Lima - The city above the sea
Lima was a little bit of a surprise to me. It has some surprisingly modern buildings with fancy LED lighting. Modern homes with electronic security systems. Huge parks with impeccable landscaping. Sidewalks everywhere that weren’t crumbling and were wide enough for people to pass one another. In some places there were cycling lanes. I saw fast food favorites including Starbucks, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Popeye’s Chicken. You can use a credit card nearly everywhere with a simple tap.
The weather was a little different. Temperatures usually got to the mid 20's (Celsius), but it was often cloudy or overcast, sometimes the clouds were dark. But it never rained. The annual rainfall for the city is very low. I found it very foggy along the cliffs over the ocean, but just a kilometer or two inland, the skies were clear. Most days, at sunset, the sky turned a deep, almost apocalyptic orange color.
The weather was a little different. Temperatures usually got to the mid 20's (Celsius), but it was often cloudy or overcast, sometimes the clouds were dark. But it never rained. The annual rainfall for the city is very low. I found it very foggy along the cliffs over the ocean, but just a kilometer or two inland, the skies were clear. Most days, at sunset, the sky turned a deep, almost apocalyptic orange color.
The city might be shiny, but the transit systems were disappointing. It took the city decades to complete phase one of the metro system; I think that was 20 years ago. There is only one line (as far as I could tell) that runs north to south. You need to purchase a transit card to use the metro which you scan and recharge as required. I used the metro only once (it wasn’t very useful to me). The rest of the city has bus systems (3 different systems, I think?) and the metro card doesn’t work for those. One of the bus systems requires its own rechargeable card, the other busses take cash. And all of them have their own maps that don’t have any information for connecting to the other systems. One of the bus systems was useful as there was a stop a couple of blocks from my hotel. But… it was frustrating for other reasons. You need to be very careful choosing your bus because the express busses skip some of the stops – I had to backtrack when I discovered that. And another time, the door of the bus opened, but the doors at the station that line up with the bus door didn’t open, trapping me on the bus. I didn’t have enough time to fight through the people on the bus to exit through another door. I had to backtrack that time too.
I did a lot of walking. A lot. My first day in Lima, as I was heading back to my hotel, I was feeling really exhausted and was worried I was getting sick, but I was just tired. I walked 26 kilometers that day. I think it’s just been a long time since I walked on good sidewalks.
I also discovered a bike rental system in one part of the city. I was able to create an account pretty easily, but it took another 20 minutes to get it to accept my credit card. In the end, I had to change the language setting in my account to “English” in order for it to accept my passport number… I think… or the system had been encountering difficulties and the timing was a coincidence. The bike was really heavy. Pedaling on flat ground felt like going uphill, and I wasn’t going much faster than people that were jogging along the pathways, but it was something. It was also very cheap; less than $2 for an unlock code that worked as many times as I needed it for the whole day. At any rate, I rented a bike and took it west to where the ocean meets the city. Lima is perched on some impressive cliffs overlooking the coast. I rode along the top of the cliffs to the south of the city, then went down to the beach and rode my bike North.
I did a lot of walking. A lot. My first day in Lima, as I was heading back to my hotel, I was feeling really exhausted and was worried I was getting sick, but I was just tired. I walked 26 kilometers that day. I think it’s just been a long time since I walked on good sidewalks.
I also discovered a bike rental system in one part of the city. I was able to create an account pretty easily, but it took another 20 minutes to get it to accept my credit card. In the end, I had to change the language setting in my account to “English” in order for it to accept my passport number… I think… or the system had been encountering difficulties and the timing was a coincidence. The bike was really heavy. Pedaling on flat ground felt like going uphill, and I wasn’t going much faster than people that were jogging along the pathways, but it was something. It was also very cheap; less than $2 for an unlock code that worked as many times as I needed it for the whole day. At any rate, I rented a bike and took it west to where the ocean meets the city. Lima is perched on some impressive cliffs overlooking the coast. I rode along the top of the cliffs to the south of the city, then went down to the beach and rode my bike North.
Lima is famous for its surfing beaches. And there were a lot of surfers out on the water. …and on the beach, and parking lots, and pathways, stripped down to their underwear, wetsuits draped over rocks and vehicles, chatting about the surf. You can rent equipment or pay for lessons in a few places. It actually looked like a great place to surf – consistent waves, no big rocks to worry about. But the water is cold. Nobody was out there without a wetsuit.
I noticed a lot of surfers were using paddles, like the ones you’d use paddleboarding, but to propel themselves along the waves. There were also people with body boards and fins.
