By the time we got back to Lima, we were ready to slow the pace a bit and get ourselves mentally and physically ready to return to Dallas. We had about a day and half before we had to get on our flight. We had seen historical downtown Lima when we went through here at the beginning of the trip. It was time for us to do some walking through Miraflores, one of the more upscale parts of Lima. We checked back into the same hotel we had the first time, so it was nice to see some familiar places and faces.
The first thing we did was to avoid getting a pre-5:00 am wake up call. We revisited the little neighborhood restaurant just a few yards from the hotel that we had enjoyed the first time. We also found an absolutely fantastic strictly vegetarian restaurant for dinner!
A good deal of our time was spent in leisurely strolls through the many parks that populate Miraflores (which happens to translate roughly to something like "see the flowers.) We visited a park named after John F. Kennedy that is the gathering point of the local artists, poets and wannabes. It is something you might expect to find in New York, surrounded by open air cafes and filled, along with artists, with popcorn stands.
Those of you who can remember back to the post about our first visit to Lima may remember that, when we were shown the Parque de Amore, our guide mentioned one spot sticking out into the ocean that was popular for para-sailing. Well, this time as we walked on our own back through that area, we were suddenly bombarded by 6 or 8 of the craft flying over our heads or down below us skimming the sands of the beach.
I had thought this was just a place where slightly unbalanced sportsmen went to risk life and limb. When they flew right over us, we could see that each pilot had a tourist strapped to his back. They flew parallel to the beach for a couple of miles and then, hopefully, returned to this same perch to land. Linda and I voted against trying this particular adventure.
We continued our walk along the ocean and then continuous string of beautiful parks that line the top of the cliffs. Then, Linda's "woman's sixth sense" kicked in and we found a shopping center. It was a very unusual and interesting one, though. If you look at the far left edge of this next photo, you can see a glimpse of it built right into the top of the cliff. It didn't look very large from there. But, it actually goes multi stories under ground.
This particular shopping center is not without its socially redeeming values, however. It houses a very nice gold museum filled with history and beauty.
And, for all of the ladies reading this story ... we discovered a great way for you to save on your wardrobe. Since Peru is in the southern hemisphere, their seasonal sales are just opposite ours. Just fly down to Lima twice a year to do your clothes shopping.
Our flight back to Miami was scheduled for 11:20 pm. So, based on a couple of experiences we had on this trip with public transportation, we decided to leave the hotel at 7:30 pm to get to the airport. Well, we did get there in plenty of time. But not before we were amazed by another display put on by Lima drivers. Sitting safely in the back of our van, we felt perfectly safe, but I would never drive in this city (and I have driven in both New York and Panama City.)
First, it seems as though there is no hour that is not a rush hour. Some are just more rush hour than others.
The drivers in Lima all drive small cars and vans. And they have developed skills like I have never seen elsewhere. For instance, if our side of the highway was designed and painted as four lanes, during extra heavy periods Lima drivers just convert it to five lanes. If one happens to be in the curb lane at an 8 lane intersection and remembers he needs to pick someone up gong the other way, a Lima driver can make the U turn and end up in the opposing curb lane as though it was the most natural thing you could do.
On our way to the airport, we were on one of those eight lane sections and it happened to be stopped for some reason. The car two places ahead of us just pulled into the opposing lanes and drove there for a block or so until he could dive back into a lane going the right way.
I mention a couple of these crazy traffic stories not because Lima is the only big city with crazy drivers.
Actually, I think we should hire some of them to come up and teach our Dallas drivers. With all of the wild things we saw, what we never saw was a traffic accident. Only a very small percent of the cars we saw even showed any body damage. With all of the cutting in, pushing through and zipping around ... we never saw a case of traffic rage. I'm sure they have to replace their horns every couple of months. But nobody got shot! In a city of about 8 million people with few traffic lights and almost no stop signs, Lima drivers have got it worked out. I don't know how it got that way, but my hat is off to them.
For all of you who have allowed us to share what was one of the biggest adventures and most fun experiences in our lives ... Thanks
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