I’m still not used to sleeping well, after decades of not doing so, so I was a bit shocked that I needed my alarm to wake up at 4:00 a.m. on Friday after passing out at 10:00 p.m.!

I’m definitely in a new hotel bracket if they have a toast and coffee station set up at that hour! I was looking at a good two hours before I could explore breakfast options at the airport, so I took advantage of this.

My Taxidatum driver was punctual and we headed out into an inky morning. Traffic was light, to my surprise. All my research had told me that most Lima flights arrive late at night and leave early, so I expected massive amounts of traffic at midnight and 5:00 a.m., but nope.

I was able to check in at a kiosk before going through security where, get this, we didn’t have to take anything out of our bags! My goodness, it’s coming up on 30 years since the last time getting through security at an airport was such a non-hassle.

That said, there was then a very long wait to be cleared by border security. They’d taken a photograph and fingerprints at arrival and needed to scan my index on the way out. I don’t remember being asked any questions, though.

That was it! The departures terminal was surprisingly small, but I learned that the gates are quite a ways off, and there are gates where once you enter the area, you are out of luck for a bathroom. So give yourself time to walk to the gate, but do a pit stop first!

I had a couple of hours, so I had breakfast. I’m amused that in another parallel to my London adventures, my last meal in Peru was my first real meal in London, an Americano with a ham and cheese croissant. I wouldn’t normally have made such a deal over this meal but for the fact that this was the best croissant I’ve had in years, and heated just right to be a little crispy but still soft inside.

I hadn’t treated myself to anything as a souvenir of my Peru trip. It wasn’t like Mexico with little markets and a ton of touts everywhere. I would have made to put shopping on the calendar. So with time to kill at the airport, I found myself drawn to a shop selling baby alpaca wool (and silk) scarves. A salesperson read me as she saw me trying to decide on a pink, purple, or blue scarf, and pulled up this beauty at 40% off, about 1,200 pesos. I couldn’t have created a more magical and perfect gift to remember this trip of a lifetime!

The flight home was uneventful. I actually slept, enjoyed a third breakfast (same ham and cheese panini and cake as on the way down but with a gorgeous fruit cup), and chatted with my Argentinian seatmates on their way to Playa del Carmen! We struggled a bit at understanding each other, but we got through it.

I’ve only ever returned to Mexico via CDMX, where I was always sent to the citizen line. In Cancún, I had to go through the very long visitors’ line (that’s FINE — I’m not entitled!). The agent asked me what flight I came in on and then asked me how I got my permanent residency. I BLANKED while he looked at me like I was a dodo. Finally, I stammered “recursos economicos propios,” which he correctly took as meaning I have a business, not that I’m retired, and, curiously, asked me how long I was staying in Mexico “this time.” I replied that I live here and actually don’t leave much. “Okey. Bienvenidas.”

Next stop was customs, where I was waved through after saying I had nothing to declare. Then, we had to put all our bags through an x-ray machine. THEN, I was waved over by the agriculture (fruit) inspector. I told him I just had some nuts I’d brought with me and gave him my food bag to examine. He didn’t make me open anything else and told me I was clear!

Cancún arrivals then spits you into the car rental/taxi area before sending you outside. I had over two hours until my bus home, so that would not do. There was only a little snack shop with uncomfortable chairs to wait indoors. I found someone who looked official to ask if I could return to the departures area to wait. Since I had my ADO ticket, I was directed through a couple of security gates to find myself at the entrance to departures. You have to go through there to get to the ADO booth to buy a ticket, so I’m not sure how it works if you don’t have a ticket!

Inside the terminal, I went to the Guacamole Grill and enjoyed some enchiladas verde with some very good picante! I only had about 40 minutes left to wait after I’d eaten, so I commandeered one of the rare seats in this part of the terminal. I would not want to have to wait for hours in this part of Cancún airport, but I’d really timed my trip transfers perfectly.

The ADO to Mérida was on time at 4:55 p.m. I got suckered into watching the first movie, “Gigi & Nate,” but dozed through “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” catching a funny joke in my stupour that made me realise I really don’t need subtitles anymore when I watch Spanish content. When did that happen?!

Of course, we landed in Mérida in traffic (Lima only THINKS it knows traffic, HA!), so we were 30 minutes late. I was able to quickly get an Uber, so I arrived about 8:30 P.M. local time (Lima is on the same time zone as Cancún, one hour later than Mérida). Alma greeted me at the door to tell me off and then disappeared until she forgave me the next morning. Dodger didn’t come out until I sat on the couch, and then she was with me all evening. It was good to be home!

