Viva Las Lima!

I only had 24 hours in Lima - but certainly made the most of it.  It was very special for me to be in the city where my sister-in-law Karin is from. 

I met up with my tour group and we took an authentic, "real life experience" trip to downtown Lima:  the city bus.  The bus ride was very unique, unlike any bus ride I've had before.  The bus was full, and so I sat next to a local Peruvian gentleman likely 40 years old.  He spoke a little bit of English and was happy to have someone to practice his English with.  He asked where I am from, how long I am staying.  He had a very old guitar with him, without a case.  The guitar had a lot of character and you could tell he loved it very much.   I asked him if he was going to play a song.  He only knew one English song, and he serenaded me on the bus!  What a treat for me (and 40 other passengers) to hear "Yesterday" by the Beatles.  It was the first time someone has sung to me on public transit.  It was really fun, we were smiling and singing along. 

Well, singing must be the thing to do in Lima.  At the next bus stop, and young boy (maybe 15 years old) gets on the bus and starts speaking to all the passengers (he spoke very well, Dale Carnegie would have been impressed).  Then, the boy starts singing!  He breaks into song standing right there in the middle aisle of the bus heaing towards downtown Lima.  He was quite good.  After 3 songs he opens up his backpack and brings out a box of chocolate bars which he proceeds to sell to passengers who either were hungry, or really liked his singing.  I thought this was a very unique experience, until the next stop when another kid got on the bus, sang, and tried to sell us candy. 

Downtown Lima is very colorful as all the historical buildings are painted different colors.



Colorful building, downtown Lima.  My guide was not sure what the patchwork represents.



Pretty green building in Lima.

Our tour guide told a story about a famous statue in Lima.  The sculptor was supposed to put a flame on top of the head of the lady so symbolize victory.  However, the Spanish word for flame is "llama", pronounced "yama".  So, naturally, the lady has a four legged Llama on her head.

Full view of San Martin monument in Lima.

Yup, that's a Llama all right!

After touring downtown Lima and all the historical sites, we took a taxi to return to our hotel in Miraflores.  Taxis are unregulated in Lima so we bartered a rate for the return trip.  I soon discovered that traffic signs are also unregulated in Lima.  Did you know that stop signs are optional?

I guess traffic lanes are optional too!  This was my view from the cab, I held on the entire trip.

We went for dinner in Miraflores.  For dinner I had a traditional Peruvian meal at Karin's recommendation:  Ceviche and a Pisco Sour.  Ceviche is raw fish (sea bass) marinated in lime juice with chilies, served with corn and sweet potato.  It was the best meal of my trip!  A Pisco Sour is the traditional drink, similar a Whiskey Sour, but made with Pisco - a white grape brandy.

Super yummy Ceviche.

I am touring with very nice people (from Australia) and cannot wait to start our jungle adventure in Peru's Amazon jungle.