Our second day in Lima started off with a bit of ancient adventure; after a lazy morning getting ready, we were out the door of our wonderful host’s apartment looking for a good morning bite to eat.  Lucky, bread carts were roaming the streets, so we nabbed a few delicious baked goods and were on our way to visit Huaca Pucllana.

Huaca Pucllana is a pre-Inca ruin that is nestled in the heart of one of Lima’s more affluent neighborhoods, Miraflores.  Imagine a gigantic hill that was once used as a playground until archaeologists in the 1970’s discovered that it was actually an ancient worship/burial ground.  The tour was lovely and very informative, if a bit long winded, however, I would highly recommend it for a pre-lunch, ruin-light morning.

Afterwards, we walked to the beach for a much anticipated ceviche lunch.  We both had been talking about ceviche in Lima since before we booked our flight in February.  The restaurant, Punta Sal, sat atop a cliff and over looked the ocean.  Paragliders were taking off and landing just outside the window, like giant colorful sea birds.  It was stunning. 

Filled with delicious seafood (we got the mixed platter of ceviche, so we could try a bit of everything), we walked along the cliff to the Parque del Amor, famous for a giant sculpture of two people making out and quotes set into the mural covered benches that say things like ‘My dream is a forgotten island’ or ‘I undress you like someone peels a fruit’.  A ten minute walk down steps carved into the cliffside leading to the rock covered beach definitely was stair worthy with brave surfers paddling into the waves.

All this adventuring called for a cup of coffee and a postcard writing break, interrupted by a street fight just a table over from where we were sitting.  Luckily, the police came jogging down to break things up.  One thing we noted all over Lima, was the invasion of American music where ever you went.   Never have I heard so much Rihanna and Katy Perry played unapologetically.

After a delicious dinner with our host, we prepared ourselves for an early morning flight to Arequipa, a city that I am so excited to share about next week.  The adventure that I had wanted to share about in this post is almost at an interesting conclusion, so I am putting it off until later when we have the full story.  Two hints to hold you over, a christian taxi cab driver and skype adventures.