PERU 2025
Day 9
It's a very early 6:30 pickup for our 9:40 flight back to Lima. We have to go to Juliaca where the airport is located, and we're all just glad to be dropped at the door of the airport instead of in the town.
We end up on the bus and flight with Rhiannon and her mom, both from Winnipeg, for this last leg of the trip. We all agree that the inside of the airport and it's art is much nicer than the city it is located in. We have a bit of a wait for our flight, and it's good to get to know them better. Yes, Rhiannon's mom was a Fleetwood Mac fan.
The tail end of a local Peruvian woman's braid hangs into my space... ugh
Lima Again
Lima's altitude is very low, with the historic center being about 154 meters (505 feet) above sea level, it's so nice to be back where you can breathe properly again.
Before noon, we are back at the same Ibis hotel in Lima again. They won't let us check in until 3:00, and when I ask not to be given the little room with 2 tiny beds I'm given the "That's what is available" speech. I let the girl know that I will be contacting Exoticca to see why we weren't getting the type of rooms we booked, and left our luggage in the security room.
Everything in the hotel has been Christmasified since we were last here, but it doesn't feel like it right now.
Our first objective was to go find the Paddington in Peru statue that we had somehow missed on our first visit to Larcomar (shopping center). We had recently watched the movie on a flight and needed to see this homage to the little bear.
The last time we were in Lima, we walked North along the Malecón towards Love Park, so today we decided to walk South towards Bajado de Baños, an area know for it's murals.
Avoiding traffic, there is a new pedestrian bridge called the Puente de la Paz, unique in that the entire center stretch of the bridge is glass. Not intimidating at all, at least not as intimidating as all the police with dogs that are hanging around here.
We decided to stop for lunch at República Del Pisco as it was the first restaurant we noticed walking the length of the Malecón, and we are glad we did. It had a nice atmosphere, and the food was very tasty. I had the mini Alpaca burgers.
Nearby was the mural area Rhiannon had told us about. The Bajada de Baños is a famous path that leads down to the beach, it is full of plants, trees, and large colourful art pieces.
Since we weren't allowed to change our clothes in public, we didn't walk all the way to the beach, and headed back up the path.
The Puente de los Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs) built back in 1876, is one of the most famous landmarks in the Barranco District of Lima. Legend states that those who set sight on the bridge for the first time are entitled to a single wish if they can cross its 30-meter span without taking a single breath... We didn't learn about that until we ran into Jasmine and Nathan from our Exoticca group, as they were on the way there, and we were almost back. Oh well, no wishes today.
We headed back across the glass bridge to our hotel, and maybe because I did send a message to Exoticca about our reception at the Ibis earlier, we were given a room with a nice big bed.
Amazing view from our room
We decided to have dinner at a restaurant that was very close to us called Voga Lima, the reviews were great, and I wanted to have some of the fresh Ceviche Peru is famous for. We didn't really feel like walking very far, so when it turns out Voga Lima is in the hotel you are staying in, it's a very nice surprise. The restauarant gave us complimentary appetizers of mollusk, Norine ordered a small salad, and I had the Larco Ceviche and a large kernel corn with three cheese dish, which were both delicious. It was way too much food though, we couldn't finish our free mollusk, maybe it was the altitude, or lack thereof?
Day 10
We ended up with almost a full extra day in Lima because of a cancelled flight that was rescheduled. So we decided to make the most of it, and go see some of the things we missed on our original Lima tour.
Out into the streets we go for our premier destination... The Cat Park. The cats were originally brought into the park in the 80's to deal with a rat issue and then the cats just stayed there. At least that's the story of how John F. Kennedy Park came to be filled with dozens of cats. In appreciation, a local animal rights group keeps feeding the cats and providing them with shelter and medical care. Today the park is affectionately known as El Parque de Los Gatos, the Cat Park.
The sign says "Only balanced food and pâté. ¡Avoid giving them inappropriate foods!" This seems to be covered by locals who bring them fresh dry and wet cat food each day. Throughout the park are little kitty condos, so they can stay warm and dry.
Such a cute and fun place to visit, and no we did not follow the travel clinic's advice of not petting the cats.
Right next to the cat park is the Parroquia la Virgen Milagrosa (Miraculous Virgin Parish). It was built in 1930, and one of the notable features of the church is its stained glass windows. The windows, located on the wings of the church, tell the story of Jesus's life.
It's kind of funny as the cats wander in and out of the church, and you see the little
church ladies wag their fingers at them...
tsk tsk tsk, and probably telling them in Spanish to leave, but they have big smiles on
their faces.
You don't expect to see an old Tudor style house with a plane in the front yard, but the Institute for Aerospace Historical Studies of Peru is right here in the middle of the city.
Norine got a little excited that we may have found a giant Xmas store here in Lima. We crossed a very busy road to go check it out, turns out it's just a grocery store decorated for Christmas.
So many interesting things to see as you walk through the different neighbourhoods, this guy was not on his way to the cat park.
