Our long trip: 2. Lima, Peru
We arrived in Peru after two overnight flights with a layover in El Salvador. During the stopover in San Salvador, I at least managed to try a local specialty at the airport – pupusas, cornmeal flatbreads filled with cheese and served with cabbage. Well, it wasn’t the best meal of my life, but maybe airport food isn’t the most representative.
Lima
We landed in Lima at 3:30 AM. Our internal clocks were completely off anyway, so it didn’t feel too strange.
At the airport, I faced a dilemma: should I declare my drone to customs (officially, you’re supposed to do this in Peru, plus pay a refundable fee)? In the end, I decided to do it, but the customs officer just waved his hand after seeing my tiny drone.
At least there was a café open at 4 AM, serving coffee and pastries, so we sat down and waited for daylight. We didn’t feel like wandering around in the dark.
When it finally got light out, the weather remained gloomy and overcast. As we later learned, this is typical for Lima in winter – they say Lima is “under the donkey’s belly”; if you look at the sky, you’ll see that donkey’s belly above you. We didn’t feel much like leaving the airport – it didn’t look very inviting. But waiting around any longer made no sense either. So eventually, we picked ourselves up and headed into the heart of Lima’s morning rush – full of smog, grey skies, and honking cars. A romantic Peruvian welcome, you might say.
We chose the Airport Express bus to get from the airport to Miraflores, a safe and tourist-friendly part of the city where we were staying. The ticket cost 15 PEN (about 90 CZK) per person – a comfortable and reliable way to get to the center.
The bus ride took us through Callao, one of the most dangerous areas in all of Peru. Just looking out the window, it was easy to see why – many of the houses were unfinished, often without windows, doors, or roofs. Living there can’t be easy.
After arriving in Miraflores, we only had a short walk to our hostel, where we dropped off our luggage. Although Miraflores is considered safe and is recommended for tourists, we didn’t feel entirely at ease on our first day. Maybe it was the exhaustion from the long flight, or maybe just culture shock – either way, we stuck to the main streets and stayed in the hostel after dark.
After a short rest, we went out in search of food. Tired and not feeling adventurous that day, we decided against trying local cuisine right away and ended up at a familiar Burger King. When you want to avoid surprises, global fast-food chains are a safe bet.
We still had two practical tasks left for the day: get some local currency and buy a local SIM card. Exchanging money was easy – the hostel recommended a nearby exchange office where we traded a few hundred dollars after checking the rate. (Later on, we mostly used Banco de la Nación ATMs, which don’t charge fees.)
Getting a SIM card was more of a challenge. We could’ve gotten an eSIM in advance, but a local SIM is much cheaper. I chose the Claro operator for its coverage and price, and we headed to one of their large stores in Miraflores.
Even though there were about 30 employees inside, we waited over half an hour before being helped. I had prepared a few key phrases in Spanish, so the explanation went well – but the process was far more complicated than I expected.
We had to present our passport (which we anticipated), but I also had to place a fingerprint on paper instead of signing – I was tempted to add three little crosses, but figured they wouldn’t get the joke. Then I was sent to another counter to pay 35 soles (around 210 CZK), followed by another wait while the clerk searched the stockroom for a SIM card. And even then, it wasn’t over – we had to wait again at another counter for activation.
The whole thing took almost an hour – and this was just for a standard tourist SIM. Efficiency clearly wasn’t the priority. As we were leaving, I chatted with a German couple who had been waiting even longer. In the end, they accidentally got signed up for a monthly postpaid plan instead of a prepaid SIM. They were hoping to cancel it somehow later…
Worn out from all the errands and jet lag, we returned to the hostel before dark, locked ourselves in the room, and went to bed early. Our first day in the Southern Hemisphere was behind us.
The second day, we already felt noticeably better. A good night’s sleep and breakfast at the hostel helped. In better spirits, we headed to the local tourist info center, where we planned to join a free walking tour – a tried-and-true way for us to get a feel for a city, get tips from locals, and find out where to go (and where not to). You don’t pay in advance – you simply tip the guide at the end based on how useful the tour was.
The tour helped us understand how Lima works. Our guide showed us how to use public transport (not exactly intuitive in this city), and we all took a ride to the historic center. We tried the local version of churros (filled with chocolate) and got a bunch of tips from the guide. The tour ended with a free tasting of pisco, a local grape brandy, at a local restaurant – which we, of course, didn’t turn down.
After the tour, we went to lunch with a few other participants – but this turned out to be a bit of a tourist trap. The restaurant clearly catered to tourists, based on the prices. Lunch cost us 95 PEN (about 600 CZK), which is a lot by local standards. Lesson learned: check prices first, then sit down.
That evening, we returned to Miraflores, and this time we felt a bit more confident. We even dared to go out after dark and bought dinner at a local panadería – warm empanadas filled with meat and cheese.
By the third day, we were feeling much more comfortable in Lima. The sun finally came out, which made the city feel far more welcoming.
We took a walk through the coastal parks that stretch along the cliffs above the ocean. In Parque el Libro, we were pleasantly surprised to find a Václav Havel bench – a lovely reminder of home so far away. In Parque del Amor (Love Park), the most striking feature was a fence absolutely covered with love locks. Nearby, in Maria Reiche Park (at the time we had no idea who she was), flowerbeds formed replicas of Nazca lines. With decent weather, the walk was really enjoyable.
Afterwards, we headed to Huaca Pucllana – an archaeological site right in the middle of the city. We hesitated briefly whether it was worth paying the entrance fee, since part of the pyramid is visible from the outside. But it was definitely worth it. This over 2000-year-old structure, made of adobe bricks, is surprisingly well preserved and the view from the terraces is breathtaking. It’s a fascinating contrast to the modern buildings surrounding it.
Having learned from the day before, we were more careful choosing a lunch spot. We found a great place called Casa Pacha, just a short walk from the pyramid. A generous meal with drinks for both of us cost 28 PEN (about 170 CZK). A much nicer price than the day before. For the rest of our time in Peru, we continued looking for places like this – and were usually successful.
That evening we were heading to Huaraz, so we picked up some snacks for the bus and returned to the hostel to collect our luggage. Luckily, they’d let us store it there all day – a very common (and very useful) service in Peru, as we later learned.
We took an Uber to the bus terminal, which turned out to be a bonus adventure in itself. Traffic on Lima’s main roads is pure madness. Lanes are more of a suggestion – people drive wherever there’s space, horns are used more than turn signals, and traffic jams never seem to end. I honestly wouldn’t want to drive in Lima – I just don’t have the nerves for it.
For the journey to Huaraz, we chose the bus company Cruz del Sur. The price was higher than we would have liked – 110 PEN (about 660 CZK) per person – but the bus was clean, comfortable, and the seats reclined almost fully. For our first overnight ride in Peru, we opted for the safer choice instead of going with the cheapest possible company.