Lima and Earthquake!
PERU | Tuesday, 1 July 2008 | Views [163]
After more than two months in Peru, we finally made it to Lima at the end of our travels with Dr. C and Kim via a short flight from Cuzco. Dr. C was so happy to be back at sea level! When we arrived, the weather was just as we had expected--cloudy, damp and chilly. The sunny season in Lima is only from January through March, and the other nine months are just as we found it. One might wonder why the Spanish decided to build their capital in a place prone to such depressing weather. In fact, many of our American and Peruvian friends do not like Lima at all (too crowded, bad weather, bad traffic, too much pollution, etc.), but Ben and I acutally had a better time there than we had expected.
We had just a day and a half with Dr. C and Kim before their flight back to the US, in which time we toured Miraflores (nicer suburb where most travellers stay) and the historic downtown, the Cathedral and Plaza de Armas, History Museum, and several neighboring barrios. Ben and I later explored Miraflores further and ventured into the upscale San Isidro, and we even let ourselves go to Starbucks and the movies, which were in English. It was great to stay in Miraflores and be so close to the sea, and we were able to meet up with our Swiss friend Lea whom we had met at school in Arequipa.
The highlight of Lima, hands down, was the food. We had ceviche twice, once at a locally popular La Choza Nautica and then again at the swanky La Mar. We had sushi twice, the highlight being our meal at the Peruvian-Japanese fusion Osaka in San Isidro. We also had vegetarian, traditional Peruvian and Middle Eastern, and to top it all off, we went to the best gelato shop in Lima, Quattro D, quatro times. Gluttony doesn't apply when travelling.
In the five days we were in Lima, it was sunny two days in a row, and we counted ourselves incredibly lucky. Despite all of the critics, Lima was great.
(On our third day in Lima, at around 9 AM, there was a very small and mild tremor. I don't even think it would count as an earthquake on the Richter scale, but Ben and I definitely felt the ground moving. It was crazy, kinda of felt like a freight train or huge truck was going by, but everything was shaking for more than 5 seconds. When it was over, we looked at each other in confusion and then excitement. We had experienced our first "earthquake", but I hope it will be our last.)
Tags: culture
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