Day 44. Lima, Peru. 1.3.25

We have an early 5.5 hour flight out of Rio today to Peru, to start our last country to explore. It will be lunchtime when we get to our hotel, as we lose 2 hours due to time differences, so we will have plenty of time to wander around exploring at our leisure. Now we are 15 hours behind Brisbane. 

"Lima, the capital of Peru, sits on the country's arid Pacific coast. Founded in 1535, its colonial centre is well preserved, but today Lima is a bustling metropolis and one of South America’s largest cities. The city is home to the various museums including the Museo Larco that houses a collection of pre-Columbian art and the Museo de la Nación, tracing the history of Peru’s ancient civilizations. Lima is known as the “gastronomical capital of the Americas”, encompassing specialities from ceviche and traditional coastal cooking to renowned global fare. It even boasts several of the top restaurants in the world."

"If you have any free days during your stay, we recommend that you take a visit to the Larcomar shopping centre. Located on a cliff with spectacular views of the Pacic Ocean in the heart of Lima's Miraores district, it is worth the visit. You can either walk from Barranco or have your hotel arrange a taxi for you. Additionally, Huaccu Pucllana is a massive adobe and clay pyramid built between 200 and 700 AD. It served as an important ceremonial and administrative centre for the advancement of Lima culture, constructed from seven staggered platforms. Take a taxi to this amazing site in Miraores (closed on Tuesday & Thursdays). You can take a tour upon arrival, or simply admire the structure while sipping a coffee or a pisco sour in the lovely Peruvian restaurant overlooking the site (opening hours are Mon-Sat 12:00pm - 10:00pm and Sun 12:00pm - 8:00pm). Or if you are interested in history and archaeology, a visit to the one-of-a-kind private Museo Larco could be an unforgettable experience. Discover over 5000 years of ancient Peruvian civilisations and the intimate bond that existed between pre-Columbian societies and the natural world. Open daily, however it is a good idea to check if a guided tour in English is available prior to visiting."

Our driver was due at 3.30am and arrived 15 minutes early.  Lucky we were organised.  Our flight was scheduled for 7.15 and was 20 minutes late departing. Just as we were going through immigration in Lima, Peru, the computer system went down for about 20 minutes. Our driver was getting worried when we finally got out.

Departing Rio.

Our first glimpses of Peru 🇵🇪 

We have 2 nights at the Casa Republica in Barranco, Lima. It's an old 3 story family home which has been converted to a boutique hotel. Our room wasn't ready so we had lunch in their garden restaurant. 

The front building is 107 years old. 

We are on the 3rd floor.

After a rest we headed out on foot to explore. 

Lima is very hilly. We discovered that our hotel was on top of a very high hill.

Hotel entrance. 

Some how we have to get down the bottom. 

We found a pathway eventually that took us to this bridge. It was a tiring walk in the heat.

One of the stair cases.

Finally found a road that wound its way down. 

Houses built on the cliff. The cliff faces are all covered in netting due to a lot of seismic activity. 

No sand here.

More steps to climb. 

Crossing another bridge to walk along the cliff face.

Every square mm of beach was taken with umbrellas ⛱️

The way back up to home had lots of murals, art shops/galleries and more steps.

Pub night every night on holidays. 

I managed to eat half of this very delicious lasagne. Mark had a really nice osso bucco and some lasagne.  We had dinner in the hotel garden.

This fruit is called Tumbo. It's very similar to a passionfruit but a LOT bigger. 

Our afternoon walk while not overly long, 4.8 kms, was very hilly. It was 27° but felt much warmer. My fitbit watch says we walked 8kms today.