The Mercado Central is a collection of streets in central Lima where you can buy just about anything. You’ll find little in the way of photos of these streets – as any cameras that take them will soon be stolen.
I managed to take these photos of the market without loosing my camera.
From there we walked further to the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, and brilliant blue and yellow convent. After a quick trip through China Town to buy oil for some homemade chifa and we were ready to go home.
Category: "Lima City Guide"
Santiago de Surco
Surco was originally a vacation spot during Spanish colonial times, Spaniards in Lima would visit for some peace and quiet. That was before the metropolis of Lima swallowed this once small town and it became one of the seven city districts created after independence.
But there are still signs of what once was.
Parque de la Amistad, Surco
The Parque de la Amistad, or Park of Peace/Friendship is located in cuadra 21 of Av. Caminos del Inca, in Santiago de Surco. Although it is not quite on the tourist trail, it is a significant park in the municipality of Surco, and some history is tied up in the park.
Lunch at Cordano
The Plaza de Armas was sealed off today to prevent protesters approaching the presidential palace. Only people wanting access local business and tourists were allowed through into the plaza, so it was strangely quiet when we passed through to go to lunch to celebrate a family event.
We ate at the famous “Cordano” a small bar/restaurant to the right of the Palacio del Gobierno. This bar was frequented by the rich and powerful in Lima’s heyday and is still a favourite for congressmen and local businessmen, as well as more well-informed tourists.
Cieneguilla
In a bid to get over my cold faster, we left the winter of Lima and travelled 20km into the hills past La Molina suburb of Lima. Here it is warm, sunny and dry all year round.
Our route to La Molina is a pass through the foothills, which are like mountains in themselves. Here in the dry desert these foothills look like gigantic piles of dirt, rock and sand. The road from Surco into La Molina is cut through these foothills, from which you have a good view of fog-covered Surco about 100 meters below. La Molina feels like a separate city as between it and the rest of Lima these hills are a divider.
Lima Centro – Colonial Lima
We visited the Plaza of San Martin (South American liberator from the Spanish) in the centre of which you can see his statue. To José de San Martin’s back-right is a street called Jirón de la Unión, which is pedestrianised. This street is bustling with people and is full of shops and shoppers. Following this street you eventually arrive in the Plaza de Armas…
Huachipa
Huachipa is a little town in the hills outside Lima that boasts a rather large zoo – Not nearly as big as Parque de Las Leyendas in Lima, which i’ll check out soon, but it does have a miniature version of the Eden Project that is in the UK 😉 . They also have motorbike rickshaws, motortaxis, here, which you don’t see in the city.
