May 22, 2015
Miraflores near Lima – Wow! What a day. Came back last night
with 123 photos. So much happened that I’ll probably have to do this in installments.
With lots of pictures!
We set out for
Miraflores, a trendy and hip district not too
far from our humble lodgings and easily accessible by metro. Waiting for the
bus, I’m constantly seeing people hauling things from one place to another.
What they’re carrying and how they’re carrying it is always a surprise.
Getting to Miraflores was a snap. From there we decided to
head toward the coast and check out some of the lovely and famous parks Miraflores
is known for. The distinctive nature of this district was immediately apparent in
the people we were passing on the street. Miraflores is very cosmopolitan with
lots of extranjeros like me visiting and staying in the area. The shops are
upscale and expensive. The streets everywhere in Lima have been exceptionally
clean, but in Miraflores they’re even cleaner, more recently maintained and
much more modern.
Our first park was an eye opener. Right away we began seeing
cats. Lots of cats. Everywhere. The story is that this
park was once overrun by
mice. In desperation the people of the community brought in cats to keep the
mouse population down. The cats flourished, and the mice were accordingly
dispatched. In gratitude to the cats the city now keeps the park as a cat
sanctuary and feeds them daily. (I’m not making this up). They’re all quite
friendly, though they flagrantly disregard the signs posted to protect the lawn
and the flowers.
Amidst the cats was this colorful statue of un toro. That
fellow in back?
He’s cleaning the butt. Really, Pablo and I have seen tons of
city employees whose job it is to keep the city clean. And they do a good job.
Plus we saw more cats. And this dog, carefully leashed, but ready for action in
case anyone wanted to let him loose.
Doubtless he came from the hostel
immediately across the street from the park.
Beautiful inside as well as out, with a photogenic stairway to the balcony.
Walking further down the street, Pablo and I saw the sign we’ve
been looking for ever since we arrived in Peru.
It wasn’t a hot day, but any
day is a good day for ice cream. Pablo got lucuma, the same flavor as that
torte I described a few days ago. I got a really nice dark chocolate. They were
delicious and helped sustain us through what turned out to be a long walk
before we came to more sustenance.
Casinos can be found the world over and Peru is no
exception. Here I am, finishing my ice cream in front one named “
Mardigras”.
Peru being a catholic country traditionally there are plenty of
carnival traditions.
I’m not certain about the casino connection.
It wasn’t long before we made the coast. It was a great view
from where we were, atop the cliffs, but we had a jones to make it down to the
shoreline itself, a somewhat lengthy and complicated prospect.
A busy highway
runs between the bottom of the cliff and the sea. And then there’s getting down
the cliff itself.
Our path took us by some lovely bright colors which contrasted nicely with the general atmosphere of grey.
We found banana vendors, something you don’t see back in
Sarona, on the path, along with other vendors and exercise
stations, as well as an outfit providing ultra-light rides for those with the
plato to burn. Pablo and I were traveling light, money-wise, so shook off the plane
ride and continued our trek for
El Parque del Amor where, allegedly, our path
to the beach lay.
Aside from sporting a very romantic (and huge) sculpture,
this famous park has a wall filled with mosaics and poetic dichos,
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“Love is a butterfly that wanders at night.”
|
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“You are atop the infinite sea.” |
And then,
thankfully, another much sought after sign.
Bathrooms in Peru, like in much of
the world outside the United States are frequently “Pay Potties.” I remember a
time when you could find pay toilets in the United a tradition I think we’re
well rid of. These toilets were “no charge.” A welcome surprise.
We overshot our road to the shore and ended up at the
lighthouse, no longer working.
So we turned around and headed back. After
asking directions several times we finally managed to make our way down to the
beach. I got a chance to get my feet wet in the South Pacific. And we watched
the surfers do their stuff. Surf lessons were nearly as expensive as the
ultra-light.
Pablo and I were content to watch. Hunger began to catch up with
us though, and the way up looked more intimidating than the way down. There was
nothing to do but tighten our belts and head back up.
Eventually we made it back up and over towards Kennedy Park,
stopping for a quick bite in one of the many, many eateries along the streets
circumscribing the park. Kennedy Park is, unsurprisingly, named after the
iconic President and located near the park we first encountered and filled with…
Yep. More cats. Really the pictures don’t do justice to the sheer
density of the felines. I’m familiar with the phrase “herding cats,” but Peru
is the first country I know of to do so successfully.
Across from Kennedy Park we found a café where we could buzz
up and get some tiramisu, the national dish of me. Said café was also the home
of barista, Sara Hughes.
Surely you’ve heard of her? She apparently had the day
off so we weren’t able to get photos with her.
That pretty much wrapped up the Miraflores part of our trip. Next it's off to downtown Lima where, so Scott has told me, there's a really spectacular Light and Water show.