This trip was a complete success and I feel so grateful to have been able to do it.

I did take a brief nap back at the hotel on Thursday before heading out again. I had to take a picture of the mural in the room.

The Huaca Pucllana ruins are a 30-minute walk from the hotel, still in Miraflores, so I decided to walk and then Uber back.

This impressive, still not fully excavated site, was built by the Lima between 200 and 700AD. There is no evidence (yet?) that the Inca ever used this site, but the Wari definitely did.

You can only visit the site with a group. When I arrived, a large-ish Spanish group was just about to head out, and it was about a 30-minute wait for an English group to go. I didn’t want to wait that long and was pleased that after a head count, I was allowed to join the Spanish group.

The site was built with hand-made adobe tiles in what is called the “library” method, for obvious reasons. If you look closely as we go through, you’ll notice that the wall sections are trapezoidal, for structural strength. The site would have then been covered in clay and painted yellow.

Much of what we saw was the original structure, since Lima’s dry climate helped with preservation. The bulk of the modern restoration work is the clay put along the top of flat surfaces.

The pyramid was built in seven levels.

There is evidence that this is how the platform would have been back then, with wooden posts holding up cloth for shade.

Example of modern preservation.

One of the many graves found in the site.

Here we see how each brick was made by hand, without a mould.

Offering to the gods. The pot would have been shattered with the little stone.

I’m so glad I made it back to Huaca Pucllana; it would have been a real regret not to do so.

I did end up Ubering back to the hotel as I was done by this point. Even with the overcast sky, the sun hits hard in Lima! Uber prices in Lima seemed similar-ish to Mérida for the distance. For each ride I had to give a code.

I think I did a great job with my Lima “to-do” list, but I do wish I’d made more of an effort to find a night sky (curious about the constellations), and I can’t believe I never entered a supermarket! I did pass one on my last evening. Wong is like Loblaws in Canada.

I don’t want to get into any great details, but I was dealing with a bit of a health issue the last two days in Peru and wasn’t able to eat much, something that I’m working on with my healthcare providers. It had nothing to do with anything I’d eaten on Monday, but I had to move to a diet of toast and soda crackers with lots of electrolytes to ensure I wouldn’t be incapacitated and could still fully enjoy my trip. I even went so far as to see if I could get a Mexican prescription filled in Peru, and the pharmacist was super helpful and sorted me out. Boy am I grateful that I speak Spanish! By Thursday night, after all the exercise I’d done, I could tell I was through the worst of it and was properly hungry, so I was able to hit one last culinary goal, leaving anticuchos (beef heart skewers) and nikkei cuisine for next time! Of course, this was getting a meal at a chifa!

Wonton soup, just like I would get in Canada, was the perfect meal after a few light days.

The server helped me with the menu, confirming I could switch chaufa (egg-fried rice) for plain rice, and finding a grilled chicken and vegetable option. This was very basic, BUT that green vegetable is gai lan, Chinese broccoli, a vegetable I’ve had on my bucket list for ages! I really enjoyed this and was annoyed with myself for not having thought of doing this at lunch so I could have taken leftovers with me.

Thus ends my adventures in Peru! I really don’t believe this is going to be my only time in Lima, but if it is, I think I really managed to hit the highlights!

I had a 4:50 pickup the next morning, so I called it a night around 10:00 p.m., not expecting to sleep. HA!

I’ve got just one more post, about the journey home.

We were very late coming out of Pachacámac, so Javier said that, regrettably, he might not be able to take me to Barranco after all. He’d reevaluate as we got closer. Thankfully, traffic was much lighter and we made it there in 45 minutes flat!

He parked the car within sight of the Puente de los suspiros, the Bridge of Sighs, a meeting point for lovers. I was told to whisper a wish as I crossed it and then sigh at the end.

Barranco is Lima’s Bohemian neighbourhood, where artists congregate, and it is famous for its nightlife and restaurants. It was very quiet on a Thursday afternoon, and yet the vibe was completely different from Miraflores. This is another neighbourhood that started as a retreat for the rich.

Javier pointed out these vultures to me. I appreciated that he gave their name, buitre, and then followed that up with “the birds that eat dead flesh,” to make sure I understood exactly what they were.

We walked to the Mirador, the lookout point.

My goodness, what was going on here to warrant this sign?!

We headed to the main square so I could see Barranco town hall.

Barranco main square.

Barranco library.

These are the touristy highlights of Barranco outside its bars and restaurants. I decided that instead of hanging out, my time would best be served returning to Huaca Pucllana, so I took Javier’s offer to take me back to Miraflores so I could have a nap before heading out again. We arrived back at the hotel around 1:00 p.m. I couldn’t believe how much we’d done in just five hours!

