“Every new journey is a chance for reinvention of the self.” – Old Sean
Landing in Peru
I’ve been considering Peru as a travel destination for months now. But slew of news and uncertainty has kept me from fully committing. The presidential elections for the country seemed extremely dicey for a period of time and the Coronavirus situation kept the country’s boarders in flux.
But finally, as my time in Ecuador ended, I was forced to head a direction and I chose south, (after a detour the wrong direction towards Quito). On Halloween Eve, I landed in Lima, wandering through crowds of costumed people thronging the streets around Miraflores. The streets were utterly packed and people were suprisingly well-committed to the holiday here. Which is great, I venerate Halloween.
Strangled for time, I was unfortunately unable to find myself a decent costume, but I did eventually manage to put on a pair of cat ears while I walked around. The night was filled with Squirtle Squads, full-face-paint Frankenstein monsters, dinosaur limbs and tails flopping about, the occasional full-commitment goth, and hoards of sex-angling outfits that usually make up the festival night (sexy police, sexy nurse, sexy traffic cone, sexy bowl of Ramen and whatever else the industry can promote).
I grabbed a couple of snacks while people watching and eventually went back to my AirBnB to recharge for the following day.
A Morning in Lima
My next morning was spent walking around Parque Kennedy, checking out the various botanical miracles they’ve managed to install in the area. Flowers, numerous, bright, colorful and cultivated take up large sweeps of the park. Even better, cats wander the area in lazy ambles and sunbeam grass-naps. People around the park leave out small containers of food for the kittens and there are several small areas which have fabric-lined boxes with cats sleeping inside.
After browsing Parque Kennedy, I performed my usually celebration when arriving in a new country and started to wander in a nearly completely random fashion wherever I could. Starting from Parroquia La Virgen Milagrosa, I spiraled out towards the coast, stopping for coffee on a fair number of occassions.
I finally reached the coast at Parque Amor and was granted a treat of spanning caliber. A huge swell of long waves following an urban shoreline perched atop a vast black cliffs with green ivy splitting the visage. On closer inspection, the cliffs weren’t vast, black stones, but a combination of rounded pebbles and huge sweeps of hard packed dirt religiously grappled and covered by black netting to keep the entire super-city from tumbling seaward. An entire city’s foundation was teathered down. Far below, the shoreline was a mess of sand and stone, causing white-water to rush in and fade in unique, dragging, swirling patterns.
Down the Coast
I continued south, visiting park after park, gradually making my way down Costa Verde. All of these areas were nice, either bosting great views of the cliffs and seas around Lima or a heavy dose of construction blocking views of everything. My main goal was to make it to Barranco, the art-infused college town area. If Miraflores is the upscale tourist zone with shops and sleek buildings, Barranco is the fully blast of Peruvian city culture. Brick buildings in various states of repair host small businesses and huge portions of the neighborhood are plastered in artwork.
I finally made it to Parque Federico Villarreal, a small and slightly dusty park. But embedded in this tiny cliffside view is Iglesia La Ermita, a strange carcass of a once-colorful church building. The inner beams show through frayed tarps atop the building and dozens of buzzards roost ominously, making it look like nothing so much as the decaying remains of a enormous, beached whale.
Across the small valley that makes up both ends of the park exists the romantically named the Bridge of Sighs. Supposedly, a person walking across the bridge while holding their breath and making a wish will have their wish come true.
I wished to breathe.
Gasp, moments later, wish granted.
On the opposite side of the bridge, I spent some time among the market stalls and art instillations around Parque Municipal de Barranco before turning down the valley-path walking trail leading to the lower beaches, Bajada de Banjos. Street art adorned virtually every surface, and for every building that was basically a crumbling collapse waiting to happen, there were two more extremely spiffed-up shops on either side of the trail. Cotton candy was sold in blue and pink towers out of carts and rich, maroon candy apples with colored sprinkles were included on tempting displays.
Weary of walking, I finished my night by heading home, only to join my hostel-roommate Ayleen out for dinner at a pizza and wine restaurant.
Day Two of Capitals
On my second full-day in Lima, I struck out again, this time heading north instead. The first notable area I visited was Huaca Pucllana, the final remains of an adobe pyramid with a nearby café and museum.
The café, Gianfranco, is a lovely little outlet for lunch, caffeine and sugar, but Huaca Pucllana itself is downright bizarre. A lot of the buildings I’ve come across regarding ancient South America are usually great heaps of carefully measured stones, mathematically quantified for appeal. Huaca Pucllana is the far-flung opposite. Wherever there can by a clay or adobe step, there is a step. The structure mounds into the air like a rising whale, entirely organic bulk with no rhyme or reason. It’s an extremely interesting feature of Lima.
Still further north was Lima’s Centro Historico District. The walk this direction was a concerningly lengthy one, and the architectural style shifted yet again. Casinos started popping up more frequently, and the ground had dozens of stickers stamped into the sidewalk, advertising sex, pharmaceuticals and obscure advertisements.