We only drove past the Pucllana Archaeological pyramid site on our first tour in Lima, so we wanted to go back and actually visit the site. Among the many ancient ruins in Peru, you may not expect to find pyramids. Yet, right in the middle of Lima sits Huaca Pucllana. ("Huaca" meaning "pyramid" or "temple" in Quechua).
The Lima culture occupied the central coast of Peru from 200 to 700 AD and constructed Huaca Pucllana during that period. At that time, what is now Lima was rich farmland with intricate canals branching off from the Surco River. The Pyramids were constructed from small adobe bricks and straw, It stands about 25 meters tall and was constructed using a technique called “adobe librillo,” where the bricks are placed vertically to better withstand earthquakes (very useful in Lima).
Huaca Pucllana was mostly forgotten until 1967. Up until then, construction in Lima went along as normal around and sometimes on top of the site. In 1981 an excavation started with intense investigation and conservation efforts.
It's strange to see this site, completely surrounded by office buildings and streets. for a thousand years it was hidden under a blanket of dirt, with all the locals just thinking it was a hill. There is still a large portion of the pyramid that has not been excavated yet.
On certain terraces are small holes, some used for poles that held up protective coverings, and others that are specifically for making offerings. The larger holes were for burials of mummies.
At the back of the archaeological site is the accommodations for the archaeologists as well as a garden and zoo area showing the plants and animals that were native to this area.
What a fascinating stop this was, I'm glad we had the extra time to check it out.
On our first tour in Lima, we were taken to Plaza de Armas, but there was a few things we weren't able to see in our time there, so we called an Uber and headed back to the historical center of Lima.
One of the locations we never had time to see was the Catacombs. The catacombs are located beneath the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco and served as the city's colonial-era cemetery until 1810. It is a labyrinth of underground tunnels containing the remains of over 25,000 people. The basilica was closed, so we went straight into the museo convento.
The only way to see them is a guided tour that includes the convent, so we had to wait about 20 minutes for the next English tour. Our guide was very informative, and spoke very good English, but she sounded like an AI driven robot. Once again we were not allowed to take photographs, but they did have a fine collection of postcards available.
After seeing the different areas of the convent and it's beautiful art and woodwork, we were led down the stairs, deeper and deeper underneath the structure to where the catacombs begin. To say we saw lots of bones would be an understatement, many of the tunnels you had to duck to get through, and it was like a maze to navigate. Many of the areas had been walled off and they are still unsure how deep or far some of the catacombs may go.
Back above ground, the 16th century Basilica was now open, so we were able to look inside.
After having some lunch on one of the pedestrian streets with the worlds grumpiest waiter, we tried to go see the Cathedral again. When we tried to enter, we are stopped and told that is only open for prayer, and no Photos are allowed again. Tourists can come back on Saturday, I guess we don't look like we are there to pray.
Unlike the last time we were here, the square is open, people are all around the fountain and decorations are being put up for Christmas. The only area blocked off now is the front of the governors palace.
We had to get away from the square to get an Uber, and by the time we were able to get a car we decided to skip the last planned stop which was the Parque de la Reserva, which contains the Magic Water Tour which is currently the world record holder for the largest fountain complex in the world, consisting of 13 distinct fountains. We'll have to put it on the list for another time. As it turns out, it was a wise decision, as we got stuck in brutal traffic, and it took us an hour and a half to get back to our hotel.
As we are crawling through the lanes of traffic, barely moving on the main highway, we realize that no-one pays attention to the "Silencio" no horns signs, and it just seems like a free for all with no real traffic rules.
Hey, there's a Canada bus terminal in the middle of the Highway!
We got back to the hotel with enough time to pack our bags and be in the lobby for our 8:20 pickup to the airport. There was a few technical glitches getting us checked in, but the Latam desk agent made sure we were sorted for our 12:50am flight to LAX.
After meeting so many people as part of this Exoticca tour, we were down to just the 4 of us from BC. We had a late meal with Katherine and Lynda before taking the long walk to our gate when it was finally displayed. Along the way the Airport Assistance Cart comes by and offers to take Norine and Lynda to the gate. We can see the both of them laughing as Katherine and I are left behind to walk the rest of the way.
There must be some strange South America security concern with American customs, because for the second time in our lives, we have the water we purchased after clearing security taken away on the jetway to the plane. No advance warning, nothing is said at the duty free selling the water, just a waste of money unless you want to stand there and drink it before boarding.
When we land in LAX, we need to collect our luggage, walk it down a hall to drop it on another carousel for YVR... even though it's supposed to be tagged all the way through. We then had to leave the building and re-clear security to get to the terminal we were departing from. Oh well, such is travel. We had breakfast at Barney's Beanery with Katherine and Lynda, and before we knew it, we were on the last flight of our trip back to Vancouver.
There was some great adventures and spectacular sights on this Peruvian tour. We met some great people and saw things that we had only seen on TV and travel shows for most of our lives, but it's always a nice feeling when you arrive back home after a trip.
We collected some unique souvenirs for our Infamous Travel Xmas Tree, Oreo got some new cat toys, but most importantly, we got to sleep in the comfort of our own bed with the amazing memories of this trip in our dreams.
