Lima

After living the small-town life for our first two weeks, yesterday Peru 19 was finally allowed to venture out into the big city. With a population of almost 9 million people, Lima is a sprawling metropolis that even longtime natives can't ever fully explore, but we made a solid effort with our one-day excursion. We started the morning in Lima's historic centro, where the streets had a quiet, colonial-style feel to them.

The centro's main attraction is the Plaza de Armas. All the buildings around this plaza were yellow - later in the day I saw another plaza with a white theme, and then another all in blue. I have a running hypothesis that Lima's plazas are a full rainbow waiting to be discovered, but this will have to be confirmed during future visits.

Also around the plaza was the city's famous catedral:

And the palacio del gobierno, where the President lives and works:

The plaza is also home to some very understanding policemen, who didn't mind breaking ranks to take some pictures with us turistas :)

Bolstered by a morning snack of café and cheese sandwiches, we made our way across the city by a combination of foot and bus. Along the way we encountered a life-size cuy, who is apparently the chosen symbol of one of Peru's major political parties. I guess that's not too much stranger than having a donkey or an elephant?

Our afternoon destination was Miraflores, a very upscale part of Lima right along the coast. First stop: a delicious lunch, which was amazing not only for what it did not include (our usual daily fare of rice and potatoes), but for what it did: fresh fruit juice and authentic Peruvian ceviche!

The ceviche was definitely tasty, but unfortunately about an hour after lunch my stomach decided that this particular dish did not meet my body's biological standards and rejected my brain's lunchtime choices. I think this is a good time to note that Jorge, PC Peru's awesome head doctor, has informed us that approximately 70% of volunteers "Peru" their pants at some point during their service. NO, this has not happened to me yet - thankfully - but my incredulity at that statistic is definitely beginning to wane haha.

Gastronomic issues aside, Miraflores was beautiful, and Lima's usual cloud cover wore off just in time for us to enjoy a lovely afternoon of sun and ocean breezes as we walked around the parks and shops.

It felt good to have a day off, a change of scenery, and time to explore and relax with friends. Lima made an excellent first impression, and I'm sure this is only the first of many visits to come.