Sloppy Seconds in Lovely Lima

I must explain what I mean by "sloppy seconds" straight away. You see this is my 2nd visit to Lima (the first being back in 2003) and when I first came here, I was not altogether impressed. I remember feeling on edge and wary of pickpockets at every turn, but now that I'm back? The city feels familiar, nay cozy, like I just slipped on a comfortable pair of loafers. Weird, huh? I have no idea why I feel so much more relaxed unless it's just how much it differs from Quito. In the latter city, I NEVER felt truly safe and was 110% reluctant to pull out my camera in order to take a pic. But in Lima (at least more specifically in Miraflores & Barranco)? I walk around with my camera around my neck and shoot to my heart's content. So I am definitely appreciating my sloppy second helping
of this city!

So here's the scoop on my visit thus far...

My overnight bus from Trujillo arrived in Lima on time practically to the minute at 6:30 AM
Friday and I caught a taxi to my accommodation, Pucllana Lodge, in Miraflores for 20 soles (too much apparently but then I can't disguise my inherent gringoness). However, it was sooo early in the morning that I feared waking the manager so I chose to chill out at a cafe around the corner. Once the hour seemed reasonable (8:30), I walked back to my hostel and was warmly granted entry.

Pucllana Lodge is spectactularly maintained and whoever decorated the place exhibits
impeccable taste when it comes to interior design. I'm staying in a dorm room ($13.50), but for the past 3 nights, I have had the dorm all to myself!

On Friday, I opted to explore Miraflores on foot. I visited the South American Explorers Clubhouse firstly and gathered up some useful intel/maps and then visited a travel agent recommended by the club. I ended up purchasing a one-way airline ticket to Cuzco on Star Peru
(Gosh, I sure do hope their air safety record is...gulp...good) for around $100. I depart on Tuesday morning (Nov 29). Once my travel arrangements were settled, I ambled down the avenue Larco until I reached LarcoMar, a magnificent shopping mall carved into the cliffside of Miraflores, facing the ocean. While there, I chose to abandon my backpacker persona as it was "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving, which is the busiest shopping
day in the USA. How could I possibly ignore the deafening call of my credit card?!? I had my first Starbucks there since arriving in South America and I also did some minor financial damage at L'Occitane. Spending money frivolously felt delightfully decadent after so many weeks of frugality!

Minor observation: I spotted a "woman" walking around the mall, but I'm certain it was actually a man who'd been taking hormone pills for he had developed a perky pair of breasts.
But yep, I'm absolutely sure it was a man because his HIPS DON'T LIE!

That first day I dined at a cheap but tasty vegetarian restaurant called Sabor y Vida, which
offers a set lunch menu for only 9 soles. I then stumbled on home to my lodge for a much-
needed siesta (which ultimately turned into a lengthy snooze since I had slept very little on
the night bus).

On Saturday, I was delighted to share my breakfast table with Michael and Veronika, two fellow travelers staying at the Pucllana Lodge. Michael is a Greek man who has come to Lima as a sort of "scout". He's planning to move here with his family but has come ahead of the wife and kids in order to secure the housing. But he isn't traveling alone exactly! His wife gave
him the option of travelling to Lima with either their 3 children or their family pet, a Siamese cat named Janis. He opted for the feline and so I've been enjoying daily doses of affection from his furry companion.

After brekkie, I headed off to the nearby ruins of Huaca Pucllana. I was pleasantly surprised
to discover that these ruins pre-date the Incas AND this visit offered me the opportunity to encounter 3 more hairless Peruvian dogs! But this time I seized the day and managed to touch one of them! You see I was curious as to how hot they would be based on what I'd read
about them and their body temperatures. So are they hotter than your average poodle?? Well folks, I refuse to divulge the secret of this fine but ugly canine so if you want to know just how hot a Peruvian hairless dog is, than you will have to venture down south of
the equator to find out!!

