Lima, Peru

We spent the month of January this year in Lima, Peru, with a weekend in Cusco and Machu Picchu. Our tendency to post up in a place for a relatively long stretch is both a necessity of maintaining a stable work-life, but also an opportunity for us to experience a place a little more thoroughly. So we rented an apartment for a month on 28 de Julio near the Expressway in Miraflores and enjoyed the city like we lived there.

Lima, kind of like Los Angeles, might not be the most eye-catching or novel destination to the weekend visitor, but, like LA, I find it livable and eclectic. It has history, character, diversity, and natural beauty, while maintaining a busy commercial modernity. I like a place that stands on it’s own two feet, unconcerned with me, the traveler, or with portraying some image that is expected of it. We spent the majority of our time in Miraflores and Barranco, as most visitors will do, and after a month I still feel like I have a lot more exploring to do in the city.

Franklin and I each had a primary reason for wanting to come to Lima.

Franklin is a paragliding pilot, and there’s an awesome flying site on the bluffs of Lima. Our buddies Eduardo and Jorge, among others, fly professional tandem flights, while guys like Franklin try not to crash into the cliffs on landing. I did a tandem flight with Eduardo and it was a fucking blast. The most incredible view of Lima and a thrill unlike anything I’ve done before.

My reason for settling on Lima was that it was a Spanish speaking place, so I went enrolled in a Spanish class at Peruwayna. I’m really glad that I did it. Four weeks of one-on-one instruction for two hours a day dramatically improved my skillset. I’m continuing to study with them online via Skype and hope to go back to Lima to spend more time there. I recommend Peruwayna highly to anyone looking to study Spanish in Peru or from anywhere in the world (through their online classes).

Of course the food in Peru is memorable. Our favorite restaurant is a place called LA73, whose name we Americanize to the chagrin of our friend Soleil; we say it like L.A. 73, when it’s actually La Setenta y Tres. Their coca-sours are the best in town and the food is crazy good. We went here more times than we care to admit, and had some great memories there when my Mom and step dad Joe came to town. We also ate ceviche for days (including the black variety, thanks to Claudia), all-you-can-eat Peruvian fusion Sushi (thanks Eduardo & Jorge), Lomo Saltado, Causa, Lucuma and Cherimoya Cremoladas, a lot of fish… Oh and we drank a ton of Cusqueñas.