Peru Part Four....Lima....

So....Lima....one of the World's most populated cities with around ten million people living there...do you skip it or visit it? Well we decided to go to access better medical facilities due to me breaking my ankle in Chachapoyas. Some of you will already be aware of that if you've been following.The bikes could be serviced whilst I was laid up and there would be plenty of things for Chris to go and see.

The apartment we'd rented...indefinitely, was in Miraflores, a good area of the city. We were dropped of right at the door.Thankfully our host Julio was aware of the situation and became used to us extending our stay. We made ourselves comfortable. We had everything we needed here and disabled access as well as we were going to be here for some time. The kitchen was pretty much fully functional with an oven etc......there wouldn't be much eating out during our stay here, it would mainly be self catering. The other great thing about this little apartment was that we could see the sea so didn't feel so enclosed in the city....I'm from the country, living in the middle of the city would have been awful.....and the hospital I was going to use for further treatment was right across the road.....perfect.

I'm not going to go through a blow by blow account of every week we were there, that'd take forever as we ended up staying for three months. During that time I made some videos and blogged and researched, making up a list of a whole host of things that Chris could go and visit whilst I was immobile. We didn't manage to get hold of a wheelchair, I only had crutches....well that's ok you may think....unfortunately with a broken left ankle and a pinned and plated right hip, the physical action of using the crutches and the weight ratios on load bearing joints when you can't put weight on your left foot was incredibly tiring. Not wanting to damage the right hip again....moving about was insanely slow and I never got very far before I needed to sit down....the whole thing was a real 'pain in the ass'.

Anyways enough of that, on the flip side we had visitors, my cousin Izzy called in to see us. She was out here on her own tour of Peru and we'd been texting since Chachapoyas to try and arrange a meet up....that paid off in Lima. And our travelling friends all passed through Lima on their way down South America, calling in for various things, normally bike bits. Vincent came round to cook a few times....he's a good chef....and Susie flew in from Amsterdam to meet Vince for her little tour of Peru. Susie also brought me a special ankle support just in case I couldn't locate one in Lima. Thank you Susie 😊 Anna flew in from Vancouver to meet Ron and we went over to them in Barranco for a meal and the others, Keira and Brendon Hak from 'Adventure Haks',,Tim and Marissa Notier from 'Notier's Frontiers, Ivan Guerro from 'Touratech', Lima ,Jerry Romine ,Jet Sy and Peter Hemmerde and his partner......well....all I can say is ...there was a lot of socialising done at Molly's Irish Bar in Miraflores.

There's some great places to visit in Lima, as Chris found out. In fact he could probably get a job as a tour guide there now 😂 Of course there's churches, some with crypts and fantastic old buildings about, mainly stemming from when the Spanish took over in the 15th century but then there's a pyramid in town....yep a pyramid from the much earlier 'Lima' people of Quechua origin. So I'm going to start with that one and in totally random order I'm going to go by sort of listing them with a few lines of description. All the places can be ha,ha....Googled for extensive information says the 'lazy blogger' and if you go on any of the tours, the guides are really informative. You can also just click on some of the links I've provided to places with their own website.These are usually depicted by a word/words underlined.

HUACA PUCLLANA

Huaca Pucllana, a pyramid built from millions of mud bricks dated between 200 and 700AD. Mainly used as a shrine and administrative place for the people from the Lima Culture.This site is actually one of the most important monuments in Lima. The tour is really quite interesting and you'll catch part of this in the video at the bottom of the blog.Besides actually taking the tour the site also boasts a small museum, restaurant and souvenir shop. In 2018 the cost of entry for an adult was 12 sols.You might also see some Peruvian hairless dogs there, though there are more of these knocking about the city. The pyramid can be found of all places...in Miraflores itself. It was walking distance for Chris from the apartment.

Address - Calle Gral. Borgoño, block 8

THE ABTAO SUBMARINE MUSEUM AND FORTALEZA REAL FELIPE

I've put these two together because they're across the road from each other and if you decide to visit one of them you might as well visit the other whilst you're there.

The Abtao Submarine museum is the sub itself......BAP ABTAO SS-42 served for 48 years in the Peruvian Navy, being decommissioned in 1998. Now you can take the tour and climb down into it, getting a real feel for what it must have been like to serve in one.

Address - Jorge Chavez 120-A, Callao 07021

Entry fee - Adult 12 soles

FORTALEZA REAL FELIPE

Fortaleza Real Felipe was built between1747 and 1774 and can be found in the Port of Callao across the road from the submarine. It was built after the entire port had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1746 leaving Callao and Lima open to attack. Indeed Lima's city walls had also been destroyed and not much of them remains bit they can also be seen at Parque de la Muralla. In 1866 the fort played a main part in the defence of the main port of Peru against the Spanish. Today it it is a museum for The Peruvian Army.

