Our Amazing Peruvian Adventure: First Stop: Lima!

We began our adventure by flying from Raleigh to Miami and onto Lima (read my trip prologue here). We were sent our final itinerary by the Belmond representative weeks earlier, so we knew what we had planned and when. A driver was to meet us at the airport and take us to our first stop; Miraflores.

A woman named Anna with a soft, motherly energy about her met us as we left customs and whisked us away to our driver, Andres, who took our bags and walked us to the awaiting van. We exchanged pleasantries with Anna and she began to tell us a bit about Lima and Peru. Peru has a population of around 33 million people, 11 million of whom live in Lima. We had no idea Lima was so big. To give you an idea, New York has 8 million people. You’d have to add the population of Chicago to New York and then you’d have the population of Lima. Dang.

Lima is a desert city on the Pacific coast where it rains very little and is prone to periodic landslides and earthquakes. It sounds very much like Los Angeles and the drive along the Pacific, leading to our hotel in the Miraflores neighborhood, had a very Santa Monica to Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway vibe. Traffic was worse though, if you can imagine. I have driven in a lot of places all over the world and Lima will never be one of them. Oof. It alternates from bumper to bumper not going anywhere to weaving and honking at high speeds. I was glad we had a professional driver at the wheel.

Miraflores is a posh area of Lima with sweeping views of the Pacific. We received a warm welcome as we arrived at our hotel. We were shown to a lovely seating area in the hotel lobby and given tea while we waited for Anna to check us in, then escorted to our room by the gentleman working the front desk and the porter. The room was super swanky with a huge window overlooking the ocean, we were told. In the dark it was hard to make out. We had a complimentary mini bar, a bathroom with a shower and whirlpool tub complete with robe and slippers. We even had an in-room pillow menu! A what? Yeah. In case the pillows weren’t pillow-y enough, they provided a menu to help better satisfy your need for the most comfortable nights sleep.

By this time, it was near 10 pm and we decided we were very tired and not super hungry, so opted to stay in for the night. We giggled, a bit in awe, about how fancy pants our experience had been thus far. We’d been a little surprised that no one else was on the van from the airport to the hotel. When booking the tour experience, I thought we would be two of a small tour group with other travelers (no more than 13, I thought I’d read). Before Anna left us for the night, she reminded us we needed to be in the lobby at 9 am to meet our tour guide. The way she described our itinerary, it sounded like Phil and I would be the only ones on the tour. Could that be?

We awoke to a good morning wave from the Pacific as we got ready and went to breakfast. The breakfast area was located on the top floor of the hotel; an amazing setting for a dream of a breakfast set up. I love a good breakfast/brunch buffet. They had everything my little heart could desire. A whole table just for breads, another for pastries, another for meats, you get the picture. In addition to the generous spread, one could also order a la carte off of the menu for all manner of egg dishes and beverages. We went with coffee (duh), a green juice concoction (you know, because we’re health nuts), and a mimosa for good measure.

Everyone was so friendly and attentive, welcoming us with a “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Barrington”. Once we were settled with our [first] plates and beverages, a fellow came over with a carving station-type set up and offered us a a delicious sounding sandwich of pork loin, peppers, red onions, and a zesty citrusy, mustardy, cilantroy sauce. A pan con chicharron. It was delicious and the first of several we had during our time in Peru

We met our tour guide, Alejandra (Ali she asked us to call her); an elegant looking older woman, in the lobby promptly at 9 am. We were to tour around the plaza mayor (after living in Spain, it will forever be pronounced “platha mayor”, at least in my head), a monastery, go to the Larco museum (a museum of pre-Columbian art), and the Cathedral. Ali knew we were going to Cusco, where a superior cathedral is located (according to her) and gave us the option of instead, touring a private home that is not only the oldest colonial mansion in Lima, but the oldest house in the Americas continuously occupied by the same family (for 17 generations). Having seen many, many, many beautiful churches in our lifetime, we opted for the private home. At this point, we had confirmation that we were in fact going to have a completely private tour during our time in Peru complete with a private driver and private guide. Que maravilloso!

As we walked through the plaza mayor of downtown, we learned about what the qualifications are to be a tour guide in Peru. Apparently, to be an official guide, one must complete 3-4 years of schooling (basically earn a BA) and during their education they learn a lot about history and art. Not only do you have to have an interest in history and art, but you have to be genuinely interested in people and interacting with them. A nerd with people skills?That takes talent, y’all.

