Ola from Peru! Last time I was here in Lima, it was in the days BM (Before ManpanionTM) and Lisa and I were trekking our way through the Salkantay Glacier on the alternate route for reaching Macchu Picchu. It was a great trip that started in Cusco and finished up in Lima. I don’t remember a huge amount about Lima other than the drive in involved a coastal highway with high cliffs on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. I think we rented a car – but I can’t be 100% about that. In any case, this time, we had booked a car to pick us up from Lima airport to take us to the hotel, so we could relax and enjoy the view.
Our trip out had been very straightforward – we took a morning flight from ORD to Newark, then connected to our flight to Lima. The flights were on time (no running through the airport this time!) and, despite a chaotic boarding process in Newark for the flight to Lima, our 7.5hr flight in bizmouse class went pretty quickly (I watched the film Interstellar for the first time – fantastic film which I’m I’m still thinking about!). By the time we got through immigration and baggage claim, it was almost 10pm – despite that, there was a ton of traffic so it took us a little while to get to our hotel, the awesome Nhow Hotel. Its only been open 9 months – but I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s brilliantly designed by someone with a clear sense of humor – lots of quirky details scattered all about including a fireplace inside an alpaca! HERE
In addition to the offbeat design, this hotel seems to be powered by house music. From the taxi to the reception to breakfast (at 8am) to rooftop drinks at 10pm, there was a steady beat of electronic dance music – and I was all for it. It fit the vibe of the hotel – and, indeed, the town!
We only had one day, really, in Lima before our flight to Iquitos and, honestly, we were kinda lazy. Breakfast was at a very civilized 6am to 11am, so we wandered down around 9.30am for some feed and coffee. The buffet was great and ManpanionTM enjoyed his heuvos rancheros (a perpetual search for eggy greatness). We clearly overachieved because after breakfast, it was time to have a nap – also the UV index was “extreme” with sunburn possible in only 11 minutes! So we decided for everyone’s comfort and safety to lounge around until the danger passed – such a pleasant change of pace from my most recent trips!!
We finally got our asses out of the hotel at around 2pm – it was warm (about 70F) and not too sunny, but pleasant short sleeve weather. Our hotel was very centrally located in the Miraflores district (upscale, touristy, fancy shops and restaurants) so it was only a short walk to some of the main sights. First up – the Cat Park! Basically a park with cats in it. And, true to form of public cats everywhere, they couldn’t be any less interested in anyone who had come to look at them! (I’m still emotionally scarred from the cat cafe in Singapore). We spotted about 4 or 5 – including one big white cat that reminded me of the psycho cat Loopy has back in Cyprus. So we strolled through pretty quickly (tripping over a couple of cat food dishes as we went) and found ourselves on the main avenue, leading down to the ocean.
The primary attraction is the shopping mall that is basically carved into the cliff and a number of restaurants that have front row views of the Pacific ocean. We’d gotten some recommendations from the guy at the front desk so took his advice and went and plonked ourselves in this restaurant called Popular. It was very, um, busy – and we lucked out with getting a table on the balcony that directly overlooked the water. (I guess the restaurant is not that worried about their internet search algorithms). We had our first (likely not last) Pisco Sour of the trip and also some delicious traditional ceviche. I then had some sushi which wasn’t quite as good – but it was all about the views anyway.
I did start to feel a little bit dicky as we walked back to the hotel (maybe too much raw fish all in a single setting?) so we got our hustle on – until I stumbled on an uneven bit of sidewalk and twisted my ankle!! How is it I can hike for 2 weeks to and from Everest Base Camp without incident – but I end up twisting my ankle on a Peruvian street?!! It was a bit sore but I could still walk, so we more gingerly made our way back (I was already walking a bit funny as the gym session I’d had the day before I left Kicked My Ass, so my legs were toast!) and rested up in our room, watching the Artemis II re-entry and landing. My ankle did, indeed, swell up like a duck egg – but I managed to jam it into some sneakers and we went up to the rooftop bar for an evening drink anyway.
And that, basically, was it. The next morning we left the hotel at around 830am, so we’d get to the airport around 930am, ahead of our 1130am flight. All went smoothly (I had bought us Premium Economy tickets on LATAM – the closest to DouchePass I could get) and check-in and bag drop took no time at all. The airport is pretty nice, with some fun shops to look at to pass the time (I had bought a ton of alpaca stuff the last time I was here, so that itch has already been scratched). Soon enough, we were at the boarding gate ready for our flight to Iquitos – and closely studying the rest of the passengers, trying to figure out who else might be on our Amazon cruise (this flight was the one recommended by the Aqua Nera peeps, so we were expecting most of the non-Peruvian folk to be our fellow travelers). The flight was smooth and uneventful (always the best kind) and, after only about an hour, we were descending into Iquitos. Looking out the window, I got my first glimpse of the mighty Amazon river and the surrounding rainforest. My primary thought – I wonder just how many millions of spiders are within my eyeballs’ gaze right now?
And so now, its onto the main part of our trip – a 7 night exploration of the Amazon on the Aqua Nera! Here’s the boat: https://www.aquaexpeditions.com/cruise-ships/aqua-nera
We are doing the Iquitos to Iquitos round trip itinerary (there are also 3 and 4 night versions available) so by the end of our trip, we will definitely have done the Amazon. So, stay tuned for the next post!!