Entry Fee - Adult 15 sols with a guided tour which lasts about 2 hours.

CATEDRAL DE BASILICA DE LIMA

The Basilica has been around since construction first began in 1535. It's changed a few times since then with restoration work and extras, having survived numerous earthquakes. Dedicated to St John the Apostle, the Basilica has fourteen side chapels and many beautiful paintings and sculptures. The tomb of Francisco Pizzaro, the Conquistador of Peru can also be found here.However one of the highlights is to visit the crypt below.

Address - Plaza de Armas de Lima

Entry fee - $6

Also in Plaza de Armas, which is a great place for the old buildings - The Archbishop's Palace of Lima, The Palacio Municipal de Lima, and Palacio de Gobierno. Some of them are open to the public.

Palacio de Gobierno

Archbishop's Palace

Palacio Municipal de Lima

Of course there are numerous more buildings in Lima to photograph if you like architecture old and modern.

BARRANCO

Barranco was once known as the 'City of Windmills' as early settlers used windmills to obtain water from wells. Despite being damaged in 1940 by an earthquake, it was rebuilt and has recovered well. Today Barranco is full of history but is also a colourful and lively area. Be sure to visit. Meet on the Bridge of sighs, 'Puente de Los Suspiros', call in at 'Iglesia La Ermita' and don't forget to walk down the 'Bajada de Banos', (originally built in 1870),to the sea.

Puente de Los Suspiros

Inglesia La Ermita

Legend has it that Ermita Church was built on the site where an illuminous cross appeared to fishermen lost at sea in the fog.

Bajada a Los Banos

Barranco is also home to a tremendous amount of street art, you can find it around almost every corner.No need for a walking tour, just spend a day there ambling around. Chris thoroughly enjoyed walking round photographing much of it.

There's so much more, I couldn't put it all in a blog, just go to the Peru gallery on the website for more pictures.

GAMARRA MARKETS

The Gamarra area found in the District of Victoria of Lima is most known for its clothing and textiles and other people have talked about 'witches markets'......actually it's just a massive, mental shopping area where you can anything from shoes to car engines. It's not touristy (though I'm led to believe you can get tours in there)...you'll probably find half of Lima's entire population shopping there. No need for an organised trip,take yourselves and be vigilant as in every city in a busy area with your valuables.You can catch a bus, Uber or taxi there unless you enjoy walking as it's at least an hour and a half's walk from Miraflores.Chris didn't go looking for clothes or 'magic potions'....ha,ha....though I could have probably have done with one for 'fixing bones faster' 😂...instead he just wandered up there for a nosey. You can see a little bit of it in the video at the end of the blog.

When you get tired of the hustle and bustle and total madness of the city, there's plenty of 'green spaces' to relax in. Chris found some of the parks by accident on his 'walkabouts'. Three of my favourites, because I managed to get there eventually were 'The Olive Park' and corny as it sounds 'The Love Park' because it was by the sea and a point of 'reaching' once I had to start putting weight on my ankle and finally 'Park Kennedy' because I wanted to see the cats.

BOSQUE EL OLIVAR

This beautiful park, can be found in the San Isidro area of Lima and was declared a National Monument for Peru in 1959. The olive trees originate from original trees brought from Spain in 1560.Of the survivors of these plants, the area was created into a massive olive grove. Over the years trees have been chopped down and with the constant evolving city, some trees ended up in the gardens of new houses and developments. Despite that the olive grove has survived though relatively smaller. As far as we were led to believe the olive trees are still harvested. A space for everybody, you'll find people of all ages here. For 'budding twitchers' or just those of you that like a bit of nature,there's lots of different birds in the vicinity and a small lake with carp and terrapins.

Entry Fee - 0

PARQUE KENNEDY

Parque Kennedy can be found in the center of the Miraflores area in Lima and links on to another park called Parque 7 de Junio. Both parks were originally known as 'Central Park' in the 1900's but by 1960 had split into the two separate parks. Parque Kennedy was named after the USA President at the time due to the 'Alliance for Progress'.....economic co-operation to you and me, between the two countries. Parque 7 de Junio was so called because of The Battle of Arica between Peru and Chile in 1880 and National Flag day is also held on the 7th June.

