Lima Peru. 5th stop Saga SouthAmerica

Lima, Peru. 5th stop Saga South America

The trip from Máncora to Lima by bus took almost 24 hours. I was remembering that this part I went with the Oltursa company, not Cruz del Sur as I said in the previous blog, although it does exist and I did use it later on. In any case, I arrived in Lima, tired from the trip and from the party in Máncora. Thankfully I stayed with some friends of my uncles and parents, Chichi and Angelo, whom I greet and thank for receiving me. It was a calm layover.

BY FRANCISCO J GORDILLO

We ate and had a few piscos with Angelo, very good by the way, and then I went out for a walk, kind of affected, but ok. I went everywhere, through Miraflores and the Malecón as a good tourist would, passing through LarcoMar until I reached the place where they paraglided. In the following days I went by bus to the Historic Center of Lima. I really liked it, it is imposing and with a different air and feel from Quito. I also passed through the Barranco (I think that’s the name) and descended to the seashore. What I liked the most about Lima, from the little I saw, is the view it has from the boardwalk, it is impressive, it would be cool if the sun appeared more and the clouds were absent more frequently, even so, it is a beautiful city.

Because I was with Chichi and Angelo I tried a lot of Peruvian gastronomy (they invited me and I thank them for that gesture), tiger milk being the best, among others the names I cannot recall. If I had been alone, for sure I would have eaten other things because, on this backpacking trip, eating super well and trying the best and most symbolic national dishes meant spending more and traveling fewer days and visiting fewer destinations. And thinking about it, I would always choose to travel to more places, more cities or national parks than to try the local gastronomy.

As I mentioned, it was a quiet stop, I rested a lot, I walked miles, there were no parties for me, I did not go to bars, I did not meet other people. It was different from Cuenca and Máncora because I was not in the place where backpackers are, but it does not matter because it helped me a lot to be alone and recover for the next stop: the Loki Hostel in Cusco (I had heard that it was better than the one in Máncora and I said “I’m definitely going there”) and also, I had a great time with my hosts.

As a note, it’s nice to be alone too, it helps you relax and think. Also, the backpacking trip is a lonely trip even though you are never alone (even if that doesn’t make much sense). You are only alone when you decide to be alone, you have the control of relating or not, of seeking to meet people or avoid them, of closing yourself or opening yourself to the world. Everything depends on you, and that is the cool thing about traveling alone, you have the power to decide everything, and that does not apply only to travel, but to life. Look at me, talking like a philosopher, that’s enough, let’s go to the good stuff, to Cusco.

After 3 nights in Lima, already recovered, I decided that I was leaving. This time I did go with Cruz del Sur (the bus that I told you about before) and I’ll mention again: spend a little more on buses like this because they have speed limits, they change drivers every certain hours on the same trip and they have Wifi, it’s worth spending more for your safety and comfort, don’t be cheap, save on other things but not on security and transportation.

So, I booked a few nights at the Loki in Cusco, I bought the bus ticket and luckily, thanks to Odin, the old gods and the new gods, Chichi asked me “what time and where does your bus leave” because I thought the station was closer and that I had no problem going by taxi, but in truth the terminal was far away. Chichi told me “you’re not going to make it, I’ll drive you.” She dropped me off at the station, I thanked her (and Angelo too). If I had not gotten on that bus my whole trip would have been delayed for 1 day meaning that I would probably never have known Torres del Paine, Chile, you will see why, it’s crazy, almost like the serie Dark, but not so much.

I think the trip was 22 hours to the ancient Inca capital, so I’m writing that blog. But I will tell you that in Cusco the backpacking trip got fired up and the trip was reactivated.

TIPS

If you are a backpacker and you plan to try well-prepared local dishes then look for not so known places, otherwise it will be expensive
Always carry a bottle of water, not a plastic bottle