A light warm breeze hit my skin as I stepped off the plane. It was a nice change from New York. I landed in Lima; the capital of Peru, just after midnight and the air is still warm enough to settle the goose pumps I had from the cold plane trip. I knew right then and there that I was going to have the best time ever.
Lima is situated on the seashore where about nine million people reside. The city is a mix of amazing historical buildings surrounded by modern structures with the beautiful Pacific Ocean as its back drop. Downtown Lima is where most of the history can be seen. Just sitting in the Plaza Mayor, I could appreciate the Government Palace, where the seat of Peruvian government is; Lima's Cathedral, founded in 1535 in honor of Saint John the Evangelist; the Archiepiscopal Palace, by polish architect Ricardo Malachowski with skillfully carved balconies; and the Town Hall. The Government Palace has its changing of the guards at noon every weekday. I was pleasantly surprised that this same ritual is shared across the ocean with London.
Peruvian culture is highly influenced by the Spanish conquest, especially since the main religion is Catholicism. In downtown Lima alone, the citizens still preserve and use the nine churches built under their control. The most famous of them is the Cathedral where it has splendidly gilded altars and spectacular choir stalls in carved wood. It also has an admirable collection of canvases and sculptures from the XVII and XIII centuries. For a great view of the sunset and relaxing night life, Larcomar is the place to be at. It is housed to exclusive shops and stores, restaurants offering savoring foods, and enormous amounts of ice cream flavors and desserts.
No need to be fancy with words: the food is delicious. I could sit and eat all day. However be very careful as to where you eat. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and is usually 3 courses. A traditional meal would consist of potatoes (simple you might say, but consider that they have more than 200 varieties) rice and a meat product, usually chicken. Their most famous is Arroz con Pollo where the rice is covered with a unique Peruvian spice. Most meals include one of the different "aji" or Peruvian hot peppers, which are mainly red aji peppers, yellow aji peppers, and red rocoto peppers. Peru's most famous dessert is Chica Morada, juice of purple corn with pineapples and sugar. Yes, purple corn. It may not sound appetizing, but believe me, it is mouth watering delicious. Peru is pretty much a snack culture, so there are a lot of vendors and snacks sold everywhere. Peru's main soda soft drink is Inca Kola. The rule of thumb is to never drink the water from tap, so be prepared to buy endless amounts of water bottles.
One weekend I had to get away from the city life and see a more laid back part of Lima. I went to Churin and relaxed in their hot springs. This was truly just a one day trip up to the mountains away from the busy city of Lima. There's nothing better than to just pull yourself out of the hectic routine of sight-seeing and relax, after all this is a vacation.
After finishing the sights of Lima, I flew over to Cuzco where I braved the white water rapids of the Urubamba River in rafting. Pushing my raft down river made my heart race, my palms clutch onto the paddle tighter. The chill of the water splashing onto my face was such an awesome thrill. Cuzco is located in the south central region of Peru in the depths of the Andes Mountains. This town caters to the true lovers of the great outdoors. Besides rafting, the other diversions of mountain biking, sky diving and parachuting, and of-course an array of hiking trails are offered in Cuzco, if you can handle them.
Peru is notably most famous for the Inca ruins up in Machu Picchu. If you are a hard-core trekker, then a couple of days should be set aside to hike the Inca trials up to Machu Picchu. I, on the other hand, took the 4 hour train to there, also known as, "The Lost City of the Incas". The ruins are over 3 centuries old and were hidden from the world until discovered in 1911. To this day, I still can't believe I touched the stones of the Incan Empire. What with the sights, sounds, tastes of the delicious Peruvian cuisine, and the whole new environment around me, words can not describe how extraordinary and how high my soul was souring.
2022