Parque Kennedy however, has aspired to be famous for it's cats. It's become a haven, a safe place for stray cats, which are actually looked after, as in spayed and such forth. They mingle with the locals, laze around in the sun, climb tress and just generally do 'what cats do' without any fear of reprisals from dogs or people. It's another great 'green space' in Lima to just sit and watch the world go by whilst maybe having a furry friend come and sit by you for a bit of tlc.

Surrounding both sections of park are of course shops, bars,street sellers, restaurants and you can find the Palacio Municipal and Iglesia Virgen Milagrosa on it's boundaries.There's even a small ampi theatre in the park. At the time we visited there were no displays or concerts in it, just people sat quietly eating their lunch.

PARQUE DEL AMOR

Parque del Amor, Miraflores, fittingly so, opened on Valentines Day 1993. It's design appears to be based on Antonio Gaudi,Barcelona, Spain. The centerpiece is a sculpture of 'lovers entwined' by Victor Delfin, a Peruvian artist and is called 'The Kiss'. Although only small, this green space is a beautiful place to sit and watch the sunset as it's positioned facing West to the Pacific Ocean.

In between all this we had the bikes serviced at HD Lima...….

And I had my first visit to the hospital, Clinica Good Hope, right across the road from the apartment. On this first visit I was hoping to get the plaster off. The ankle had now been in a cast for 45 days. Unfortunately it wasn't to be. After the first x-ray, my Dr shook his head and sent me for a scan. This revealed that the bone hadn't finished knitting and an operation for a pin put in was recommended.Concerned that this would set me back even further, I asked if it was essential. Thankfully he told me that if I didn't want the operation then I would have to spend another month in plaster but he would put a new, more modern cast on. This turned out to be lighter and better fitting than the original.

Still not being able to put weight on my ankle, this meant Chris would have more sight seeing to do until I could fully accompany him. Thankfully my boredom was broken up with visitors ( as mentioned earlier in the blog) and short walks out with the crutches.In the meantime Chris had heard about a car museum after visiting the Distinguished Gentlemam's Ride 2018 . You can see a video of that here 🎦, so off he went to do some more 'boy stuffage'.

MUSEO DE AUTOS NICOLINI

The museum houses an important collection of cars relevant to Peru and South America and if you like old cars and want to see a little of the restoration process, this is the place for you to visit. Chris was lucky, when he arrived, he was the only person there, so got a private tour. As it would take ages to describe some of the cars in there, which include Chevrolet, Rolls Royce and Cadillac, I'm going to re-direct you to their own website, just click here 🚗

Address - Av. La Molina block 37, La Molina, Lima

Entry Fee - 20 sols

Back to the Admin Department......ha,ha...me.....as I have to stay in plaster longer, this means I'm going to have to extend our personal stay in Peru and the TIP's for the motorcycles. This was a bit of a headache and has caused problems for other travellers in the past. I documented it in my 'Border' page on the website. So if you want to read in greater detail how I achieved this click here 📝 and scroll down to Peru. After a trip to the SUNAT offices near the main Jorge Chávez International Airport we also had to extend our insurance but that was easy and only involved a trip to the LA POSITIVA insurance office in Lima.

CEMENTERIO PRESBITERO MATIAS MAESTRO

Cemeteries, touristy???......really depends if you like that kind of thing but they can be interesting and very historical. Take this one for instance, Cementerio Presbitero Matias Maestro.....it was established in 1807 by an RC priest of the same name Matias Maestro. After an earthquake in 1749 he was commissioned to build the cemetery along with other things in Lima. It's also reputed to be the oldest cemetery in South America but I'm not sure of the truth of that one.There's several Peruvian Prime Ministers buried here, some writers and the grave that stands out the most is the military 'Panteon de los Proceres' which is a monument to those that lost their lives during 'The War of The Pacific' 1879 - 1884. with the remains of nearly 300 people buried there.

My particular favourite.....if you can have a favourite gravestone......doesn't sound right does it??.....but some of them are so beautifully carved.......is the Familia Batista Duarte, which appears to be for animals. I've searched high and low for some more information on this one but to no avail. Maybe somebody reading will have information on the full story......I'd love to know.

So many interesting graves/tombs with stories. If you don't fancy visiting under your own steam you can get a trip with 'HAKU TOURS' but that will cost you around $50 US dollars.Chris paid around 7 sols to get in to take pictures.

Now that we'd got the bikes back, Chris decided to take the Heritage Softail for a run and took a little ride out to the 'Cristo del Pacifico' statue.

