Lima

It all started on Good Friday heading towards Lima, which was already a 24-hour drive according to Google Maps. Taking the bus felt like an endless journey, but we wanted to go straight to the coast, and we weren't feeling the towns south of Peru. Flying was certainly an option, but taking the bus was more spontaneous and much cheaper. And we had time! However, it took quite a toll on us, about 32-36 hours in total (something around that, we've pushed it out of our minds). We couldn't sit through in one bus as we expected, but had to change buses twice. It was a bit confusing, and at times we thought we were being scammed, but each time we were picked up and seated in the next bus. So we had a few hours in Puno again, for the third time we were there! At least we could stretch our legs and enjoy some pretty decent fish in bright sunshine. At some point on the way, caught in the infinity, a lady boarded who convinced us to try some local cheap wine that hit hard, so we had fun.

Lima is truly a huge city, and when we finally arrived at the bus station, it took an eternity until we got to our hostel in the Miraflores district via Uber. Miraflores is definitely one of the better neighborhoods in the city, with nice little houses and good infrastructure in terms of cafes and restaurants. Prices are a bit higher than the rest of Peru, but still reasonable; plus, there were sometimes nice tables on the terrace and more salad and vegetable options. We enjoyed it and spoiled ourselves. Our bodies really appreciated the return to sea level. We took walks through the neighborhood up on the cliffs (down there, unfortunately, it's very unattractive, loud, and dirty due to heavy traffic), watched surfers and paragliders, chilled with cats in Kennedy Park (they live there and are taken care of by volunteers), did some window shopping, and even went to the theater once. In between, we also visited the old town and checked out some catacombs in a convent, but otherwise, it was quite ugly and uncomfortable, just like in other parts of the city that we observed while passing through. So we quickly returned to our bubble in Miraflores and enjoyed life!