Mar 9
It took us two attempts to complete this bucket list trip to Peru and Ecuador, wanting to visit Machu Picchu in Peru and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. After previously planning and then having to cancel our 2023 trip due to political instability in Lima at that time, we were finally able to successfully re-book with the help of our awesome travel agent/friend Phillip. We couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation for what had eluded us for three long years…
Our visit to Peru was the land portion of our combined cruise with Silversea Expeditions to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. For six days in Peru we were exclusively hosted and booked at excellent hotels to enjoy personalized services with seasoned tour guides. The land tour began in Lima, the capital of Peru, and the transit point in and out was to some amazing wonders of the Andean country.
When we woke up the morning after our late-night arrival, we realized our hotel sat atop the city’s high coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was very nice from the 9th floor!
Lima is a city that stretches about 40 miles along Peru’s central desert coast. It has a unique climate and was generally mild during our visit. Our hotel was situated at the Miraflores district with the city center at the seafront, running along the cliffs and overlooking the ocean:
We had a full day ahead of us, and after breakfast we started it with a walk along the Malecon, Lima’s clifftop walkway just across from our hotel. The sound of waves crashing onto the large gravel “river rock” type rocks on the beach below was a unique and very loud sound, much different than you would typically hear on sandy beaches, listen and watch the short clip:
Our tour guide picked us up for a ride to lunch at an iconic restaurant, La Rosa Náutica. It was located on an ocean pier that we had seen from our hotel room.
We enjoyed an initiation of a traditional three-course Peruvian meal that we liked very much. The starter was ceviche, the country’s most famous dishes “cooked” in lime that we had during our trip. It consists of raw pieces of fish served in various sauces. This one was a lemon, chili, and coriander dressing. It was followed by a main entrée, and finally a dessert. That was our introduction to the essence of Peruvian cuisine we would be enjoying during our entire six-day stay – Yay!
After lunch our guide took us on a short walking tour of the bohemian Barranco district, considered to be Lima’s most romantic and artsy areas. We learned that this is the neighborhood for Peru’s leading artists, musicians, designers and photographers. Barranco is known for its amazing colorful murals:
The fun really began at our next stop, El Cacaotal, for a chocolate and coffee pairing. Here we learned about Peru’s rich unique and agricultural history which is driven by its multiple microclimates (there are 90). This allows for a wide range of agricultural products:
We experienced several intense, high-quality chocolates during our tasting. It was like taking a final exam in identifying the chocolate’s various flavor notes! Alongside with the cacao, we were also shown the history of Peruvian coffee, which has become globally renowned for its rich and diverse flavor profiles.
When I asked why Peruvian coffee is less known, I was told that it is due to a lack of infrastructure capability and political instability. Our guide nodded his head in agreement and commented that in the last 10 years Peru has had nine presidents, four of whom are in prison for various crimes.
According to the barrista, 60% of the world’s cocoa varieties are indigenous to the Amazon basin area, and Peru is the world’s 13th-largest exporter of cacao and the second-largest organic cacao exporter. We tasted four chocolates with cacao beans grown in different terrains, giving the cacao a unique flavor from each one.
Our final activity was a “cocktail class” at Hotel B, where we were taught how to make three iconic Peruvian cocktails. They were each paired with tapas designed to enhance the drink’s profile. This experience gave us new skills that we may try to duplicate at home 😉 with a deeper appreciation for the flavors that define Peru’s vibrant cocktail culture:
Pisco Sour – an emblematic Peruvian cocktail. It’s made of Pisco brandy, lime juice, simple syrup, egg white and 3 drops of bitter. YUM!
Basilisco – gin, cucumber syrup, passion fruit juice, basil sprout and cucumber slices:
World-renowned Inca Soul vodka, red fruit syrup, pomelo juice, angostura bitters, martini and pomelo peel. We don’t know what most of those things are, but the finished product was good!
Of the three, our favorite by far was the Pisco Sour. The other ones were fun to make but too sweet for our liking. Fortunately we were able to walk out of the hotel to Miguel’s car after savoring those high-octane drinks. It was a great afternoon!
Miguel encouraged us to enjoy a rarely-seen Peruvian sunset. He said the local weather phenomena affects the visibility of sunsets in Lima, as well as the tonality of its colors. Since we were visiting during the summer season, the sky was sometimes clear and made the sun appreciable without climatic obstacles. That means there was less of a fog presence, which during the winter months means Garúa, a coastal fog that covers the entire city for months with a thick layer for most of the day causing limited visibility. I don’t think we want to be there during those months!
We rested early that evening, in preparation for our early flight to Cusco the following day.
We had a busy but fun day, filled with cool cultural experiences. Since our time was short, we only checked out two neighborhoods: the fancy Miraflores and the artsy Barranco—just a sneak peek of Lima. It was an awesome kickoff to our trip in Peru, the Andean country!
But we have more exciting adventures ahead at higher elevations – stay tuned!
Next up: Exploring at higher elevations in Cusco and the Sacred Valley
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