Big Dirty Crazy Lima (Mostly Downtown)
From Callao, we tried another hostel in downtown Lima, within a few blocks of San Martín Plaza, cinema complexes, the shopping district, restaurants, bus stops, and around the corner from everything else; a XXX cinema, hookers' corner, gay clubs and a street Joel said was the limit between safe and unsafe neighborhoods. After a few nights, we again relocated to a place just a block from the Plaza de Armas, and near everything else.
I spent a few weeks there, some days exploring the streets and walking for miles, other days visiting parks, watching movies, going to clubs, bars or just chilling out.
The Circuito Magico del Agua is a beautiful large park where a dozen different water fountains are on display twice a week. From traditional style fountains to interactive ones, a couple of hours spent there was worth the small entry fee. One of the major fountains was a water jet, mist, laser, projection and music extravaganza. There was a water arch you could walk under and one that the kids enjoyed, where you walked over the flat surface as jets of water sprayed from underfoot seemingly randomly. Crazy kids getting wet in the chill.
Parque Kennedy was always a nice visit in lovely Miraflores. With its artesan craft stalls, performers and snack trolleys, we visited it a few times. Nearby was a Starbucks, where I bought Joel his first "gringo style" coffee and he now sometimes craves its cafe mocha. Several blocks towards the coast was the Larcomar mall embedded in the cliff side, but we were disappointed to visit the area during El Dia de Musica Criolla (Creole Music Day, the same day as Hallowe'en) and discover that there was no sign of the music culture but all sign of the North
American holiday instead.
Close to the main square was Parque Muralla, kind of an esplanade by Rio Rimac built around the remants of the old city wall. It had pleasant gardens with plenty of benches to chill out on and bouganvillea covered terraces, some entertainment for kids and small souvenir shops as well. A few nights, Joel and I would bring the guitar to the park to sing and play.
About two blocks from the hostel was a kind of esplanade near a colorfully lit bridge I called the Trujillo bridge ("Trujillo" was a landmark for buses to stop, as Trujillo Street was just on the other side). Accordingly, I refer to the esplanade as "Trujillo" because its real name always escaped me. There, people gathered to view the market stalls, watch performers on two separate stages sing and/or dance, laugh with comedians in the small amphitheatre style instalments, snack on the local sweets or visit one of the several restaurants and bars.
A regular performer was "Michael Jackson Peruano" who would perform several of MJ's dances (pretty decently, too!) in costume. Parts of his acts were quite comedic and he always did well for tips. A favorite sweet dessert that Joel and I had on a few occasions was a mix of mazamorra and arroz con leche topped with a bit of dessicated coconut. Mazamorra is a kind of sweet gelatinous red goop with pieces of fruit in it. I don't particularly like it by itself, but together with arroz con leche (rice pudding), it was beautiful. ¡Que rico!
We jumped onto a tour combi circling the main parts of the city looking for tourists who wanted to visit Cerro San Cristobal. We did the route a couple of times until the combi was full and headed up the hill. At the top was the big white cross that is lit up at night, which can be seen from the Rimac River, so around San Francisco Plaza and Parque Muralla it glows from the top. The view was city as far as the eye can see on both sides of the hill.
The main plaza, the Plaza de Armas, was a block away from where we stayed so we constantly visited it. A couple of times at noon we would stand with the tourists outside the gates of the Palacio del Gobierno to catch part of the Changing Of The Guard ceremony, but most of the time, it was a great place to just chill out. We would regularly grab a fresh slice of pizza and coffee (s/.2,50) from Pizza Palace on the corner and sit on the steps of the iglesia to chat and people watch. Just for your information, the oven baked pizza at Pizza Palace is superior to the more famous Rustic pizza which is sadly only half-cooked in a hot box.
About five blocks from the Plaza de Armas was the Plaza San Martín. During "Lima Week", scaffolding was built around the monument of liberator San Martin so that people could climb up and see the statue up close.
Between the Plaza de Armas and Plaza San Martín lay five blocks of pedestrian mall. Clothes, shoes, bags, department stores, restaurants, cinemas, all the big city things. It reminded me somewhat of Florida Avenue of Buenos Aires only with less jaladores. In Miraflores there were also some nice department stores.
The city mercado was a several blocks away still and had your typical mercado items. Sometimes we would have breakfast there for under s/.5. There were also some small artesan markets at Trujillo.
But the busiest shopping area was Gamarra, a little far out of the city center. It consisted of a dozen blocks of multi-storey buildings in which every office was a small shop that sold clothes or shoes at bargain prices. The streets were shut off to traffic but still, pedestrian traffic rivaled the usual Lima traffic of the automotive kind. Joel needed to do some shopping for an outfit for work and I helped him choose some things, as well as suggest he cut his hair. With a new set of clothes and dress shoes, a haircut and a nice new sportscoat, he became "The New Joe" and I will refer to him as "Joe" from now on.
While in Lima, we watched a few movies but evenings alternated between wandering about Trujillo to watch different acts or rewatch Michael Jackson Peruano since he was always entertaining and other places like Miraflores or the parks. Some nights we looked for a bar with a live rock band.
For cumbia and salsa dancing, we visited a street in the district of Los Olivos where clubs stood side by side, some with their own themes of highland music, rock or electro. Another clubbing area was called Banana Boulevard which also had live rock and even criolla.
We were fortunate to be visiting Lima during Lima Week (more like a month) as there were three free concerts held in the Plaza de Armas. A large stage was set up and people filled the square to enjoy the music and dance. Two of Peru's most popular cumbia bands, Grupo5 and Hermanos Yaipen featured in them, though the third concert was more varied and included highland, jungle and criollo acts. The President attended this one, leaning on a speaker and drinking beer from stage right while the performers did their thing.