CRISTO DEL PACIFICO

The Cristo del Pacifico stands 37 metres high and was modelled on the 'Cristo Rendentor' statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was donated by a group of Brazilian companies to President Alan Garcia and Lima......amazingly it's taller than the famous Rio statue which is only 30 metres high.......it's not as high up though but it still looks over Lima.You san find the statue on the Morro Solar hills in the district of Chorillos. There's also the planetarium Morro Solar up there but Chris did not visit it and a monument to an unknown solier as the Battle of San Juan and Chorillos occurred here in1881.

At last it's time to go back to the hospital for me. It's now November 11th 2018 and I've been in plaster for 63 days.........fingers crossed.

Yey.......I got 'the boot' from the hospital 😂...... just got to go back for a check up in a few weeks ......happy days, now I have to work on putting weight on the ankle, doing exercises and going out for some more walks but first I'm off to soak my leg in the bath. Anybody who's had a broken limb before will know that once that plaster comes off.....yucky dry skin underneath...….can't wait for a gentle scrub. Online I've looked up a few exercises and also contacted another British lady, Susie Bostock, who's also out here on a motorcycle with her partner, Kelvin Prevett. She's a Physio and an 'Overlander' health specialist,so I emailed to get further advice, half hoping we may catch her for treatment at some point as they're in Bolivia waiting for motorcycle parts.

PADDINGTON BEAR

For 'us Brits'.......no visit to Lima should be completed without popping along to see Paddington Bear......he's just there on the malecon not far from the Larcomar shopping center. England donated him in 2015, though it appears that many Peruvians just don't get why he's there and it's impossible to find any Paddington Bear souvenirs....maybe at the airport ??? Such a shame, a childhood icon, recently revamped and Peru doesn't seem to have taken him on board. Some sellers missing a trick.......I'd have bought a cuddly Paddington and Aunt Lucy if they'd have been there to buy.

MIRAFLORES MALECON

Besides Paddington being on the Miraflores Malecon, it's also a scenic walkway. Continual improvements by the Miraflores council/government has now seen it extend to some six miles. Along the walk there's little parks, sculptures, a creperie, children's play areas, the 'Faro La Marina (lighthouse), a memorial to the first aviator to fly across the alps, Jorge Chávez Dartnel and of course the Pacific Ocean. Being on the West coast the malecon makes a perfect place for you to come down in the evening, choose your spot and capture some fabulous sunsets. The mornings bring joggers and the early birds to life and early sea mist which takes forever to clear some days.

If it's shops you want besides what's available further into the city, there's always The Larcomar shopping center, a very touristy but pleasant enough center with 'named' shops and coffee bars. It also boasts a cinema and great sea views as it's right on top of the cliffs overlooking the ocean.For me it was another destination point to head for walking/limping slowly along the malecon...........first I managed to get to Paddington and then days later made it to Larcomar and was rewarded with a Juan Valdez coffee...........if you're a 'Starbucks' fan.....I urge you to change over and come to Juan Valdez.......far superior coffee..........but ps.......those that like parking their bikes outside........ha,ha......'ya' can't.......it's in the shopping center 😂

In the opposite direction from Parque Amor (mentioned earlier in the blog) heading North on the malecon is an area where you can just sit and watch them Paraglide from. If you fancy a go, just pay at the kiosk. It's about 260 sols per person.

CIRCUITO MAGICO DEL AGUA, PARQUE DE LA RESERVA

The Circuito Magico del Agua can be found in the Parque de la Reserva in downtown Lima.and holds the record for The World's Largest complex of fountains (13) according to the Guiness Book of Records. We visited this as part of an evening tour through the city, catching a 'tourist' bus opposite Parque Kennedy in Miraflores with 'MIRABUS' ......75 sols per person. This was great for me as walking was still limited, I finally got to see more of the city and the water park is amazing, well worth a visit.

SWIMMING WITH SEALIONS

This was the last thing we chose to do in Lima and one of the memorable experiences ever. It was just fantastic. Originally planned for my birthday on October 29th, we'd had to wait until the 14th December 2018 to do it. Booked with MAR ADENTRO, the trip cost $50 US dollars each. We got a taxi/uber down to the Marina Club del Callao Jorge Chávez 120 Chucuito and the day went from there. If you're going to do this, I can't recommend MAR ADENTRO highly enough, they were brilliant. On the way to the Palomino Islands you'll be told the history of the area and information re wildlife. If you're lucky you'll see Pelicans, Inca Terns and Penguins...…...but the swimming with the sealions.....awesome.....watch.....

What a way to finish Lima on.......fabulous.The date has now got to Dec 22nd 2018, I've been back to the hospital for an all clear but told to have another check up x-ray in a couple of months. For those of you that like a bit of 'visual storytelling', I made a video of 'our time in Lima' as well.