From São Paulo, I boarded a LATAM flight across South America heading to Peru. The travel was smooth and took 5 hours.
I arrived in the capital of Peru in the morning and was picked up at the airport directly by my friend, with whom I had been travelling just before in Brazil.
Accomodation
I was lucky that my friend had a car, so I could just drop my luggage in there. It was still too early for the check-in at my new apartment. We headed into the touristy area of Lima (Miraflores), and grabbed some food. Afterwards, we did some groceries and headed to the Airbnb. I like the San Isidro area (Banking Street). It’s very close to a couple of co-working spaces, has modern apartments, is close to shops and cafes, and it’s also a secure area. These are all factors that led me to book in the exact same building where I stayed on my last visit. This will be my base for 3 weeks while in Peru.
Daily routine
Since Lima isn’t a new city for me and I’m quite familiar with the area, I tried to establish a routine right from the beginning to stay as productive as possible. I still had a wework membership since I was in Australia and could also use that membership in Lima, where they have around 5 offices. Two are located within walking distance of my Airbnb, which I visited almost daily. My life wasn’t especially spectacular during workweeks. Working, eating, hanging out, sleeping.
Meeting friends
The first weekend was relaxed. The past weeks were busy and involved a lot of travelling. So I did not want to go far. Just hanging around and meeting people. I have a couple of close friends living in Lima. So I made sure to meet them for dinner after work or on the weekend. It’s a nice feeling to be back and see friends again. Getting personal updates and connecting in person again, after everything had been digital via messages before.
Ordering a lot of Peruvian food. Things that aren’t commonly found outside Peru, but are quite delicious. Also, I had some breakfast places on my list to revisit. I also met some friends in the park and walked around, or did a photo session.
The friend I was travelling with in Brazil is reviewing bars in Lima, and we also went to some bars to record videos. One evening, we went out with her social media partner for dinner and had a great time. Another day we went to her favourite bar in Lima. A digital nomad friend I met in Buenos Aires was also in the city and joined us. He was also in love with cocktail bars.
Fine-dining experiences
Peru has a very distinct cuisine, a lot of fusion food, and a huge gastronomic industry that is doing a great job of promoting it. They’re ranking quite high on many lists, near the top, for the best kitchen. For me, it’s not the best food in the world, but it has some really delicious meals, and the quality of places to eat is high. Lima ranks two restaurants among the top 10 in the world. To one of them I wanted to go for a long time, but never managed. So we finally fixed a date and did it. The experience was definitely amazing, and the food was unique and great.
They created a handful of self-created dishes based on traditional food or local ingredients. In my case, it started with a watermelon starter, continued with Roasted Cauliflower as a main and ended with an “Andean Corn Pavlova” as the dessert. Besides, I had a very local cocktail called “Chilcano de Pisco”. It tasted amazing and also looked very appealing and colourful.
San Bartolo, Peru
San Bartolo is a holiday town on the southern coast of Lima. People go there in the summer and enjoy the beaches. On the second weekend of my stay in Peru. My friend and I booked an Airbnb for 2 days there and headed for a weekend getaway.
The weather was pretty good and sunny. So we walked along the beachwalk and had local food. We bought a snack called “Picarones” from a street vendor on the way to our Airbnb. Afterwards, we checked into our Airbnb. It was an apartment with a jacuzzi with a sea view. We for sure had to use this in the evening.
Since I’m travelling with a drone in my luggage, I want to use it in San Bertolo and to get a panoramic view of the village and beachside. I was flying just before sunset, so the light was pretty nice. Since our Airbnb was a little above the beach, with a good view, I was able to maintain a good connection with the drone and therefore fly to quite a few spots around the apartment to capture some nice shots.
While we spent time in the apartment, an earthquake was happening. In Peru, it’s very common, and nothing happens unless it’s very strong. I never managed to feel one clearly, so that day it happened. I was measured with a strength of 4.2 on the scale.
The next day, we headed to a nearby village called Punta Hermosa, famous for surfing. It was a bit foggy, so not the best view, but kind of a mystic atmosphere. Also nice, just different. We walked around the town, ended up at the beachside (Playa Negra), and watched some people surfing. Later, we went for some local food.
Lunahuaná, Peru
Another weekend trip away was Lunahuaná. It’s located to the South as well, like San Bertolo, but farther from the coast. Around a 4-hour drive, but since we drove there during a public holiday, we got stuck in traffic on the highways in Lima. So the total travel time was around double.
On the way, we stopped at an Artisan Bakery (Panaderia Artesanal), which are many to find right next to the highway. They bake fresh bread in a stone oven. Usually with some filling. It was really tasty. Such places seem very common for people travelling to make a stop, as we did.
We made it to our final destination already after it got dark. That was definitely not what we planned for. We booked 3 nights in a small wooden house as part of a tiny resort complex a little out in the countryside. Since we have our own car, it wasn’t a problem for us to reach every destination.
On the first day, we booked a quad tour out in a deserted valley. We drove through some curvy, sandy roads before gaining altitude to reach a spot with a nice view over the valley. There, we stopped and walked up to a ruin, which we quickly visited. Afterwards, we headed back the same path. It was my first quad tour for me. It was pretty fun.
After we finished the tour, my friend let me drive her car, and we drove farther east into some more local villages, where we took a walk. Those places are very typical. Stone houses, local stores and a main square where people hang out. There we had “Mazamorra Morada” from a vendor, a popular Peruvian dessert made from purple corn and fruit.
Back in the accommodation, I had a work session in the hammock. So peaceful. Hearing the river in the background. Seeing the valley with the steep cliffs and swinging in the hammock.
Every morning we got a nice breakfast served. Peaceful with a nice view. On our last full day, we finally made it to the main town, “Lunahuaná”. It’s way busier there, and we had a hard time finding parking. So we decided to walk far. Since we hadn’t walked enough, we also hiked up to a viewpoint to overlook the valley. Also, fewer people, because most Peruvians are lazy and don’t want to walk. So that’s amazing. Having the best spots alone.
After visiting the main town, we spent one more night at the resort, had a nice dinner there, and then returned to Lima. This time, without traffic jams and therefore a smoother ride. The government was better prepared this time and widened certain highway stretches from the South to 4 lanes in total. Traffic from North to South (less frequently driven) was rerouted on the old Pan-American Highway. We stopped at a mall and had lunch and ice cream. Then we arrived in Lima, where I booked a hotel in the centre for one night. The next day, I had a flight to Colombia.
