Flying into Lima from Colombia I was feeling a little unsure of what to expect and if anything I had low expectations for my visit. I think that was because of a few underwhelming comments I’d heard and probably also because of the recent political instability that had seen major riots across the entire nation of Peru. I arrived late at night and so didn’t get a chance to really appreciate anything until the morning, and, what a pleasant surprise! I was admittedly staying in the upmarket Miraflores neighbourhood which for me is perhaps the nicest I’ve seen during my travels of Latin America, but apart from that I just felt a real sense of calmness on the streets when what I was expecting was total madness! Even the sidewalks and stores on some of the principal streets gave me a relaxed feeling and given that 2 of my three bank/credit cards had been cloned in Mexico and my sole remaining card was only functioning in about 50 percent of places, to be feeling relaxed was just what I needed!
Spending a day exploring on foot I noticed that obviously not the entire city is a utopia of calmness. Some of the main highways are pretty much gridlocked, but in the centre of the city at the main square it was still surprisingly peaceful. I was really loving it. In terms of the weather, it was pretty overcast most of the time which I believe is fairly common in Lima out of summertime, but it was cooler than I thought considering how far north it is located in the southern hemisphere. It turns out a continuous strong breeze up the pacific coastline brings the average temperature down somewhat pleasantly compared to other places with a similar geographical location.
During my final day in the city I booked a surf lesson which turned out to be a fantastic experience. The only time previously that I had taken a surf lesson was in Australia almost ten years prior, which was great fun but we spent half the time standing on the board in the sand learning the basics and going over safety drills. This is clearly not the style in Lima! And after a quick demo on the rocky shoreline, me and the guide headed straight into the choppy waters to get things going! To be fair, I was the only person who had booked on the course so this meant things could get going quicker, but it really was an exhilarating feeling to just jump straight on the board and give it my best shot. If the guide weren’t there I think I would have been a little scared given the depth and choppiness of the water, but I had full trust in him and I spent the next half hour or so trying my best to repeatedly surf towards the cliff faces of the metropolis that is Lima. What a surreal (and tiring) feeling!
On my final evening in the city I attended a football match of the famous Alianza Lima club in the notorious La Victoria neighbourhood, which went surprisingly well and I made it back to the hotel safe and sound. The next morning I headed to the airport for a flight to Chile and my only disappointment was that I didn’t have more to spend in Lima. The experience went much further than my expectations and I will definitely check it out again when I hopefully experience more of Peru one day.