Once I'd finished rubbing up against (Sounds tawdry!) one of these HOT beasts, I hailed a "combi" (mini bus transport)to central Lima in order to catch the free walking tour
there run by LucidLima.com on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 12:30. It's a "free" tour in the sense that there is no fee to tag along, but tips are well-appreciated at the end. The young lady who ran our tour was overflowing with enthusiasm and like, gave us tons of like incredibly awesome info on the ugly history of this dude Pisarro, the Incas, the Shining Path terrorist movement of the 80's-90's and like it was sooo cool to hear her dish about the city! LOL!! Okay, so this young lady, bless her heart, did have the unfortunate
tendency to use words such as "like" and "suck" to the point of ad nauseum BUT her enthusiasm for history was positively unbridled and interesting! I definitely recommend this tour for those not already familiar with the torrid history of how Spain came and ruthlessly
conquered the Incas to found Lima, the "City of Kings".

Once the tour terminated, I bought a ticket for the San Francisco monastery & catacombs. It's a worthy stop, especially for those more morbidly inclined, as the catacombs are the final
resting place for thousands of human bones (specifically femurs, tibias and skulls). You must
NOT take any photos or videos anywhere in the monastery as signs strategically placed in
every.single.room. remind you. Perhaps the penalty for breaking this rule is to have
the flesh stripped from your bones by the spooky vultures which sit perched upon the rooftop
of the monastery and then to have your bones thrown into the catacombs for future tourists to
ooh and aah over. Hmmm, I think it's best to keep one's camera safely tucked away for the
tour's duration, no?

After that I roamed around the Plaza de Armas and then decided I'd played tourist for long enough so I hightailed it back to my lodging. The Lucid Lima tour guide had suggested I hop on one of the brand spanking new metropolitano buses (which opened only a year ago). In order to use this impressively clean & efficient public transport, you are supposed to first
purchase a card for 3 soles and then buy rides (1.50 soles) as needed thereafter. However,
many people don't bother to buy the card and simply wait around the station until some random
kind soul takes pity and lets them use their card. This is what happened to me and, as a
major bonus, I was befriended by my benefactress, Irma. We got to talking during the bus ride
and she ended up giving me her telephone numbers, urging me to call if I needed a place to
hang my hat on Xmas day. Knowing that I'd be nowhere near Lima for the holiday, I instead
invited her to join me the next day for a coffee in her neck of the woods, i.e. the Bohemian
enclave of Barranco. She enthusiastically accepted my invite and indeed we did meet for a few
hours (more on that later).

For dinner that evening, I went to yet another vegetarian place, La Pascana de Madre Natura, which also has a health food store on the premises. It was a bit pricey but decent grub (25
soles for a pizza and big glass of juice).

Sunday (Nov 27) - Today was all about my visit with Irma in Barranco. We met at noon on the Bridge of Sighs and she took me on a little walk down to the beach. She claimed it was relatively clean to swim there but frankly I would have to be hog-tied and forcibly dunked in the water because there is no way I'd willingly risk swimming in the coastal waters of Lima.
But then I ain't much of a swimmer...

Irma hailed a cab which took us down to the port in Chorillos, another neighborhood in Lima. Personally, I wish I'd brought nose plugs as the fishermen's catch of the day stunk up the place and I would have literally gasped outloud if I'd not been in Irma's company. How in
hell can anyone consume something which smells ever so nasty??!?!

After this smelly interlude, we went strolling through Barranco and visited an eclectic electricity museum where I learned that an electric oven consumes way more watts than any other electrical appliance you can name! We also toured an exquisite old mansion which is now
a museum with beautiful religious paintings & artifacts ("Museo Pedro De Osma"). Irma, herself, had never been there so I was pleased to be the catalyst in her discovery of such a
local gem of an attraction.

We finally sat down and had a drink together and it was then that she explained what had made her extend a helping hand to me on the bus the day before. You see 10 years ago Irma had been
on holiday in New York City and one day found herself incredibly lost. She started crying profusely as she spoke no English at that time and felt absolutely helpless and afraid.
It was then that a couple of good Samaritans approached her and asked her what was wrong. She managed to communicate her sad situation using gestures and just a few English words and
this couple then made it their mission to see her safely "home". Irma has never forgotten
these helpful strangers and vowed that she would "Pay It Forward" whenever she got the chance
thereafter. Such a nice story and I was privileged to be her "Tourist in Distress" that day.

Once we finished our cafe chat, we parted ways and I then spent some time serenely journalling at a Barranco rooftop cafe with a view of the sea. After that I took my sweet ass
time strolling back to my accommodation via the cliffside path which links Barranco and
Miraflores.