Lima

One of the first things you will read about Lima is not to trust the Taxis.  As I sit here drinking a Pisco Sour at the Gran Hotel Bolivar on the eve of my departure (48 hours after arrival) I have to say my taxi experience has been quite good. Four hours after arriving in Lima I was mugged. That must be some kind of record.

Upon arriving on a red-eye from New York at 7am, I paid the exorbitant rate of $42 (S. 110) to get to the Gran Hotel Bolivar in downtown Lima. A standard rate from the airport to downtown by the regulated Green Taxi stand after you exit customs, and other licensed taxis would have been under S. 50 (~$20) - a more reasonable fare, but so long since similar travel, and confronted by the mass crowd outside customs where Green Taxi is, I reversed course to arrange a car within the security of the customs area. For my $42 I got a Fiat driver in a suit, a private gated waiting area while he pulled up the car for me, and instructions that Downtown Lima where I was staying was dangerous at night.

The Gran Hotel Bolivar is situated on the Plaza San Martin historic center of Lima, once the choice of world leaders like Nixon and Jagger, it has faded over the years as newer areas of Lima like Miraflores and San Miguel have risen among the wealthy. Today much of the historic district has been reclaimed thanks to a heavy police presence, but it remains a relatively rough area, surrounded by poverty stricken regions like Rimac to the north.

The room was nice. Described on TripAdvisor as basic and fading but clean, it was sparse. But as described, large with high ceilings and clean. I crashed and after a few extra hours of sleep awoke, staggering out of bed disoriented. Lima is only 500 feet above sea level, it couldn't be the altitude. I would later learn that I was awoken by a tremor, Lima sits on a fault line and is one of the most seismically active regions of the world. I'd just felt my first earthquake.

I showered and hit the streets at around 11am. There are a number of walking streets in the downtown area so as I'm accustomed to from my New York and Boston upbringing I headed down Jiron de La Union and just started walking. I had been warned about the dangers of Lima and crime in South America so as I always do I carried my camera in a bag and was cautious. Most of the stores in this area are larger chains, but as I approached the outskirts of downtown Lima things got more interesting. Small carts served ceviche to the locals, men hawked motorcycle carts filled with strawberries and other produce.

I reached a bridge from which I could see a mountain covered in small homes, in front of which appeared to be a power plant spewing black fumes. Lured by the promise of a photo op I pressed onward though I knew I was entering territory out of my comfort zone (my smiles and holas to the locals brought no reciprocation). After snapping a few photos I looped around and turned back, over the next bridge to my right. Twenty minutes later it became clear I was lost.

As is my usual exit in this type of situation I attempted to hail a cab, but my lack of knowledge of Spanish began to haunt me in a large way. At first all of the prices seemed too high. Then no one could understand where I waned to go. Frustrated, I pressed on hopeful that I would find a landmark I recognized. I began to walk down longer streets that branched out into small alleyways. I saw fewer people along the way. A teenager in a red track suit approached me along with another, extending his arm to shake my hand and speaking words in spanish I didn't understand. My street smarts kicked in but my only options were to move forward or turn on my heels and run.

I pressed forward hopeful that they wouldn't follow. They did. A few more steps, one grabbed my jacket while the other went into my pocket for my wallet. I fought them off, yelling for help. This was broad daylight but in this area very few people were around. It was clearly a crime of opportunity. As I continued to fight I saw threes were walking in my direction and seeing the others coming toward us they ran off. A man, an off duty security guard or police officer (if my spanish was better I would know) helped me get a taxi. Finally I went back to the hotel, cleared my thoughts, checked my wallet and organized on my next plan of action. Tomorrow's plan, and dinner.

Lima is a food culture. Gaston Accurio, the celebrity chef of the Astrid & Gaston chain is the most popular figure to come out of the country since maybe ever. Malabar, owned by another up and coming celebrity chef was ranked one of the top 50 restraints in the world, and the country is immensely proud of this. Both are located in the "cool" and "up and coming" neighborhood of Miraflores so that was my next destination.

Along with food, Miraflores is where most of the tourists go. Miraflores could be compared to Santa Monica, if there was an armed police officer or Security guard every five meters. While part of this was why I chose not to stay there my recent run-in with the less reputable of downtown locals pushed me to try some of the more touristic options. One of which was Lima Bike Tours. For $40 each Sunday they offer a 5 hour bicycle tour from Miraflores to downtown. The company offers similar tours of San Isidro and coastal Miraflores during the week. So I proceeded to take a Taxi (approx S. 20 to Miraflores from downtown) to book my Sunday tour.

After learning the hard way that you can't just drop in on a restaurant, I went to Restobar for a Pisco Sour and then hit up Malabar. If you arrive early, it is easy to get a seat at the bar. I had the Scallops in Bone Marrow, amazing, the best scallops I have ever had and the Fish of the Day.

A note on restaurants in Peru, their hours don't mesh with those in the U.S. The good restaurants open for lunch and for diner and are often closed one or two nights a week. Astrid & Gaston for instance isn't open on Sundays. Malabar opens from 7:30 - 11pm for dinner. Many restaurants close at 4pm or 5pm. Confirm times ahead.

Also, in many places the staff expect that foreigners are not accustomed to or won't like local cuisine. For this reason I was turned away from the Tuna and Salmon tartare for mediocre spring rolls at Bravo Restobar and had several sub-par items at the Gran Bolivar. Order what you think you will like and take your chances. It will be worth it.

On my second day in Lima I woke up early, had the hotel breakfast and took a taxi (S. 20) to Miraflores. Depending on where you're leaving from and where you're going the taxi fare can vary, but only by a few solas so I within reason it's not worth an argument. By the waterfront in Miraflores the rates are higher, if you speak Spanish well and can negotiate the rates are lower but overall taxis are reliable and trustworthy.

The bike tour which I highly recommend included Huacca Pullanya - a pyramid created by the original Lima civilization prior it the Inkas - and many other touristy places in Lima was an excellent way to experience the city. But Lima can be seen fast. After the tour, I headed to the Corner Bar in Miraflores to watch football and had already mentally moved on to my next stop, Puerto Maldonado.

A final note on Lima. It's an interesting place. Restaurants like Astrid & Gaston and Malabar are places the country is immensely proud of because they put Peru on the world map. But Lima is still a place where half the population lives in poverty. The two guys who tried to rob me did so because I was an easy target and it would otherwise take them months to earn that much money. Miraflores, where the wealthy in the city live is basically a police state. Well trained private security guards assist the local and federal police (and they're everywhere) to create a sense of security in the wealthy areas, but several miles away live hundreds of thousands of people that could never afford to shop there. Whether the city can sustain this is an open question.

In the meantime, Lima remains a city in transition. A place where the wealthy have made tremendous strides to position the city and the country of Peru as a global center. But where the vast majority of the population is forced into their place, which  seems unsustainable, to say the least.

Getting in: 
A direct flight from JFK takes approximately 7 hours 40 minutes and can cost as little as $800 for a round trip. Once you arrive your best bet is to walk outside the customs area and hire a green taxi in the baggage claim area.

Getting around: 
Everyone takes taxis. There are plenty of other options but for the uninitiated they can be confusing. Taxi rates are generally reasonable so there's no reason to do anything else, just make sure to agree on the rate (in Soles) ahead of time.

Basic taxi rates (as of Nov 2012): 
Airport to downtown S. 30 - 40
Airport to Miraflores S. 40 - 50
Downtown to Miraflores S. 10 - 20
Downtown to San Isidro S. 10 - 15

Lay of the land: 
The main business areas are downtown, the historic center of the city; San Isidro, a to the south of downtown