Lima is the heart and soul of Peru. Containing over 11 million people, it is home to a third of the countries population. Only pipped to the post by Cairo, it is the second largest desert city in the world. We spent 10 days there, yet we never got a glimpse of the sun. Work that one out!
We began our stay in Lima on the outskirts of the city right on one of the cities many beaches. Our arrival coincided with a time of the year called the “garua“, whereby the city is covered in thick grey mist from morning to night. This sea mist is caused by interactions between warm inland desert winds and the cool water streams of the Pacific Ocean. Given that this phenomenon occurs for five consecutive months of the year (June-October), the locals have to travel elsewhere to find their dose of Vitamin D during this time.
Our beach stay was nice, although the weather did not lend itself to much sea swimming. Also, we were beginning to see more and more rubbish in and around the coastal area of Peru, which unfortunately made its way onto the beaches and into the water.
We decided to move right into the centre of the city, to a neighbourhood called Baranco. This is a lovely area, with contemporary art galleries and museums, cafes and restaurants, and joggers and cyclists all around. We managed to find a quiet street overlooking the (very misty) Pacific Ocean where we stayed happily for a whole week.
The area around Barranco, plus the adjacent neighbourhood of Miraflores, really encouraged exploring due to the wonderful walkway and bike lane located all the way along the coast. We enjoyed visiting the Parque Maria Reiche, the Parque del Amor, the Parque Chino, before an action-packed trip to the BMX track in the Parque Grau. We had rented bikes for the day in Anza Bikes in Miraflores, and had real fun racing along for the afternoon. Such amenities are so much appreciated by locals and visitors alike when local councils invest in them. We certainly appreciated it that day.
Lima’s historical centre was also paid a visit. We strolled the area close to the Plaza Mayor which was nice. Given Lima’s extensive colonial history (it was the centre of Spanish rule for over 200 years), the buildings here represent the political, administrative, religious and economic of this time period. Later that day, we went to the San Isidro area of the city. Located a mere 7km away, this upmarket business and shopping area is very different from the historical centre and all its intricacies.
Our time in Lima was also spent ferrying kids from football to gymnastics classes in the evenings. This mostly took place in the Chorrillos area of the city. While the areas around the classes were more or less fine, it is not an area we would recommend heading to unless you had a specific reason to venture there. Added to this, the crazy Lima traffic makes any road trip in the city really challenging.
250km south of Lima lies the Paracas National Reserve. The Reserve spans desert, ocean and islands and is home to wildlife like sea lions, dolphins and migratory birds. It also houses a great biological diversity, particularly in the marine-coastal area. It is estimated that there are over 200 species of birds, 35 of mammals, 10 of reptiles, and 170 of fish.
Covering over 335,000 hectares, this amounts to nearly half a million football pitches in size. As such, our brief visit would have barely made it past tip-off, yet we really enjoyed the land and sea based activities. We drove through parts of the Reserve including to Playa Roja, Lagunillas and Playa Yumaque. The roads themselves were a little challenging for our vehicle so we did not make it to some of the other highlights however.
The next day we jumped on a boat trip to see some of the incredible wildlife on show. We were in awe at the thousands of birds as they flew in near single file past us for what seemed like an eternity not far from the shore. We were then fortunate enough to spot penguins and a seals throughout the morning sailing.
We had enjoyed our time in Lima and Paracas. The weather in Lima slightly curtailed our enjoyment or perception of the place (10 days without any sun whatsoever will definitely do that to you). Paracas by contrast did provide sun, and some beautiful scenery, although the roads within the Reserve had limited our ability to see as many areas as we would have liked. Overall some good times for sure, but perhaps lacking the wow factor we had felt in other large cities or national parks in South America.
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