Taking my bike down to the beach wasn’t the smartest idea. There are no bike return locations along the beach, so that meant I had to get my bike back up the cliff to return it. There are places on the cliff with staircases, and all of the stairs have a narrow ramp for bike wheels, but the bike was so heavy. I had to push it up two flights of stairs to cross the highway when I first got down to the beach, and that was brutal. So, 20 flights…? no thank you. I kept going north, hoping for a better option. I did eventually find a pathway that went up at a much more forgiving angle – still too steep to pedal up, but not too bad for pushing the bike. Still, I was tired by the time I got to the top. It’s no wonder there are no bike returns on the beach – nobody would return one of those bikes to the top of the cliff willingly.
There are some ruins right in the middle of Lima, Huaca Pucllana, which dates to 200-700 AD. It’s the remains of a clay and adobe pyramid that served as a ceremonial and administrative center for the Lima culture. Apparently, fish and marine life were served as offerings in some of the pits. They also found the remains of some humans which appear to have been sacrificed. But nobody lived at the site. The pyramid is solid, built from handmade bricks composed of sand, clay and shells. The bricks were stacked vertically and there are some trapezoidal patterns in the walls; these building techniques are thought to have prevented damage from earthquakes.
I noticed a lot of surfers were using paddles, like the ones you’d use paddleboarding, but to propel themselves along the waves. There were also people with body boards and fins.
Taking my bike down to the beach wasn’t the smartest idea. There are no bike return locations along the beach, so that meant I had to get my bike back up the cliff to return it. There are places on the cliff with staircases, and all of the stairs have a narrow ramp for bike wheels, but the bike was so heavy. I had to push it up two flights of stairs to cross the highway when I first got down to the beach, and that was brutal. So, 20 flights…? no thank you. I kept going north, hoping for a better option. I did eventually find a pathway that went up at a much more forgiving angle – still too steep to pedal up, but not too bad for pushing the bike. Still, I was tired by the time I got to the top. It’s no wonder there are no bike returns on the beach – nobody would return one of those bikes to the top of the cliff willingly.
There are some ruins right in the middle of Lima, Huaca Pucllana, which dates to 200-700 AD. It’s the remains of a clay and adobe pyramid that served as a ceremonial and administrative center for the Lima culture. Apparently, fish and marine life were served as offerings in some of the pits. They also found the remains of some humans which appear to have been sacrificed. But nobody lived at the site. The pyramid is solid, built from handmade bricks composed of sand, clay and shells. The bricks were stacked vertically and there are some trapezoidal patterns in the walls; these building techniques are thought to have prevented damage from earthquakes.
I also visited the Magic Water Circuit (Circuito Mágico del Agua). It’s basically a park with a whole bunch of water fountains. Some of the fountains have electronics to control the water jets and make the water dance. There are also some fountains that you can walk through, though because of Covid, there are fences around them and only a few people are allowed in at a time. And of course, after dark, the fountains light up with LEDs in all of the colors of the rainbow. In addition to the fountains, the park has a lot of benches and green areas, making it a nice place to relax. I stayed until after dark to see the lights. I thought there was supposed to be music synced to the lights and water, but I didn’t hear any music that seemed connected.
After visiting the entire water park, I headed to the main gate to leave, and they wouldn’t let me out there. Sigh, Covid does bring out the stupid in us. The main gate was limited to entry only, so instead of walking 10 additional meters and leaving the park, they had me walk through the entire park again, along it’s winding pathway, to the far corner to exit. Makes sense, right? Better to spend another 30 minutes in the park than walk past 2 people at the main gate? And then I still had to walk back to the main gate around the outer perimeter, since that’s where the bus station was. Utter nonsense. Especially since there were no directional indicators within the park itself, and social distancing and mask wearing weren’t enforced.
After visiting the entire water park, I headed to the main gate to leave, and they wouldn’t let me out there. Sigh, Covid does bring out the stupid in us. The main gate was limited to entry only, so instead of walking 10 additional meters and leaving the park, they had me walk through the entire park again, along it’s winding pathway, to the far corner to exit. Makes sense, right? Better to spend another 30 minutes in the park than walk past 2 people at the main gate? And then I still had to walk back to the main gate around the outer perimeter, since that’s where the bus station was. Utter nonsense. Especially since there were no directional indicators within the park itself, and social distancing and mask wearing weren’t enforced.
The historical center of town was kind of nice, but it was frustrating too. I found that it was impossible to sit anywhere without getting hassled. And while I don’t dislike being called beautiful, I am skeptical of the motivations of men that have known me for 30 seconds before they start begging for a kiss. I try not to engage, it’s always the same boring conversation anyway. Yes, Canada is cold. No, I’m not from Toronto. I had one older gentleman hitting on me in the plaza, telling me I was so beautiful. I didn't want to encourage him, so I decided to leave. As I was walking away, he shouted, “Gracias a tu madre por mi”, which means “Thank your mother for me”. So, mom, “thank you” from some old, random guy in Lima…