I spent a few weeks there, some days exploring the streets and walking for miles, other days visiting parks, watching movies, going to clubs, bars or just chilling out.
Parks And Plazas
The Circuito Magico del Agua is a beautiful large park where a dozen different water fountains are on display twice a week. From traditional style fountains to interactive ones, a couple of hours spent there was worth the small entry fee. One of the major fountains was a water jet, mist, laser, projection and music extravaganza. There was a water arch you could walk under and one that the kids enjoyed, where you walked over the flat surface as jets of water sprayed from underfoot seemingly randomly. Crazy kids getting wet in the chill.Parque Kennedy was always a nice visit in lovely Miraflores. With its artesan craft stalls, performers and snack trolleys, we visited it a few times. Nearby was a Starbucks, where I bought Joel his first "gringo style" coffee and he now sometimes craves its cafe mocha. Several blocks towards the coast was the Larcomar mall embedded in the cliff side, but we were disappointed to visit the area during El Dia de Musica Criolla (Creole Music Day, the same day as Hallowe'en) and discover that there was no sign of the music culture but all sign of the North
American holiday instead.
Close to the main square was Parque Muralla, kind of an esplanade by Rio Rimac built around the remants of the old city wall. It had pleasant gardens with plenty of benches to chill out on and bouganvillea covered terraces, some entertainment for kids and small souvenir shops as well. A few nights, Joel and I would bring the guitar to the park to sing and play.About two blocks from the hostel was a kind of esplanade near a colorfully lit bridge I called the Trujillo bridge ("Trujillo" was a landmark for buses to stop, as Trujillo Street was just on the other side). Accordingly, I refer to the esplanade as "Trujillo" because its real name always escaped me. There, people gathered to view the market stalls, watch performers on two separate stages sing and/or dance, laugh with comedians in the small amphitheatre style instalments, snack on the local sweets or visit one of the several restaurants and bars.
A regular performer was "Michael Jackson Peruano" who would perform several of MJ's dances (pretty decently, too!) in costume. Parts of his acts were quite comedic and he always did well for tips. A favorite sweet dessert that Joel and I had on a few occasions was a mix of mazamorra and arroz con leche topped with a bit of dessicated coconut. Mazamorra is a kind of sweet gelatinous red goop with pieces of fruit in it. I don't particularly like it by itself, but together with arroz con leche (rice pudding), it was beautiful. ¡Que rico!
We jumped onto a tour combi circling the main parts of the city looking for tourists who wanted to visit Cerro San Cristobal. We did the route a couple of times until the combi was full and headed up the hill. At the top was the big white cross that is lit up at night, which can be seen from the Rimac River, so around San Francisco Plaza and Parque Muralla it glows from the top. The view was city as far as the eye can see on both sides of the hill.The main plaza, the Plaza de Armas, was a block away from where we stayed so we constantly visited it. A couple of times at noon we would stand with the tourists outside the gates of the Palacio del Gobierno to catch part of the Changing Of The Guard ceremony, but most of the time, it was a great place to just chill out. We would regularly grab a fresh slice of pizza and coffee (s/.2,50) from Pizza Palace on the corner and sit on the steps of the iglesia to chat and people watch. Just for your information, the oven baked pizza at Pizza Palace is superior to the more famous Rustic pizza which is sadly only half-cooked in a hot box.
About five blocks from the Plaza de Armas was the Plaza San Martín. During "Lima Week", scaffolding was built around the monument of liberator San Martin so that people could climb up and see the statue up close.
Shopping And Markets
Between the Plaza de Armas and Plaza San Martín lay five blocks of pedestrian mall. Clothes, shoes, bags, department stores, restaurants, cinemas, all the big city things. It reminded me somewhat of Florida Avenue of Buenos Aires only with less jaladores. In Miraflores there were also some nice department stores.
The city mercado was a several blocks away still and had your typical mercado items. Sometimes we would have breakfast there for under s/.5. There were also some small artesan markets at Trujillo.
But the busiest shopping area was Gamarra, a little far out of the city center. It consisted of a dozen blocks of multi-storey buildings in which every office was a small shop that sold clothes or shoes at bargain prices. The streets were shut off to traffic but still, pedestrian traffic rivaled the usual Lima traffic of the automotive kind. Joel needed to do some shopping for an outfit for work and I helped him choose some things, as well as suggest he cut his hair. With a new set of clothes and dress shoes, a haircut and a nice new sportscoat, he became "The New Joe" and I will refer to him as "Joe" from now on.Entertainment
While in Lima, we watched a few movies but evenings alternated between wandering about Trujillo to watch different acts or rewatch Michael Jackson Peruano since he was always entertaining and other places like Miraflores or the parks. Some nights we looked for a bar with a live rock band.
For cumbia and salsa dancing, we visited a street in the district of Los Olivos where clubs stood side by side, some with their own themes of highland music, rock or electro. Another clubbing area was called Banana Boulevard which also had live rock and even criolla.
We were fortunate to be visiting Lima during Lima Week (more like a month) as there were three free concerts held in the Plaza de Armas. A large stage was set up and people filled the square to enjoy the music and dance. Two of Peru's most popular cumbia bands, Grupo5 and Hermanos Yaipen featured in them, though the third concert was more varied and included highland, jungle and criollo acts. The President attended this one, leaning on a speaker and drinking beer from stage right while the performers did their thing.
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