Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Essay and photos by Rodney L. Dodig

Recently Living in Peru asked its readers to submit suggestions for things to see or do in Peru for visiting friends and family. They had a lot of great suggestions and it brought writing this article to my mind.

I recently had friends visit me here for a period of 6 days which they spent entirely in Lima and surrounding area. This is an account of what I showed them here in this amazing and beautiful city. Hopefully this will give you an idea of the places to either show or recommend to anyone you might know who will be staying in Lima for a time.

Since their plane arrived late at night, a good night’s sleep was needed by my friends as they had been on the road, so to speak, for more than 12 hours. We did stop at the restaurant Haiti in Miraflores on the way back from the airport so that they could have a good meal before going to sleep.

The next morning I took my guest on a walk through the neighborhood where I live in San Borja to let him get an idea of the area where he was staying and a feel for local life here. Breakfast was at Estacion 24, a small corner diner, the kind with stools at a counter where they serve mostly sandwiches but also have a good American style breakfast.

For the first day I had planned a drive along the coast through Miraflores, Chorrillos, up the Morro Solar and ending with a stop at the restaurant Salto del Fraile where he could see the men diving from the cliffs. It was a cloudy day with very large waves rolling in from the Pacific and it made for a beautiful drive. The stunning fountains at the foot of the cliffs in Chorrillos were flowing and the fishing boats were docked in the bay from their morning of fishing making for a beautiful photo opportunity.

We diverted the drive to go up to the top of Morro Solar to visit the Monumento al Soldado Desconocido (Monument of the Unknown Soldier), the planetarium and the Cruz del Papa (the lighted cross of Chorrillos). From here you can take spectacular panoramic photos of the city.

From the top of the hill we drove back down to the coast and stopped at Salto de Fraile for a snack, a drink and to watch the cliff divers. There is an interesting story behind this restaurant and the divers which you can discover when you go to the restaurant. The views of the coast out the windows of the restaurant are amazing and worth the stop at this restaurant in themselves. From here we drove back into Lima and stopped in Barranco to have a late lunch at Las Mesitas, a restaurant that serves the best Aji de Gallina that I have tasted. This restaurant specializes in Criolla dishes and with a reasonably priced menu is one of the best places to eat in Barranco in my opinion.

From the restaurant we walked to the Bridge of Sighs, the historical church La Ermita and out to the Mirador for more spectacular views of the coast. Each of the sites in Barranco also have a story or history behind them which I encourage you to learn.

The next day we headed south of Lima to Punta Hermosa to have lunch at Sarritas. They have the best tamales I have ever tasted and they are famous for their chicharron sandwiches (like a BBQ). My friend decided to try the ceviche and also sampled the tamaels and chicharron I had ordered.

From there we headed over to Pachacamac to tour the ruins of the ancient religious center. This site is quite impressive and an important part of the cultural heritage of this entire area. It is thousands of years old and the surface has only been scratched by archaeologists. Then it was back to the apartment for a short rest and to wait for sundown before heading to the famous Water Park (Parque de la Reserva) and its magical fountains. There are thirteen beautiful fountains where the water dances to an assortment of music and colored lights. It truly is spectacular and they have an incredible laser light show on the largest of the fountains several times throughout the evening. Afterwards we had a late dinner at Pardos, a mid-priced restaurant known for its chicken (and according to my friend with the best pisco sour he had tasted to this point).

For more on Rodney's tour of Lima, look for articles part two and three in the upcoming weeks.

Read more about Peruvian culture, history and travel by Rodney Dodig. Click here to see his blog.

tags : vacation travel Lima Peru

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1 Comments

# Martin Halpern says :
14 June, 2010 [ 01:18 ]

You should have included a walking tour of Santa Maria del Maria.

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