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The final stage of our Peruvian adventure was a day-long layover in Lima before we flew back to the States.  We noticed that many flight paths include a similarly long layover in Lima, so we hope this will be helpful to those of you who aren’t sure what to do with your day.  We did a DIY tour, but there are also tours available for purchase.

We traveled to Peru each with a personal item and one duffel carry-on.  There are luggage lockers and a luggage-holding room in the airport.  We didn’t want to lug all of our luggage around Lima for the day, so we had the luggage room (they were out of lockers) hold our carry-on bags.  We made sure our electronics were in our personal items, handed over our duffels, met a cab driver a few steps away inside the airport, and hopped into his cab.

Our first stop in Lima was Miraflores, which is an upscale area in Lima.  We walked along a cliff-side stretch of parks overlooking the Pacific Ocean called El Malecon.  We saw a bunch of surfers and loved the incredible views.  The gardens along the path were plentiful, which was surprising since Lima is actually a desert, and we recalled hearing prior to our trip that Cairo is the only city that is drier in climate than Lima.  A notable attraction is Parque del Amor (“Love Park”), which has a large sculpture by Victor Delfin called El Beso (“The Kiss”).  There’s also a long mosaic bench that’s similar in style to the works of Gaudi, which also contains love expressions.

The Parque Kennedy is a large fountain park that is located in the middle of Miraflores.  When we visited this park, many locals were gathered watching street performers and artists.  You might recognize the Iglesia la Virgen Milagrosa, which is located at the north end of the park.  We’ve noticed that the South American cities to which we’ve traveled utilize the main squares in their cities for a variety of functions (dancing, street performances, people watching), but they’ve all been well populated, and the functions have been well attended.

After enjoying the park for a bit, we were ready for dinner.  We headed back to Malecon, where Larcomar is located.  Larcomar is essentially a large shopping area that is build into the cliffside under Miraflores.  We went to La Trattoria di Mambrino for dinner, where we enjoyed wine spritzers and pasta, and picked up fresh ice cream from Gelateria Laritza D’ while we watched fireworks show over the Pacific Ocean.  We grabbed a cab from the cab stand and headed back to the airport for our red-eye flight back to the States.  Bring on the planes trains and automobiles return adventure.

Our trip to Peru was Michael’s favorite trip that we’ve taken together because it was so adventure-filled.  If you remember his hiking hesitancy in our earlier honeymoon trip, this is particularly noteworthy.  This trip was also rather formative for us, in that it set the tone for the way we like to travel.  We realized we’d rather go on an adventure than a vacation — even if they trend toward being a bit…unkempt.

View our other Peru adventures:

Part 1: The Sacred Valley

Part 2: Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes

Part 3: Ollantaytambo and Cusco

Part 4: Lima’s Miraflores District