South America Adventure Part 1: Lima
Arriving in Lima felt a lot like we really had embarked on a dramatic adventure.
From the airplane window, we saw nothing but brown hills and brown cliffs plunging into the ocean, and what looked like a sea of brown huts sprawling in the distance.
The taxi ride to the hostel made us feel no less uneasy, as we were plunged right into Lima rush hour traffic. Cars of all shapes and sizes, mostly at least 15 years old, none of them without significant scratches, dings and dents, were all honking like their lives depended on it. Lanes didn't seem to matter, nor did stop signs or pedestrian crossings. In fact, red lights seemed to be really the only thing to stop the masses of cars elbowing each other out of the way like skiers at trying to get to the lift first.
Once we got to our hostel and started getting our bearings, we started to realize that aside from insane driving, Lima really isn't so different from any big city. It was by the time we had dinner at "Popular" in the Larcomar shopping mall, seeing all the same brands and eateries (looking at you, Starbucks) as in any other major city, that it sunk in that this was not so 3rd world country after all.
That said, there is one thing that is distinctly lacking in Lima: High-speed internet.
As you can imagine, moving countries at the same time as preparing to go backpacking for a month is a lot of work, and we had several loose ends to tie in terms of boring paperwork for the move, insurance, selling our car, and not least figuring out what our plan for this month was even going to be.
After checking in to our hostel, we promptly went to the cafe downstairs that claimed to have free WiFi. We stammered out an order in "Spanish", which turned out to be far harder than it should have been: Since we didn't know the Spanish word for "ice", us asking for water without ice ended up in us asking for water "no frio" - "no cold".
Sadly the free WiFi was so terrible we quickly had to retreat back upstairs and switch from coffee to Chilcanas (cocktail made of Peruvian Pisco, ginger ale and lime). Unfortunately, it was only the ambience and drinks that improved. The wifi? Only marginally.
This continued on and off for the remainder of our time in Lima. As Chris put it, "just because we have good internet in the Bay Area, doesn't mean everywhere is like that, and every website should be designed with that in mind!". Yes, doing anything with crappy connections and only phones and tablets generally takes about 6 times longer than it would with a laptop and proper wifi.
We did manage to balance our technical frustrations with a smattering of good coffees and good food.
Miss your hipster lattes? Find your latte art at the Agora Cafe Arte.
We know you've always wanted to try a three-meter "beast" of a fish from the Amazon (our waiter's words, not ours) - get a deliciously tender Paiche steak at Restaurant AmaZ, accompanied by chicken and rice steamed in giant banana leaves.
We even managed to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing in between! A two hour walking tour between Plaza San Martin and Plaza De Armas; and a stroll around Miraflores during which we sampled some excellent ceviche and found an adorable and tasty coffee shop.
By this time we had figured out that one month is actually not that much time to visit two massive countries, and had to make our first concessions to our itinerary: We would not be bussing down the coast via Pisco, Ica and Nazca, and instead found a cheap flight to Arequipa, departing Wednesday evening.
From the airplane window, we saw nothing but brown hills and brown cliffs plunging into the ocean, and what looked like a sea of brown huts sprawling in the distance.
The taxi ride to the hostel made us feel no less uneasy, as we were plunged right into Lima rush hour traffic. Cars of all shapes and sizes, mostly at least 15 years old, none of them without significant scratches, dings and dents, were all honking like their lives depended on it. Lanes didn't seem to matter, nor did stop signs or pedestrian crossings. In fact, red lights seemed to be really the only thing to stop the masses of cars elbowing each other out of the way like skiers at trying to get to the lift first.
Once we got to our hostel and started getting our bearings, we started to realize that aside from insane driving, Lima really isn't so different from any big city. It was by the time we had dinner at "Popular" in the Larcomar shopping mall, seeing all the same brands and eateries (looking at you, Starbucks) as in any other major city, that it sunk in that this was not so 3rd world country after all.
That said, there is one thing that is distinctly lacking in Lima: High-speed internet.
As you can imagine, moving countries at the same time as preparing to go backpacking for a month is a lot of work, and we had several loose ends to tie in terms of boring paperwork for the move, insurance, selling our car, and not least figuring out what our plan for this month was even going to be.
After checking in to our hostel, we promptly went to the cafe downstairs that claimed to have free WiFi. We stammered out an order in "Spanish", which turned out to be far harder than it should have been: Since we didn't know the Spanish word for "ice", us asking for water without ice ended up in us asking for water "no frio" - "no cold".
Sadly the free WiFi was so terrible we quickly had to retreat back upstairs and switch from coffee to Chilcanas (cocktail made of Peruvian Pisco, ginger ale and lime). Unfortunately, it was only the ambience and drinks that improved. The wifi? Only marginally.
This continued on and off for the remainder of our time in Lima. As Chris put it, "just because we have good internet in the Bay Area, doesn't mean everywhere is like that, and every website should be designed with that in mind!". Yes, doing anything with crappy connections and only phones and tablets generally takes about 6 times longer than it would with a laptop and proper wifi.
We did manage to balance our technical frustrations with a smattering of good coffees and good food.
Miss your hipster lattes? Find your latte art at the Agora Cafe Arte.
We know you've always wanted to try a three-meter "beast" of a fish from the Amazon (our waiter's words, not ours) - get a deliciously tender Paiche steak at Restaurant AmaZ, accompanied by chicken and rice steamed in giant banana leaves.
We even managed to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing in between! A two hour walking tour between Plaza San Martin and Plaza De Armas; and a stroll around Miraflores during which we sampled some excellent ceviche and found an adorable and tasty coffee shop.
Walking tour Plaza San Martin → Plaza de Armas
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| "Commissioned in Spain, under instruction to give the good lady a crown of flames, nobody thought to iron out the double meaning of the word "flame" in Spanish (llama), so the hapless craftsman duly placed a delightful little llama on her head" - Lonely Planet |
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| Maybe not so "just like any other big city" after all? Garbage collection on Plaza de Armas |
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| Moorish-style balconies on the colonial Palacio Arzobispal |
Walk in Miraflores
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| Cafe Arabica at Cafe Arabica |
By this time we had figured out that one month is actually not that much time to visit two massive countries, and had to make our first concessions to our itinerary: We would not be bussing down the coast via Pisco, Ica and Nazca, and instead found a cheap flight to Arequipa, departing Wednesday evening.
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