Goodbye Mexico - Peru here we come (03.03+04.03.2022)

For this time, we combined two days due to time constraints, which were quite intense. On Thursday (03.03.), we enjoyed the great breakfast offer together with Kathi&Georg in Playa in our fancy hotel and reflected on the days we spent together and the Mexican culture. We summarized some of the insights in the article 10 tips: https://vakantio.de/the-bl/10-tipps-fur-deinen-trip-auf-die-halbinsel-yucatan-mexiko

At 11:00, the shuttle to Cancun airport was waiting for us and took us to the very busy airport in about 50 minutes. The plan was to fly with the airline Volaris Mexico City at 14:30, but Volaris didn't play along. In the end, we had a lot of time at the airport, as we only took off at 18:10 with a delay of a proud 3.5 hours for a flight that is just over 2 hours long. At least there was some time to reflect on the days in Mexico (sorting photos, writing articles) and to observe the bustling activity at the terminal.

At Mexico City airport, after we had everything together, we were taken by the internal train (similar to Frankfurt) to the luggage at Terminal 2 (unfortunately, this also took a long time). The airport is simply gigantic and has a capacity of around 32 million passengers per year, which in non-Corona years was actually over 48 million. Terminal two is a pure airline Aero Mexico terminal, and since the airline operates in the upper segment, it's not as crowded or chaotic as Terminal 1. After an evening snack and Ukrainian news in Spanish, we finally boarded the plane to Lima at midnight.

Unfortunately, the flight was not quite calm, as we encountered strong turbulence several times, which did not promote deep sleep. Nevertheless, we both managed to get some sleep, which is not surprising after such a long day. The immigration process in Peru brought another queue, which, however, was felt to be less than 1 hour this time and was made more enjoyable by a good internet connection at the airport. A good start to the new destination. Change money (by the way, the euro rate has been significantly lower than the dollar and also the sol = currency of Peru in recent days!) and wait for the booked shuttle to the accommodation. At the time of pick-up, it is already 09:00 local time (-6 hours from CET) and we have been on the road for 22 hours.

During the transfer to our bed&breakfast (https://belmahotels.com/es/) in the Bobo district of Miraflores, we get a first impression of the capital of Peru, which is bordered on its eastern end by the Pacific and on the western side (about 30 km in length) by mountain ranges. After about 50 minutes, we arrive and take a shower, evaluating plans for the remaining day. We fluctuate between completely relaxing and going out into the city, after all, we can motivate ourselves for some activities.

While strolling through the city to our lunch spot, we are amazed at how clean and well maintained the neighborhood is. Of course, we are in one of the very affluent areas ( "of course" should not be misunderstood, in others there is hardly any tourist offer + it is too dangerous for non-Peruvians), but also in a metropolis of a developing country, and in some places it looks more like the 7th district of Vienna. Our lunch spot (https://barramaretazo.com/), a tip from a German travel blogger, is a complete success with sensational service and great dishes at very fair prices. Ceviche and Pisco Sour in perfection, wow, the first impression fits...

Before we embark on a walking tour of the historic center of the capital of Peru, we want to quickly get a SIM card for our travel smartphone. Quick turned into 1.5 hours of tedious waiting and wondering about the inefficiency in a mobile phone store ( "Claro") with actually 28 (!) counters. A little nerve-wracking but okay, in the end, we have our SIM card. Into a taxi (which, by the way, is very cheap here) to the city center, actually only a few kilometers but in the traffic already 45 minutes. We arrive a bit late to meet our guide Frederico and two other companions from Canada and the UK.

In just under 2 hours, we learn a lot of detailed and historical background about Lima and its 8.5 million (!) inhabitants. Unfortunately, there seems to be some dissatisfaction on the domestic political front, which is why the historic center with the main square, cathedral, town hall, and seat of the government chief is largely cordoned off by the police and can only be entered very selectively (it works with a guide!). It seems to be about corruption on a larger scale by members of the government, which seems somehow familiar to an Austrian... In the interior and to a higher degree of detail, we also visited the Franciscan monastery nearby, where we also wandered through the catacombs (a former "graveyard" with over 20,000 buried people). Impressive is the partially extremely well-preserved splendor, but also the thousands of old books and furniture that have withstood several earthquakes.

Exhausted, we grab a taxi in the twilight and zoom through the madness of downtown traffic. Believe me, you don't want that job voluntarily, in terms of driving behavior and actions, it's extremely borderline. The last item on today's agenda was CheCha (https://www.tripadvisor.com.pe/Restaurant_Review-g294316-d19893448-Reviews-CHE_CHA_Tea_Bar_Food_Station-Lima_Lima_Region.html)

In a relaxed and uncomplicated atmosphere, we were served creative drinks, and since we only ordered "starters," we also got several beautifully and creatively arranged plates that, most importantly, tasted amazing. Especially the octopus was outstanding. Happy and satisfied, we finally fell into bed. Tomorrow, another packed day awaits us.

The Daily Two:

Insight: Lima surprised us very much in terms of cleanliness, friendliness, and chic, except for the traffic. We are curious to deepen our impressions tomorrow.

Moment of happiness: Falling into bed for a rest after a 23-hour journey to the hotel room.