This was part of our Peru (2016) trip.
(Click here to see all our trips.)
Day 1: El Malecon, La Mar, Museo Larco, Huaca Pucllana
We arrived late last night and stayed in Hotel Monte Real in Miraflores. We arrived in Peru earlier to be on the safe side. This would also give us an extra day to explore Lima, which was not included in the tour.
This morning, we would just explore the Miraflores area around the hotel. El Malecón was a walkway along the coastal cliff top. It provided a magnificent view of the ocean and the coast.
In the Parque del Amor (Love Park), there was a long undulating wall with mosaic that reminded us of Antoni Gaudí’s Parc Güell in Barcelona (see our Barcelona trip). There was also a giant statue called El Beso (The Kiss) showing two lovers in a very passionate kiss. There were also some stores in the area, but we didn’t find anything interesting to buy.
We took a taxi ride to the famous cebicheria La Mar for lunch. We ordered causa (layered potato with seafood), tiradito (thin cut fish with a lime-based sauce) and ceviche (chunk of fish marinated in juice). Then we saw people at the next table eating very delicious looking grilled seafood. So, we used the tried-and-true restaurant ordering strategy:
“We want to order what they are eating!”
All the dishes were so good that Rei was super impressed. (Later, we also tried La Mar in San Francisco and in Santiago, Chile, but they weren’t as good.)
After lunch, another taxi ride took us to Museo Larco. The museum had a large collection of pre-Columbian art. However, it was most famous for the X-rated sala erotica (erotic room) displaying some artwork inappropriate for young viewers.
Afterwards, we went to Huaca Pucllana. This was an interesting place with a clay and adobe pyramid as well as other ruins and displays. The pyramid was lit up at night and looked very impressive. There was also a restaurant onsite where we had our dinner. It’s unusual to have dinner right by an ancient site.
Day 2: Plaza de Armas, Lima Cathedral, Convento de San Francisco
There’s a welcome meeting at 6pm tonight. Otherwise, we had the entire day to explore Lima. We went to the city center, where many famous attractions were situated.
Like many Latin American cities, the major plaza in Lima was called Plaza de Armas. The plaza was surrounded by several important buildings, including the Cathedral and the Government Palace.
The Cathedral was where Francisco Pizarro was entombed. Pizarro was a famous (or infamous) Spanish conquistador, who conquered and destroyed the Inca Empire. The interior of the cathedral was ornated with many religious artworks.
Another important building was the gated Government Palace where we saw the changing of the guard at noon. Even though we had to view from outside of the gate through very high iron fences, it was still very impressive! The ceremony was accompanied by the well-recognized music piece “El Condor Pasa” (a.k.a. “If I Could”).
We had lunch in a downtown restaurant eating Piri Piri chicken. It’s a famous chicken dish with spicy sauce and tasted very good.
We also visited Convento de San Francisco and its beautiful courtyards. We spent a lot of time exploring the vast convent and museum. The place was famous for its catacombs underground, but we didn’t go there.
Afterwards, we strolled to Plaza San Martin, where there’s a giant statue of General Jose de San Martin, who led the independence of Argentina. Then we had to return to the hotel for the welcome meeting.
