Lima, Peru - Day 2

Had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel and then went to the hotel lobby to meet our guide for our private tour today.Omar, a born and bred Peruvian from Lima, met us with a driver and started by taking us to the coast area and Love Park which is full of mosaics and benches styled after those of the Gaudi Park in Barcelona. It was a bit foggy but lovely nonetheless.

We were grateful that it was Sunday because Lima traffic is said to be horrible, and Sundays are known to have the lightest traffic. We travelled from the beach area to the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site and then to the city centre where there’s a large square, Plaza San Martín, with monuments as well as government buildings. Given its lent/carnival, there was a special celebration on the Square which was full of people awaiting the parade. It was a wonderful festive atmosphere.

(One of the most interesting tidbits we learned at the Square was about the monument at the centre of it. The statue includes a woman symbolizing freedom, much like the Statue of Liberty, and the sculptor was asked to include a flame on her head. Ironically, the Spanish word for flame and llama are similar, and the artist assumed that the request was for a llama. So, sure enough, she sports a llama on her head.🤣)

From there, we travelled to the historic area of Lima which is being rejuvenated. Many, many buildings have already been restored, but there is much work still underway. It was lovely. We ended our tour with a visit to a monastery. We finished up around 1 pm and asked to be dropped off at the market which is expansive and offers all types of Peruvian handicrafts. We didn’t explore all of it because it was so huge. From there, we were able to walk back to our hotel and visit the cat park again.

We took a bit of a rest before setting out to have a cheap and cheerful dinner. Omar had suggested we go to a typical Lima chicken place, Pardos. It really was Swiss Chalet Peruvian style with rotisserie chicken, salad and fries. It was casual with a very diverse clientele of families, couples, etc. Ideal after our “fancy“ dinner last night. After dinner, there was a casino on the route back to our hotel so of course I had to go lose a few sol.

We also came upon a dollar store that looked eerily familiar. Sure enough, Dollar City in Peru is owned by Dollarama. A bit of Canada in Peru. ❤️Read more