Arriving in Lima, I thought it would be best to head straight to the meeting hotel (Los Girasoles) for my first tour, albeit a few days early. It´s a little more expensive than hostels but I figured the extra safety (and comfort) justified the cost.
Again, I was straight onto the street to savour a new and exciting city. Av. Jose Larco in Miraflores is a bustling centre for Lima. At the end is a fantastic shopping centre, atop a cliff overlooking the beach. Certain parts of Lima can be dangerous (especially for the single traveller) but they have developed this district primarily for tourists to feel secure. On almost every corner is either police or security - nearly every shop has security too. I guess this indicates how serious Limeons are about protecting their thriving tourism industry (or it could also indicate the underlying dangers in South America).
The next day I wanted to try a tandem parachute off the beachside cliff in Miraflores. Although, the operator told me there wasn´t enough wind and I didn´t feel like becoming a pancake 200 metres below.
At lunch, I dined solo with Peru´s self-proclaimed national drink, Pisco Sour. I think that will be the first and last. You know those sour wartheads we had as kids? Multiply by about ten and you´ll be close to the taste.
With a belly full, I did my own walking tour of another popular suburb called Baranco. I figure you see more when walking and it´s easy to know where to go by following the hundreds at tourist buses.
After being average male height in Australia, it´s a pleasant change to be well above average height . In fact, there aren´t too many locals taller than me. I thought I would blend into South American appearance but that´s obviously not the case with the amount of people staring and hassling me to buy their goods on the street. It´s been rather difficult weeding out the genuinely nice people from the scammers. I have been trying to meet locals but need to know more Spanish.
Well, it´s now time to meet my tour group for Peru and Bolivia. At last, I won´t be travelling alone and will have security in numbers for 15 days. Pumped to start one of the highlights of my trip.
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