I eventually entered a new green-space called Parque de la Exposition, with numerous gardens and statues. Fuente China stands in the middle of the green space and Pabellon Morisco is a beautifully designed architectural piece on the west side of the lawn. The real attraction here is the Museo de Arte de Lima, which is currently under construction, though the interior is still open.
Still further north is the regal, parliament-looking building Museo Roosevelt, after which walkers finally, finally enter the true Centro Historico territory.
Centro Historico de Lima
Lima is very interesting, architecturally speaking. Different parts of the city cater to a different sort of vibe so thoughouly, it rarely feels like visiting the same place. Centro Historico is no exception.
Great, broad buildings with gorgeous, antique trimming fringe around huge plazas. Basilicas, pillars, cathedrals, arcades, arches and tiled floors decorate entire blocks. Hedges are trimmed into the city’s name, thin alleys are de-facto outdoor malls with colorful triangle flags shimmering on thin strings above. Large sections of the roads are closed off to allow foot-traffic and pedestrians total free-range and the number of full-riot-gear security guards is, frankly, wildly overkill. I spent a good chunk of time wandering around Plaza de Armas de Lima, looking at the sweep of red flowers on the green grass while shoe-shiners waved to get my attention.
The number of beautiful and ornate buildings in this part of the world is beyond listing, but a few of my favorites to browse and enter were Palacio Municipal de Lima, Casa de Osambela, Palacio de Gobierno del Peru, Plazuela San Francisco and the nearby Basilica y Convento de San Francisco de Lima.
Just slightly north of all of these finally leads to a break in the city skyline, revealing the brown and dusty mountains that surround Lima. Up one side of the mountain exists a neon-bright multicolored neighborhood of buildings that seems so central to South American cities.
Market Alleys
As I started heading back south, I walked a little to the East and turned south on Jr. Andahuaylas. This turned out to be a colossal error in navigation. Aside from hosting hundreds of street vendors, outdoor markets, Lima’s Chinatown and narrow storage-facility malls, every street in this area was utterly crammed with a shoulder-to-shoulder river of people. I desperately wanted to head south to a café or restaurant so I could borrow enough WIFI to summon an Uber, but a solid wall of flesh hindered me greatly.
When I was younger, I used to play a game in crowded areas, where I would try to weave between people without touching anybody. In China, I got out of the habit, since most places that are crowded are usually just uncomfortably tight lines. But my dormant gamesmanship was handy here, and I pivoted through the crowd until I made it all the way back to Mango Café Fruto Espresso, where I found a car willing to drive me all the way back to Miraflores.
My final day in Lima was spent mostly checking out restaurants, going on Tinder dates, practicing my Spanish and visiting the coast. Because of my departure ticket time, I moved out of my hostel and into a very nice hotel called Colon Miraflores Hotel at a discount. The main appeal to this lodging was the enormous bathtub I could completely lay down in and still not touch the sides.
Full Fountain Spectrum
I also made it out to Larco Museum, which is a pre-Colombian display that highlights ceramic erotica of all things. I also had dinner with a girl named Cy who joined me for sushi. When I mentioned that I had heard of some sort of fountain display called Circuito Magico del Agua, she suggested we visit for a show. The foreigner who told me about this place mentioned it as a rather unenthusiastic aside, and the way he described it made it sound like a small park with some fountains in different colors.
He dramatically undersold.
Cy and I went to the park and checked in. The first fountain at the entrance was a behemoth with blue mist lighting the rim and bowing monk statues flinging water into the center. Already impressed, I was a bit surprised when we were led to seats, spaced apart for COVID and told to sit down. The Circuito Magico del Agua isn’t a walking tour, it’s an actual seated water show. Even before the show started, thin fountains lanced up, dancing around in pink and blue hues. So powerful were the lights under the water that they lit the clouds drifting overhead with the same hue.
The show started with a fairly impressive visual display and grand swell of music. Most of the show was a thin, flat spray of water shooting directly up to make a irridecent screen that a projector played upon. The entire show was the history of Peru, depicting native ceremonies, Conquistador wars, fights for independence, structuring of governments, building cities, flamboyantly enjoying festivals and highlighting the nation. The show was interspaced with great thrums of trumpets and points where historical periods were punctuated with spirals of lit water.
When the show was complete, people were given free reign to explore the rest of the park, which managed to match the show we had just seen. Musically timed fountains, artworks spewing water, pyramids blasting geometric aqua jets, low hedge mazes, tall pillars of waterfalls, topiary sculptures, tunnels of arching water streams and rainbow geysers all added to the effect of the night.
I think Circuito Magico del Agua was my favorite thing in Lima.
Alas, time escaped me once more. In just a few short days, I was due elsewhere. My plan is to head south, towards the famed and mysterious Nazca lines from here.
So until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written November 3rd 2021
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