Day 31: What to do in Peru (Lima)

This morning I was wide awake by 530 thanks to the noisy street and bright sun. I tried going back to sleep a bit, but it was useless. By 630 I was up and getting ready for the day. The hostel provided breakfast which were crepes with jam and what I thought was peanut butter, but was actually a butterscotch pudding. By 730 I was at the hotel waiting for my dad. While I waited, I wanted to find out if we could check in early. Upon doing so, the man informed me that we were not to check in until the following day. I said what do you mean? I'm meeting him here today. He said no, tomorrow the 25 we have you arriving. I said okay, let me check the itinerary. He was right, I am meeting my dad tomorrow, Friday February 25th; not Thursday February 24th. I even knew this when I purchased my flight to Lima. But somehow, I got it stuck in my head that it was the next day. So now what do I do? With a day in Lima all to myself? Back to the hostel I went to figure out just what I wanted to do.

I decided to take a bus to go into the main square of town. I found a small restaurant to get some more breakfast (those crepes weren't enough.) I ordered some sort of egg sandwhich, but the lady brought me a beef sandwich instead. I'm not sure where that got lost in translation. Either way, it was still delicious. I continued down the road, saw a crowd and heard some music.  It looked like some sort of a changing of the gaurd was going on at an important looking government palace. It was interesting to see, especially after seeing several in Europe. In my opinion, the music was better, and so was the performance. Afterwards I continued on around downtown Lima. There was a great park, beautiful architecture, and tons of shops and people. I popped my head in a few stores, bought an ice cream, and sat at the park for a bit. By now it was mid afternoon and I headed back to my hostel.

I went out near the hostel for lunch. As I was trying to read a menu outside of a local restaurant, a man approached me saying "welcome come in what do you want I'll help you with the menu." So I went in an ordered what he had. We talked for a bit, but I got some weird vibes after he told me he's divorced, his age, and then wanted to pay for my food. (Thankfully I had already paid.) So I promptly left after I was done eating.

From there I went down to the beach which was also a short walk from the hostel. The city is perched up on cliffs that rise up from the ocean. Then a major highway separates the beach from the bottom of the cliffs. The overlook from the top was amazing. The view spread from Callao - the northern neighborhood to Mira Flores - to past Barranco - the southern neighborhood to Mira Flores then out into the Pacific Ocean. There were surfers and Para gliders all over the place. Down at the beach I relaxed on the rocks, trying to catch some sun. After a bit, I walked along the shore where I was stopped by every guy selling surf or paragliding lessons. I couldn't make it more than 100ft in 30min. By this time, the sun was setting which was amazing. One of the prettiest sunsets that I've seen in a long time. As it got dark, I headed up the hill back to my hostel.

That night I hung out with a group of people from the hostel. They ranged from having been traveling for 13 months to 6 months to a week, from Australia, Holland, and the U.K. It was a great group of people. We went out for pizza for dinner, and then hung out at the hostel bar that night. As they are all going out to a local club, I am going to bed. I am still exhausted from traveling yesterday and have another long day ahead of me tomorrow.