Peru. Lima

In the capital, we spent the last two days of our journey before flying back home... In the afternoon, we took a bus to Lima, coming from the resort town of Paracas. For the night, we stayed at a hostel in the Miraflores district, and in the evening, we managed to stroll through the colorful markets nearby. The next morning, before our flight, we visited the main square and the bohemian district of Barranco...

 From the hostel in the Miraflores district, we took a bus early in the morning to the main square. Interestingly, travel on local transport is only possible with transit cards, but the locals helped us get through the turnstile at the entrance by using their own transit cards, and we gave them the necessary fare... We got off in the historic center, near San Martín Square, in the middle of which stands a monument to a figure of the Argentine Revolution, who is a national hero of both Peru and Argentina...

 Next, we walked through the streets of the central part of the city towards the main square...

  In the main square of the city, there is a beautiful cathedral...

  But what draws the most attention are the beautifully designed wooden balconies, which are quite unusual to see on a cathedral... 

   The balconies are a distinctive feature of central Lima; they are the main adornment of all the buildings around... 

  The streets of the central part of the capital of Peru...

  After exploring the city center, we took a bus to the Barranco district - the artistic part of Lima...  

  In search of a nice place to have breakfast, we descended to the ocean... 

  But everything along the coastline was closed, except for a local Peruvian woman selling coffee and sandwiches... So, we went down to the water and had coffee with sandwiches... After that, we returned the same way back to the central part to enjoy the murals that fill the Barranco district...   

Park De La Cruz...

  

 A painted bridge at the park's exit...

  

Murals cover the bridge from all sides...

  After passing the bridge, we saw different paintings...

   We also saw a very interesting tree whose trunk was covered with spikes... It's a variety of cotton tree...

  

  Next, we headed along the beautiful waterfront towards the Miraflores district...

 From there, we enjoyed the very landscapes that distinguish the capital of Peru... 

  The city seems to loom over the ocean...

  Upon reaching the Larcomar shopping center, we took a stroll around...

  Right nearby was the Marriott hotel, from where an hourly bus departed to the airport... 

  Having waited for the bus, we traveled to the airport... Thus ended our first encounter with South America, a trip we had long planned to take. The journey was incredibly diverse, featuring mountains, deserts, lakes, volcanoes, geysers, thermal springs, the world's largest salt flat, extraordinary cities, ancient monuments, the ocean, and a variety of birds and animals, including llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, chinchillas, as well as penguins, dolphins, and sea lions that we encountered in their natural habitats...