Peru - The North and Lima

Byatangajwe: 29.05.2019

Back in a country without toilet paper and traffic rules, but with lots of honking, Pisco Sour, Cusqueña Negra, Papá a la Huancaina, Chifas and Plazas de Armas until you can't stand it anymore.

The journey from the Ecuadorian Andes to the Peruvian border is spectacular and offers a good opportunity to say goodbye to the mountains. In Peru, it suddenly becomes hot and flat. Welcome to the desert! First stop is Piura. The hostel welcomes me with a Chilcano (Pisco, lime, and Sprite) to celebrate the eve of May 1st. With the heat, I don't have much to do for the next few days except lay around. But I have to do something. The only worth visiting museum is closed, the city center can be explored in a short time, so I go to the air-conditioned mall.

Then I try again to reach the sea. The trip to Paita with its 'beaches' is a disappointment.

Many colorful beetles roam in the north of Peru. That was almost the end of the highlights.

Except for a few nice places, the desert cities didn't have much to offer. Piura - my first stop.

So let's move on quickly to Chiclayo - not to be confused with Chilcano 😉. Near Lambayeque, there is an important museum about the Mochica culture. That was really impressive. Chiclayo seamlessly continues the beauty and climate of Piura. I also don't stay here long and decide to continue to the surfer's paradise of Huanchaco. I was here near the same time last year, so I know my way around. At first, I was motivated to try surfing again, but my enthusiasm quickly faded when I first came into contact with the water. It's cold and all the surfers wear wetsuits. I miss the warm water and beautiful beaches of Ecuador. I mostly hang out at the hostel and go to Trujillo again to see what has changed - nothing. I take a night bus to face the final boss in South America - Lima.

Chiclayo has a promenade in Roman style.

Why? Nobody could explain that to me either.

Trip to Lambayeque to the museum 'Tumbas Reales de Sipan'. That was impressive from the inside as well. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed.

Surfer's paradise. But I was too lazy for that. So there are only sunsets to see.

Lima, what a huge city! I've already avoided it twice and immediately moved on. This time I have a few extra days before my flight to Mexico, so I dive into the adventure. And surprise, it's a typical (terrible) big city. I suspected that. I mainly stay in the better neighborhoods, but when exploring the city, of course, you also come across the real Lima (not). And of course, I was warned about it. Lima is a terrible place and you have to be careful everywhere. In the end, it wasn't worse than other South American metropolises - just more chaotic and expensive. I haven't seen a worse transportation system on my journey. Constant traffic jams, even short distances take forever, whether you take a taxi or a microbus. It just doesn't make progress. And rush hour is almost always! There is even a rail metro, but it's really just one line and not connected to the express bus. The express bus is really fast, even has its own lanes, but unfortunately, it's always overcrowded. But it's still the best and cheapest means of transportation. You can endure it as a tourist for a while. But living here, no thanks!? It's also 'beginning of winter' again, which means there is constantly fog over the city. Out of 6 days, I had one with sun. But then it was also really hot again.

Then I was already in Lima. Faster than I thought. In Miraflores right by the ocean, it looks like this at this time of year. — Then I was already in Lima. Faster than I thought. In Miraflores right by the ocean, it usually looks like this at this time of year.

Walk along the coast. Sculpture 'The Kiss'.

To Barranco. It's almost like a small town.

Next to the MaTe museum. It was very diverse. Here's a room painted with chalk and knitted goods on the wall.

In the next room, there are great photos of traditional garments.

And the artist even photographed Princess Diana for Vogue at the time.

And of course, abstract art shouldn't be missing. This room speaks for itself - no comment.

... continue to the Museum of Modern Art. But you can skip that.

And of course, there are already some tourist attractions. Museums, parks, restaurants, but all at high prices. Nowhere in South America can you eat as well and as varied - that's true.