I’m sitting in Ica now - in shorts and top - and waiting for my pickup service for the wine and pisco tour. *cheers*
Yesterday I arrived here and went directly to Huacachina - there is a lagoon in the middle of desert, and I joined a sandbuggy tour including sandboarding through these more and less steep mountains of sand. The sun was shining and the tour was super amazing - a bit like roller coaster (11 shouting travelers and the laughing driver of the buggy), the sandboarding was really fun, lying down (front- or backwards) on the board and just speeding up downhill. The board has to be waxed after every „drive“. After 5 hills and some photo stops we stayed for the beautiful sunset and I returned to my hostel, where two French guys offered me their leftover pasta - super cool, as I was too lazy to cook or go out. So I enjoyed my dinner for one and had a nice conversation afterwards with a Brazilian girl.
But now back to Lima - against all what I heard, Lima is a great city! I felt comfortable from the first moment I arrived (only had that feeling in Cusco before during my whole trip). Maybe it is because the sun was shining, or because I got the warmest welcome you can get in a foreign city (thanks Mirtha and family), or because I had an own room and bathroom after weeks of dorms with shared bathrooms. Maybe as well because Lima is THE food city, a foodie like me has to be happy there! ;-)
After my arrival with the night bus, a shower and a wonderful breakfast prepared by the mum of Mirtha (a colleges friend where I stayed the 5 nights) I just took nap, before the lunch was offered. After Mirtha came home from work, we drove and walked around Miraflores - a safe and pretty district of Lima - and finally ended up in a Swiss restaurant - real cheese, „Fleischkäse“, salami, good bread and red wine *ilove*
As I officially like Switzerland (met more Swiss people than Germans), I met up again with Jenny and Noémi (I know them from Vilcabamba and Huanchaco and we will hike the Colca Canyon Trek in Arequipa together). We visited the „centro historico“ (Plaza de Armas, palacio…), tried to get to the „Cerro de San Cristóbal“ (nice view over the city, but as well dangerous, surrounded by favelas), but the tour didn’t start within one hour. It was super hot and we got hungry - hungry women need food! So we went to a small restaurant and enjoyed a lunch menu and a cappuccino afterwards. Back in Miraflores (1h in city bus) we met with a Peruvian girl of Jennys family and had some frozen yoghurt. It took me another hour to get back to Mirtha's place. The traffic is horrible, sometimes you need 1h for only 4km… After the hectic day, we went together to a yoga class, which was super relaxing and gave us a good sleep afterwards.
Friday morning I used to plan my further trip and doing some Skype sessions to my loved ones at home. After lunch (papa relleno, typical and delicious, filled potato puree with meat, egg, olive…) Mirtha’s mum and sister took me by car through the city districts Sucro, Barranco and up to the „Cristo del Pacífico“ (similar to the one in Rio). Later Mirtha and myself met Julia (my PoleFitness friend from home) and Isabelle, they are doing their ERASMUS studies in Lima. We went to the „Parque de la Reserva“ (Circuito Magico del Agua) - a park full of water fountains and light-water shows. It was amazing!! But watching so much water makes hungry and thirsty. Wingman is an amazing restaurant in the district of Barranco, where we enjoyed the best chicken wings. Afterwards Mirtha took us to a club (El Dragón) to dance and drink. *thanks*
After a long and good sleep we had late breakfast and my third time in Peru I was asked to bake my famous and yummie red wine cake - of course, always a pleasure!! :-) To feel a bit active, we took Cielo - the lovely dog - for a walk along the seaside to the big shopping mall Larcomar and back. For the night we agreed another party with my German girls - OKTOBERFEST!!! Believe me, I was the happiest person on earth, eating a (no, three!) German Brezel after almost four months! The tent was decorated like in Germany, but the beer was only in 500ml plastic cups. We started to dance on the benches, but were asked to sit down again by a security - what’s that?? The music started with a German band and I remember at least one German song - ATEMLOOOS! Few beers and hours later, the band changed to another one, playing salsa music and the Peruvians were freaking out! I met a great salsa dancer and had a lot of fun. :-)
Sunday morning was hard…but we felt good again in the late afternoon. Mirtha and her family invited me to the gorgeous fish restaurant „Pescados Capitales“ and took me to a family birthday party afterwards - with more food of course… :-)
Although (or because?!) it was raining in the late evening, the last day in Lima was just perfect. I think I have to come back one day to my beloved „2nd family“ and the other great people I met.
Muchas gracias a todos - thanks to all who made my stay in Lima that amazing and unforgettable! *besos y abrazos*
I will take the night bus today, to Arequipa, the second biggest city of Peru, 12 hours drive up to 2335m… And afterwards heading up to Bolivia. *exited*