Lima

A city where transit police are mostly women (because men are easily bribed), cats are kings in all parks and the statue of one independence heroine has a "Llama" on top of her head due to the miss interpretation of the Indian (in Spanish the word "llama" does not only mean Llama, but also flame....as the Spaniards had originally intended ;-)

We knew Lima from short visits and business trips before, as a crowded city of 9 mill inhabitants where fighting with constant fog, pollution and a never-ending traffic jam. this time, we were extremely positively surprised by the huge improvements that have been achieved over the past 5 years. this time we stroll around enjoying Mediterranean weather, admiring the new bicycle lanes, the speed-bus system and the metro, and finally found time to discover the incredible colonial beauty of its old-town...for the first time understanding why Lima was the capital of colonial south america and the richest city on the continent. in order to understand the city in all its facets, we took a bus to the Inca and pre-inca ceremonial center of Pachacamac, crossing the entire city, including areas you certainly never see as a tourist...and probably wouldn't want to see anyway. needless to say that we crowned our trip with more joys of the excellent Peruvian cuisine: we went shopping at the local market and took a private class with a Peruvian chef who taught us how to prepare a delicious ceviche and other delights from the rich local kitchen. all and all as the saying goes: ''The way to the heart is through the stomach'' <3Weiterlesen