One thing is for sure, you don’t come to Miraflores for a traditional beach experience. This vibrant distrito of Lima is best enjoyed for its nightlife, atmosphere, parks and busy streets as well as the cliff-top walk above the Pacific Ocean, but don’t expect to…
“Okay, I won’t swim, but I can still make sand castles, right?”
“Doubt it.”
This time, we decided to stay in Miraflores rather than in the Cercado de Lima, i.e. downtown. At least, we were pretty sure it wouldn’t shut down after dark, plus it was cool to be closer to the Pacific Ocean.
Indeed, it was a good move. Miraflores is fun and lively, especially before Christmas. We also discovered that getting around wasn’t as easy as it should have been because traffic is insane in Lima.
For instance, to go downtown, we took the Metropolitano, Lima’s newest public transportation system. These bus lanes are partitioned off the normal road and unlike the usual micros or other city buses, the Metropolitano only stops at dedicated stops with a platform, i.e. not at every block to pick up as many passengers as possible. You also use a card (a ride is 2.50 soles, US1) instead of paying the driver. Basically, it’s modern, efficient and fast.
Or at least, it’s supposed to be. The problem is, this new system is very popular and buses are always packed. You can wait for quite a while before finding a bus with enough room to pick up passengers and don’t expect a seat or North American style “personal space.” I got so sick of it that every day, I walked back to Miraflores from downtown, an eight-kilometre adventure through packed sidewalks and gridlocked streets.
So, yes, the beach… or rather, the beaches, there’s a long circuito de playas down the cliffs. Uphill or downhill, the view is amazing but as we discovered, the beaches are not sand but rocks and stones. Not as in “rocky sand” but just… rocks. Rocks as big as your feet. Rocks that made Mark sing “we will rock you.”
I had never seen people sunbathing on rocks before.
I had never seen so many surfers either, and it was a surprise because I didn’t think Lima was a surf spot.
Lima is full of surprises!
Impressive waves and… Llamas!
It totally clashes from the mental picture I had of the city!
Really? How did you picture it?
A city in the middle of high plateaux! Wasn’t picturing those incredible cliffs.
Oh, yeah, I get it. The coast is pretty amazing and like you, I don’t think of Peru as a coastal country since it’s so famous for its highlands.
Literally rocks! Wow!
Hard to bring back “sand” as souvenir 😆
Those black cliffs are stunning !
Oh, and… “Yo tambien !” (picture of the graffiti 😉
I think I’ll use it as my screensaver (the graffiti!).