Day 3: Lima

Today started with breakfast in the hotel. It was a grey morning and we quickly walked 3.5 miles in about an hour to the neighborhood of Barranco. Along the way, we walked passed parks and outdoor workout stations. Nothing like doing pull ups with an ocean view.

Today’s breakfast is brought to you by the color armarillo.

Morning marine mist

Entering the neighborhood. Why is there a windmill?

In Barranco, we were supposed to go on a free walking tour (meeting at the Starbucks in the center of town), but the guide did not show up. When we finally messaged the tour operator 30 minutes after it was supposed to start, he said the guide was in an accident. Fishy. But hey, we were still in Barranco and there was plenty we could do on our own. We did some quick internet searching, fueled up on authentic Peruvian chocolate Starbucks, found an info center with a map of the area, and set off on our own tour. Plus, as we were waiting, the clouds and fog lifted and it ended up being a sunny day.

This is a reminder that we are missing the third to last episode of Better Call Saul… is that you, Nippy?

Con: Alejandro AWOL. Pro: Starbucks aqui.

One of the major attractions in Barranco are the murals. There are multiple ‘zones’ that have murals covering the sides of the buildings. We walked around in search of as many murals as we could find. There are a large variety, but Jade Rivera is a prominent artist and his work can be seen throughout the city. We were able to stop in his shop and hear a bit more about his art.

We can find our own murals

Jade Rivera mural and studio

Bilingual mural

I know that’s a key, but where is the mural?

Quoth the Raven, “Fck! We’ll do it live.”

Go women!

Another cool mural

In 2015, the new mayor thought that the murals did not look good for the city and that they would lose their UNESCO Heritage status if they kept them. He had 60 murals painted over in bright yellow (his political party). But, there was also a contest that year for the mural artists, so more murals were made.

Anti-mural politicians also brought to you by the color armirillo

Another pretty major part of Barranco is the coastline. There are sweeping views of the ocean from the town as well as parks and beaches. We did not go all the way down to the beachfront, but we did get great views of the ocean. After walking through all of the mural zones (as noted on our map), we started to venture back towards Miraflores.

No altitude sickness yet!

Checking out the views on the walk back

No tsunamis today

Along the way, we walked along the paths above the coastline as much as possible. Pretty much the entire way was gardens and parks we meandered through. One of these parks is called El Parque del Amor – The Park of Love. There are windy low mosaic walls surrounding a giant statue of a couple in an embrace. We also saw surfers riding the waves below, and paragliders launching off to ride the wind.

Get a room

Mosaic bench

By the time we made it back to the hotel, 6 hours and 11 miles had passed. We drank our free hotel beers and relaxed for a while before heading back to Poke 51 for more delicious dinner.

Cervezas Premium Peruana after 11 miles are pretty tasty

Neighbor building is hopping after 7pm

Another delicious Poke 51 visit

Tomorrow we are scheduled for a market tour/fruit tasting/cooking class. I’m pretty sure they will show up. After that, we take a short flight to Cusco for the night.