The private home, Casa de Aliaga, was very impressive indeed. Ali explained to use that the owner, Gonzalo Jorge de Aliaga Ascenzo, still resides in a private apartment within the home. She also said that the day we happened to be touring was his 77th birthday.

As we entered the house, we saw a distinguished looking older gentleman. Ali told us that the fellow was in fact, Gonzalo, the birthday boy (er, older gentleman). What luck! What’s more, Ali apparently knows him well because she approached him and shared a double cheek kiss and she introduced us to him. Que genial!

In addition to many lovely rooms and a private chapel, the home had a beautiful indoor/outdoor courtyard right in the center (that’s usually where courtyards are, Jess), with a huge, old, exquisite tree growing in it. I mentioned earlier that the home had been continuously inhabited by the same family for 17 generations. The first of whom was Jerónimo de Aliaga, an auditor for Charles the 5th, who had been sent to Peru to ensure the conquistadors were not stealing money from the crown.

After Casa de Aliaga, we headed to the Larco museum. The museum is privately owned and houses nearly 45,000 pieces and 10,000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian art. There is the main, permanent exhibit, another huge storehouse that holds shelf after towering shelf of additional artifacts, and an erotic art exhibit. Ali did not accompany us into the erotic gallery stating that it was self explanatory.

We returned to the hotel in the early afternoon and decided to walk over to the mall a short distance away. We needed to purchase a Peruvian SIM card and grab a snack.

The mall was a multilevel, outdoor shopping area with your typical stores; H&M,Adidas, Banana Republic. They even had a TGI Friday’s. Once the SIM card was secured,we enjoyed the enchanting views of the Pacific we noshed a plate of fried fish and casava at one of the mall restaurants (not TGI Friday’s). We just wanted to take the edge off of our appetites as we’d decided for dinner, we were going to La Rosa Nautica. The restaurant had been recommended to us several times. It was near our hotel and located on a long pier and was the only restaurant on the water that we had seen. The views were great and the surroundings stunning, so por qué no?

We returned to the hotel around 5pm and decided we had enough time to head to the rooftop and take a dip in the heated pool. It was not a particularly hot day (low 70’s), but there was a rooftop pool, darn it and it was heated, so why not? We grabbed a couple of beers from our complimentary in-room mini bar and headed up. Afterward, I decided to take advantage of the huge in-room bathtub.

After our downtime in the hotel, it was time to head downstairs to dinner. The ride, though relatively short in distance, was made longer by the traffic. The Lima soccer team was playing that evening, which added to the already congested streets.

We arrived in plenty of time to make our reservation. What a delicious meal in a lovely setting. We started with cocktails. I had a pisco sour and Phil a chilcano, both traditional Peruvian cocktails made with pisco (a Peruvian white Brandy). They were really good and the best pisco sour we tried during our time in Peru. We shared a starter of asparagus carpaccio. Phil ordered a chupe, or soup, that included a lobster tail and poached egg. Similar to a loster bisque, but with flavors unique to the dish. It was delicious. I had scallop risotto with pesto. Not a traditional Peruvian dish for our first real meal out, but it sounded really good and it did not disappoint.

After dinner, as we waited for our driver to return and pick us up, we browsed the little shops housed along the pier leading to the entrance to La Rose Nautica. I purchased a beautiful baby alpaca sweater/poncho piece (one of the things Peru is known for is their fine alpaca wool).

We popped into another little gift shop where a friendly Venezuelan man was working. We practiced a bit of Spanish with him (this trip made me realize how rusty I had become since we’d lived in Spain), making simple conversation. Then, I saw it. low and behold, the cartoon cow I had seen so many times in Gijón (the city we lived in Spain). The cow was the mascot for an Asturian (Asturias was the autonomous community we lived in, kind of like a state) gift shop chain called LesCamisetes. Anyway, I was so surprised and happy to see it. It seemed like a good omen for our trip. I told the Venezuelan man, in Spanish, that we used to live in Asturias. He either didn’t understand what I said or thought I didn’t understand what I said, so I reached into my purse and pulled out my key chain with the Austrian flag. When he saw it, he joined in my excitement, realizing what I had been trying to communicate.

We returned to the hotel, happy and full of delicious food and drink, and called it an early night as the next morning we were flying to Cusco!

Next up: Cusco and it’s 11,000 feet of altitude!