The total cost for Javier’s services was 50 soles for the ride on Wednesday, 300 soles for the half-day tour, and then a 35 soles tip (10% per service). Get this — he hadn’t made me pay in centro on Wednesday afternoon, saying we’d do it all in one go on Thursday! So we put through a single transaction for 385 soles. Or tried to. I generally had no trouble using my BBvA credit card in Peru, usually just with tap and go, but sometimes, like here, the card would get declined and I’d have to ask to use the chip and PIN method instead. I barely used any cash at all in Lima, and the bulk of it was to pay the Taxidatum drivers, as well as cash tips for tours. Peru isn’t really a tipping culture, or at least claims not to be, but based on research and talking to people, I paid 10% of tour fees and restaurant meals as tips.

I was up early on Thursday to meet Javier in the hotel lobby by 8:00AM. We were both punctual, and set off into especially bad Lima traffic as the coastal road was closed for an event. It took us a full hour and a half to reach the ruins of Pachacámac.

The site was named after Pacha Kamaq, a creator god. It was founded around 200AD in the Lurín River Valley and flourished until the Spanish invaded and Francisco Pizarro and his men sacked it, something Javier referred to several times during the day.

The founders of Pachacámac were the Wari, the second great civilisation of Peru after the Lima. The Inca came third and invaded the site before the Spanish came. So this is where we get the name of the city of Lima, after the Lima people, and that name is a mispronunciation of the name of the Rímac River, because of a confusion between the R and L sound, which I found very interesting as this is something we see in other languages, such as Japanese.

Before ruins, we saw some animals. I was gratified that even Javier did not know if this was an alpaca or a llama, and, spoiler, later that day I’d see both in the same enclosure and still walk away confused! But if I had to guess, this is a llama, because of the longer face and haircut.

Guinea pigs are an important source of food in Peru as they are very high in protein.

These dogs are called Peruvian Inca Orchid. While they look very similar to Mexican Xoloitzcuintli, they are only distant relatives.

Just standing in the parking lot, I could not understand the folks who say you can just take a taxi to Pachacámac and walk the site. It is immense, with more than 5 kilometres of road to explore.

I was disappointed that the introductory museum was closed for the morning, but grateful that I had a guide!

The site is very arid, but there is a small oasis near the museum where native plants are grown.

The site is irrigated using Israeli techniques.

The pace of the morning was set at the first stop, where I was told to take about 20 minutes to wander and then meet Javier and the car at the top of a set of stairs.

I don’t know why I was surprised that these were the steps in question!

This is where the women would have lived. While at ground level, I had no idea what I was looking at, seeing it from the top of the staircase was astounding.

Another frequent topic of discussion was this community built on the hills around Pachacámac. Javier called it a favela (slum) and said that there is no way to evict these people who now have full city services.

Between Javier’s explanations and the few placards, I really got a sense for the geography and history of the site.

We dropped the car at one point and climbed UP on foot to the Temple of the Sun. This is when I realised that I really am in decent shape again. I mean, I haven’t climbed anything in years as we don’t have hills in Mérida and I got to the top of that thing barely out of breath.

One of the informational signs had said to watch out for bits of the original red paint:

I was stunned as we went around the temple to discover how close we were to the ocean!

Can you see the turtle?

As we came back to the top of the hill, Javier told me to take my time and that he’d meet me at the bottom with the car.

I do believe this is a chunk of obsidian! It looks remarkably like the piece Andy picks up in The Shawkshank Redemption.

The Temple of the Sun was the last stop and somehow, we were back at the entrance! It had taken about 1.5 hours to do the tour of the site. Javier checked in with a security guard and learned that the museum, but for a couple of displays, was open, so he told me to take 20 minutes or so to go through and he’d wait in the car.

The timeline display was fascinating, firmly placing Pachacámac in its historical context. It again blew my Eurocentric-trained mind to think that this immense complex was flourishing and growing while the Crusades raged on in the Old World.

I struck up a brief conversation with a gentleman at the touch gallery. As per usual, he asked me where I was from as he’d never heard an accent like mine. When I said I’m from Quebec and speak French, he lit up and asked me to stay for just a second while he got someone. He quickly returned with a young lady from France, whom his family is hosting! She and I switched to French and exchanged some information. She’s in Peru for most of the year exploring the culture, a lifelong dream.

20 minutes was just enough time to see and read everything. I left Pachacámac with a much greater understanding of Peruvian history and very grateful for my chance encounter at the exit to Museo Larco.