Lima is a hectic, loud, and crazy city. It's also extremely diverse socioeconomically, I guess like most other giant cities. I started in the touristy historic district where there is lots of old colonial Spanish architecture (nothing in Lima pre-dates the Spanish - no Inca ruins here). I went to the catacombs of San Fransisco monastery which were pretty cool, got some delicious 3 course Peruvian lunch, and started to walk. About 6 hours later I had made it across the city to the ocean. Here I am in the ritzy Miraflores district, sitting at a trendy, brand new oceanside mall situated on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. The last hour or two of my walk had been through very nice sections of Lima. This is where most tourists stay, and where the Lima elite live. Before that, I passed through Barrio Chino, Lima's Chinatown (lots of Chinese people and restaurants in Lima) - which was crazy. I had continued on for a few hours through areas that were quite poverty stricken. Most of the vehicles in those areas where old, loud, smoggy buses packed to the brim. In Miraflores much more private cars (and also public bathrooms with toilet paper!). The change in atmosphere reminded me of walking from East Harlem into the Upper East Side of NYC (though even the ritzy Lima district doesn't really come close to the UES). Lima, in general, is completely different than the other cities I had been to in Peru - where the economy seemed to totally revolve around tourists. I walked pretty much the whole time without getting touted or hassled, which is pretty much unheard of in the other cities I was in.

Anyways, it was a great walk, and now I'm going to grab some food before grabbing a taxi back to the airport for the late night flight back to the U.S.

Overall, it was an exciting, if at times exhausting, great trip!!

¡Adios!

-Ben

written by  bhkann on August 18, 2010 from Lima, Peru
from the travel blog: Peru 2010
tagged Lima and Miraflores
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