Well well, if you are tapped into travel blogs like I am, you may have come across a weird sentiment towards Lima, Peru, with people calling it just a stopover city you can see in a day or two. With that impression in mind, I thought I would stay just one night in the city center and be on my way back to surfing or climbing mountains in a smaller town. But I was so pleasantly surprised, and ended up spending three nights and four full days trying to see both the touristic and more local parts of the city! In hindsight, my recommendation is that this would be a great place to spend several nights- a week if you a more slow traveler like me, and of course if you are just trying to book it to Machu Picchu maybe cramming as much as you can in a day will give you a nice taste of what Lima has to offer.
After an excruciating, but somehow tolerable 22 hour bus from Cusco, I arrived in Lima a bit discombobulated but nonetheless happy to no longer be on a moving vehicle. I stayed in 1900 Hostel, a beautiful old home with lots of light and high ceilings, which I think is the most affordable and clean hostel in Lima for the price, and comes with free breakfast to start your day! It's a safe twenty minute walk from the hostel to the historic center, and I chose this hostel because it was close to the bus station. Though many travelers choose to stay in the super beautiful Miraflores neighborhood, that part of town is very Westernized and I found it more fun to stay somewhere with a bit more of Lima's signature chaos haha.
After a week in the mountains I was tweaking to surf and so I got together with a surf buddy to surf at Makaha beach, probably the most beginner friendly and accessible surf spot just under the cliffs of Miraflores. Honestly, the surf here is super legit! I was pretty freaked out by the bigger sets and found myself staying closer to the shore because the main wave breaks realllly far out to sea. I only surfed two days in Lima, but another day we tried to surf La Pampilla which is a right point break a few hundred meters away, but the current and unfamiliarity of the wave was a bit too much for me and I never made it out. If you don't have a board with you, it's easy but a bit pricey to rent a board and 3/2 mm wetsuit from guys that line the beach... even if you don't wanna surf, coming here for sunset is a definite must, with beautiful pink skies and staggering city skyscrapers along the cliffs that make for that picture perfect Lima postcard.
Miraflores is probably the nicest/ cleanest neighborhood you'll ever see, like a nicer version of Santa Monica, CA
I went on probably my worst walking tour yet that was arranged by my hostel and gave me no useful information about Lima city or Peru... but it wasn't a total loss because we were brought to a completely vegetarian almuerzo place, which served traditional homecooked Peruvian dishes, but with all plant-based ingredients! And for the same price as a typical dish ~$2.50!
Like Cusco, being in Lima was fun because it was much more international-- I was able to finally get my boba milk tea at some super yummy spots around the city, got some tasty iced coffees, and really nice vegan meals at great prices! A favorite thing was getting some delicious ice cream flavors made with local fruits-- lucuma and tuna (from the cactus!) were some of my faves. Getting around the city was nerve-wracking at first because the internet makes taxis sound hella sketchy, HOWEVER uber is everywhere and affordable, so that's how I opted to get around. Lima does have a big infrastructure problem with their transit, though, and police have to direct traffic because there is too much gridlock for the streetlights to even be functional.
bubble tea: té burbuja
Some other highlights from Lima were exploring its many neighborhoods... from the city center, Chinatown, Miraflores, and my personal favorite, the arsty, colorful Barranco by the sea.. there is so much you can see from just walking around this massive city! A highlight was being in Miraflores one evening during the Peru v Uruguay game, and there was a huge celebratory parade in the streets after. It was so special to witness the pride of the Peruvians when it comes to their futbol...
I believe Lima is up there with SoCal for being one of the cities with the best weather/sunshine! When I was there in their late summer, it was HOT!
this elephant is made of baby alpaca wool and no it doesn't fit in my backpack and i bought it anyways :)
All in all, between the access to surf, good weather, good food, and good people, I really saw myself living here, if even as a digital nomad, for a bit of time. It's such a good place for people who want to go on an urban adventure while staying close to the sea and sunshine. If I ever have a city-girl phase, its much more likely gonna be here than in New York. Gracias Lima, hasta pronto!
