Day 1: Lima

January 14, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

We are having a great first day. Upon arrival at 7 AM, we proceeded through customs and to our hostel before heading to the beach! We are staying in the "bohemian" district of Barranco. Our hostel is about a 5-10 minute walk to the beach, which had great views of Lima and the Pacific. The beach was fairly empty when we arrived but very busy by the time we left at 3. There are many families on their summer holiday right now. Most people brought their own beach umbrellas, though there were many amenities available to rent or buy. Nick spent a lot of time swimming and playing futbol with some kids. Rachel wasn't too enamored with the water temperature so she set up camp on the beach and did some people watching.

The Peruvians we have met so far have been extremely friendly and welcoming. At the beach we met Ricard and his family. He was eager to practice his English, help us with our Spanish, and share stories about his family and life in Peru. He recommended some local restaurants and dishes for us to try. His daughter was almost three years old and "muy linda;" she had a great smile that she liked to share with Rachel.

After the beach (and wonderful showers!) we did some exploring and ran some errands. Nick got a haircut from a barber who specializes in men. We picked up some last minute items before heading to Cusco Saturday.

Possibly the HIGHLIGHT of this very long day was an accidental discovery. While running errands, we found a CAT PARK (!!!), or parque de los gatos. It was like a cat cafe, only it was free, you didnt have to buy coffee, and it was outside in nice weather. People everywhere were playing with stray cats who varied from friendly to skiddish. Many cats were sleeping amongst the flower gardens or on the sidewalk; we even saw one who had settled in on a gentleman's lap. Rachel was kind of jealous of that guy.

It is early to bed for us though - we've only had about four hours of sleep and we both want to start things out on the right foot (plus Rachel says her brain can't function in Spanish with so little sleep). Tomorrow is more exploration of Lima, destinations TBD!Read more