No Regrets!

After quick workout at the hotel gym, Josh and I spent the morning walking around Miraflores. Lots of drab, uninspired, run-down, box houses. Storefront signs are Spanish with sprinkles of English. Taxis “peep” (higher pitched than a “honk”) at us on every corner. The people of Lima come in all sizes, shapes, and colors, no surprise for a major city. I think we’ll see the more traditional South American look when we visit smaller towns in the next few days.

A gray day today. We visited Larco Mar, Lima’s version of Coney Island. Perched up on the cliffs of Miraflores, paragliders (not parasailers because they weren’t connected to anything) rode the updrafts and circled overhead.

After failing miserably to purchase tickets for tonight’s Alianza Lima soccer game at a drug store recommended to us by our hotel concierge Cesar, we decided to poke our head into one of the local hotels, Casa Andina, to see if anyone there might be able to tell us where to get them. Bruno, the friendly doorman, called one of his “friends” to see if he could score some last-minute tickets for us. After further discussion, Bruno told us that the game was at the Matute (mah-TOO-tay) and that it might be a bit scary for tourists. He said that the crowd there is lower class and rowdy, recommending that we go without jewelry, sunglasses, and definitely without our cameras. He took another look at us and said that we were also too well-dressed. My t-shirt and jeans were too nice, and so was my hair, which he suggested messing up a little bit. Basically, you had to look feral, or there’s a pretty good chance they will kill you (or worse).

Josh and I looked at each other and decided not to go to the soccer game. Next, we asked about airport transfers in some of the other towns we’ll be visiting, and Bruno directed us to the concierge’s desk.

That’s where we met Aritza. After telling her where we were going and how long we were in each place, Aritza spent the next 45 minutes helping us to plan out the rest of our trip. An experienced traveler herself and employed by her family-owned travel agency on the side, Aritza knew what she was talking about. Eventually, Aritza presented us with a very affordable, day-by-day itinerary filled with airport transfers, public tours, and private rides for the rest of our trip. What a life-saver she was! We had tried to plan most of our trip back home but became frustrated with the lack of information on the Internet. It’s so nice knowing that someone local and experienced has helped us plan out the rest of our stay.

Tonight, we are visiting Huaca Pucllana, site of some local Incan ruins, for a tour and dinner at a place that Aritza recommended.