Lima, Peru

Last night, after a four-hour flight from Buenos Aires, I arrived in Lima, the capital of Peru. I didn't get into the city until midnight and then headed to a bar for a few (which turned into many) cervezas before heading to the hotel. Today, my Peruvian friend (who is living in Zurich but visiting family in Lima, hence my visit here) is at a family function so I am spending the day wandering the city, snapping photos. This is my fifth trip here so I'm pretty familiar with the layout. Lima is known as a hot spot for trucha (knock off) brand clothing, so I'm on a quest to find good quality Lacoste, Polo, and DKNY shirts to take back to Buenos Aires.

Tomorrow morning, after pulling an all nighter in a bar to save money on hotels, we are heading on a 7 AM flight to Cusco. Cusco's airport is supposedly the highest altitude airport in the world (3.300 meters) and it takes 2 days to allow your body to acclimate to the altitude. Visitors often drink mate de coca (tea with cocaine leaves) or chew cocaine leaves to help adjust. After two days of adjusting, we will head on a train to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley for a few days before heading back to Lima.

My next posts will go into more detail about the villages of Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Sacred Valley. Until then, enjoy the photos above from Lima - a very beautiful city scattered with many historic buildings from the 1600's as well as a very modern infrastructure.