tap you in, in exchange for the S2.50 fare. Sure enough (after working out which direction we want to go), arriving at the platform entrance and looking lost (well, we definitely don’t look like locals!) someone immediately offers to help us out and we’re on.
It is immediately apparent that Miraflores is very different from the centre. Instead of all the rather grubby, 2 story colonial buildings, Miraflores is modern, bright with office blocks for banks and hotels and the main streets lined with cafés, restaurants and bars. Surprisingly, there is even a department store and even more amazingly, in the technology section, they have cameras and even …drum roll… SD cards, and at a sensible price. What it didn’t have was sensible service. We have 15 minutes till we need to be at our meeting point for this afternoon’s walking tour and in that time the chap at the front of the queue didn’t complete his t-shirt purchase. There was gesticulating with hands, pointing at receipts, holding up the shirts & even a couple of phone calls but no progress! Eventually, we timed out and I had to leave the cards.
As yesterday’s tour was so good, we decide sign up for another tour with the same people, this time for the neighbouring district of Barranco. We meet up with Tony, our guide and a German couple in Kennedy park (in Miraflores) before Tony takes us off to catch a local bus down to Barranco. (One of the good things about these tours is that you learn the quirks of the local transport systems!). In our last visit to Lima, we briefly visited Barranco but it was part of an organised city tour and all too rushed. We are hoping to learn more this time.
Once again, we see a different side to Lima. Barranco is the bohemian, arty district of the city. Tony explains that it has always been proud of local artists – painters, poets, musicians & authors – and one of the ways that this is celebrated is in a street art competition. Many of the walls have elaborately painted panels in bright colours. I’m not sure if last year’s winner is my favourite, but it certainly shows imagination and no small amount of skill.
The tour lasted a couple of hours, and as we walked through the streets of Barranco, Tony told us a little of the history of the district (it was founded in 1874, though long before that it was a fishing village); about some of the buildings such as La Hermita church and the Bridge of Sighs that is Barranco’s most famous landmark (you are supposed to walk across it whilst holding your breath); and some of the people (for example, the singer Chabuca Granda who along with her lover, is commemorated with a statue).
We also got a chance to stand on the edge of the cliff overlooking the grey sea and the misty view back along the coast towards Miraflores in one direction and Chorillos in the other. If we had more time (how often have we said that) Chorillos would be interesting to visit with a Christ the Redeemer statue and a planetarium atop a hill above the town and the sea. At the end of the tour, Tony gives us a choice of either going to a couple of nearby museums or to a nearby bar that is also the home of the Barranco Brewing Company. I expect you can guess which one we settled for (though in our defence, we did take a walk out towards the museums before deciding that we needed refreshment more).
So, today we’ve seen three different districts in Lima. Each had its own very distinctive style and places of interest. There is still more to see, especially of Miraflores, but we are achieving what we wanted on our return to Lima – to get a better understanding of this city. One of our priorities is to try more of the distinctive Peruvian cuisine (other than Guinea Pig). Both of our tour leaders have talked a little about Peruvian foods and have explained some of the dishes – it is not at all similar to Mexican food. To complete our immersion in Lima culture we go to a local’s restaurant and choose (more or less at random) some local dishes. Tacu Tacu for me which turns out to be a meat, rice and bean mix with a steak topped with a fried egg. Janet had Chicharrones de Pescado which turned out to be fried breaded white fish with fried potatoes. In both cases, they tasted better than they sounded and were a good way to round off a day spent finding out more about Lima.