She just returned from a 6 week volunteer assignment in the Amazon Jungle. The 20 year old said she loved her trip through Northern Peru. From the airport, I called two hotels in the suburb of Miraflores, 'Hostal El Patio' offered a $45US rate which I took (mid-range price for this suburb).
The taxi situation at the Lima airport sucks. You can venture by foot for a ½ mile walk outside the airport to get a cheap cab or face the nasty scene we went through directly outside. Knowing not to pay more than $15US for the 45 minute ride, we negotiated with the owner of an old but large BMW. An older man ran up to us offering $10US, but was 'muscled' out by a few of our taxi driver's friends.
The drive to Miraflores also sucks. Heavy traffic for the first 30 minutes then a 70 miles per hour drive along the beachfront highway to Miraflores. There are signs along the 4 mile long beach highway that prohibit cell phones and threaten traffic tickets for those not wearing seat belts. We would find out later that this stretch of highway is famous for numerous traffic fatalities.
Our driver safely drops us off at our hotel, so he gets a $3US tip. Our hotel is decent enough for our 2 days in Miraflores, but best of all, the room has a television and American TV programs, including CNN. While Linda rests in the room, I head out to pick up some lunch.
I stumbled upon a local deli offering breads and sausage empanadas. Needing to exchange a $100US bill I got from the airport ATM, I was referred by the deli owner to a guy on the streets in a blue vest. Men in blue vests swarm Miraflores with the service of exchanging foreign currency. They offer me a decent rate of 3.5 soles, and the deli owner was more than happy to accept the Soles they had watched me buy outside their shop. I wonder how the blue vesters knew I was giving them legitimate US currency. I bought two heated croissants stuffed with cheese and a sausage sandwich for 6 Soles.
Back at the hotel room, we enjoyed our lunch while filling our empty tank of American television. We watched TV for the next two hours then headed to the handi-craft market next to Parque Miranda. Large selection of booths selling a wide variety of goods. Highly recommended, we spent 2 hours at the market.
Today is Saturday, and the streets of Miraflores are packed with locals shopping and brightly decorated cars beeping their horns for tonight's presidential elections. Peru has experienced corrupt & ineffective governments in many recent years. Many homes in Cuzco were painted with election propaganda for either candidate. We've never seen such tactics in the US, but we have no choice but to admire the enthusiasm of the people.
We decide to eat a Chinese dinner at a street front restaurant on 'Avenida Diagonal' . The restaurant has decent Chinese food with prices 50% more than Cuzco food which we found to be the case throughout our stay in Miraflores.
After dinner we head across the street to the recommended market of Parque Kennedy. The market is very small and is nothing to recommend, but a nearby musical gathering of locals would be the gem of this park. A 6 person band with a keyboard was center stage at this 12 step arena. Appx. 200 people watched on the steps while middle aged men & women danced to the beat on the ground floor. This was a classic Miraflores community gathering for socializing (Miraflores is famous for its romanticism). Desperately wanting to take a photo, I held back so not to disturb the peace.
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May 20, 2001 (Final Day: Gold Museum & Monterrico racetrack)
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We leave our room at 11:00am to walk along Avenida Larco for lunch. What was once a busy city street the previous night is now full of closed shops that have yet to open. We have to settle with McDonald's (same prices as the US).
We packed our bags back at our hotel and left them at the front desk for later pick up. We walked 1 mile to Avenida Primavera, and caught a passenger van for a 4 soles total ride to the Museo de Oro (20 minute ride). These minivans have a driver and another guy hanging outside the sliding door screaming the van's destination. With the large demand in Lima for these minivan services, the two employees or perhaps someone else does quite well financially.
The Museo de Oro is $7US per person, but the exhibits this museum holds is well worth the cash. The gold exhibit is large and mainly filled with pre-Inca culture pieces. The history and numerous civilizations of South America are on display from gold armor to beautifully detailed gold jewelry. We wandered through the tapestry exhibit, but it is so large that it is difficult to separate each culture's technique. I spent 45 minutes in the military exhibit seeing 200 year old Asian guns, horse saddles, and original international treaties.
Linda shopped around the few shops in the museums courtyard. We bought two pre-Inca masks that now hang on our walls. The pre-Inca civilizations lived mainly in Northern Peru and Ecuador. Their history is believed to be up to 3,000 years old. The Gold Museum was a wonderful visit. No matter what your taste, the museum's three exhibits will keep you busy for 2 hours.
From the museum we take a taxi to the nearby Hipodromo Moterrico (horse racetrack). Why the racetrack? I work in the racing industry and visiting a foreign track is simply common sense. Approaching the main entrance we are flagged down by a guard and a few taxi drivers. 'No, No, No', they yelled as we reached the entrance. One of the taxi drivers named 'Gumer' led us into the 'clubhouse' entrance with free admission. He told us that foreigners are not allowed into the main entrance due to its crime. We were given a free 'racing form' and a table amongst the actual horse owners with excellent food & beverage service. We profited 20 soles from our overall wagers, then took a 20 soles ride back to our hotel via the taxi driver that led us into the racetrack.
We now have 5 hours left to cruise through Miraflores, while our driver agreed to pick us up later that night for our 11:00pm flight to Houston. We eat dinner at the Chinese restaurant we visited the night prior, then enjoy excellent ice cream at one of the many 'helados' near Parque Kennedy.
Gumer picks us up on time at our hotel. We talk about horse racing and politics along the 45 minutes (35 soles after 10 soles tip) to the airport. We wait 2 hours with an American basketball team that has to suffer through the coach seats of the airplane. Easy flights back to Vegas and our two dogs waiting anxiously.
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Peru is incredible if you enjoy physically viewing human history. The Spanish takeover almost 500 years ago changed North & South America to what they are today, but Inca Peru lives on through its ruins and the dark skin & complexion of its people.
Machu Picchu is more than worth the 8 hour round trip by train. Sacsayhuaman and Ollantaytambo are the gems of Cuzco & the Sacred Valley. The Inca stonework and intact ruins are the major focus of these sites. Although we avoided busy Lima, by staying in Miraflores, I definitely recommend trying Lima for a few days. The opportunity of visiting a major city should never be passed upon. We loved what we saw of Miraflores!
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Lima Taxi Driver: Gumer Palma (telephone # 472-2147). Gumer can give you a full 8 tour of Lima, for 100 Soles. ½ day is negotiable.
Cuzco Tourist Agency: Turistas Magicas (#541-840). We recommend the services of 'Nicolas' (cell #682-195), but any of their agents will give you the same price we received. The convenience of the free taxi rides makes the Turistas Magicas highly recommended.
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Las Vegas-Lima = $1,300US for 2 of us round trip.
Lima-Cuzco = $320 for us round trip.
Shopping = $250
All other expenses = $1,100
Grand Total = just under $3,000
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More travel stories: The World - Asia - Thailand
Other stories by this author: Egypt 2000 - Thailand 2000
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