Robert's Travel Blog

 I've been living a pretty much 100% urban existence for the last 3-1/2 months, so it was time to get the hell out of Dodge, if only for a day.  A day trip, that is, to the Ballestas Islands, then to the desert for some sand dune fun.  Only $62 for the day!  (Plus $12.75 upgrade + $1.50 entrance fee + $10.25 luch +$1.50 ice cream + $1.50 bandana + $1.50 Inca Kola + $8.25 dinner sandwich + $8.75 tips). It was a long day, up at 4 a.m. for a 4:45 pickup (ouch!), and well after midnight by the time I got home.  I ache all over, but it's the most fun I've had in ages! Read on . . .

 We started with a three hour trip south down the coast.  On the outskirts of Lima were the favelas: By the time we got to Paracas, the usual a.m. Lima grey had given way to bright sunshine, and some heat: The boat took us to the Ballestas Islands, "Peru's Galapagos," although I suspect the Galapagos would consider that comparison invidious.  All sorts of fantastic outcroppings and arches: This is the best pic I could get of the Humboldt penguins: Sea lion: Then it was time for lunch: I had an Ixteña salad and roast pork, both delicious: After was a free ("bottles available for purchase") tasting of the locally produced pisco (good) and wines (horrible). Next up: the desert!

 After our marine adventure and excellent lunch, time to hit the desert!  About half an hour away is the tiny (100 people) desert oasis Huacachina: The dune buggies were large, holding 12 people, and you were (thankfully) strapped in tightly. They were an absolute blast!  An incredibly rough ride up, down and around the steep sand dunes, and I was convinced more than once that we were going to tip over, but of course we didn't. And we got to do two runs of sand boarding, face down as you go sliding down a dune.  Fun but not as fun as the dune buggies. All that was left was watching the sunset, which was pretty but boring. The end?  Nope, a 4-1/2 hour bus ride back to Lima, which luckily I dozed through, then a 20 minute walk to my studio from the drop-off.  A 20-hour day and I was exhausted but still buzzed!

It's not unusual to see girls/women walking arm in arm.  Nothing implied . . . If you want a massage, you've come to the right place, judging from all the stickers on the sidewalk: Lima is the land of speedbumps, especially in the residential areas.  Doesn't make for a very pleasant Uber ride. Snackstravaganza!  I got all this for $5.  The chips alone would probably have cost that in the U.S.: I've only seen one or two homeless people.  Compare to São Paulo, where they were everywhere. Peruvians are smart when it comes to electrical sockets -- no adapters needed! Just like the other countries I've visited, pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.  At least the sidewalks in Lima are (mostly) very good. Beautiful euphorbia (not a cactus): Lima is the "grey city." Maybe because it's built on a high cliff overlooking the ocean, mornings are invariably grey.  Sometime the sun fights its way through in the afternoon, but usually not.  Luckily I'm not a...

 Two blocks from where I'm staying is Tottus, which I guess is the Peruvian equivalent of WalMart.  It's massive, at least half a city block, and has everything. I got enough (basic) groceries for a week for S/ 130 ($33). There's a kitchenette in my studio: And I cooked (sort of)! Pasta with tuna mayo: I went back to Tottus and made huevos a la huancaína, yum!

 "Jirón" in (only) Perú means street, so that's Union Street.  Back in the day, it used to be the playground of the rich and powerful; now, it's mostly pedestrianized, full of shops, and very busy.  The pedestrianized part runs from the Plaza José de San Martín, two blocks from my studio, to the river: At 9:30 on a Sunday, already busy: Since it's a historical district, all the signs have to be in black.  No Golden Arches here! Opened in 1913, the Palais Concert was a café-cinema-bar and the center of Lima's bohemian/ intellectual life: This is the facade of La Merced Church, hard to fit it all in one picture: Continuing north . . . . . . you come to the Casa Courret with its fantastic ornamentation: Cross the bridge . . . . And you're in Rimac, seemingly worlds away from the Jirón -- much poorer and run-down.  Lots of street vendors. I tried "maca," which like quinua is a sweetened, thick breakfast drink.  Slightly bitter to balance the flavor, ...