Medellin showed me today what a city embedded in a valley means for any jogging route. Straight up, straight down. My morning run was pretty difficult as I basically ran alongside a highway straight up the valley and then came back down. The views toward the top were very cool, but while I was heaving, I forgot to take a pic:/.
To reward myself, I went back to the delicious breakfast place that I had my first morning (just up the road from the Airbnb). I ordered two separate entrees, one healthy, and one not.
After nourishing myself, I found a warehouse-type workspace building where people were scattered around, working on their computers, and having coffee. I really enjoyed the vibe of this place with the light music, the lofted layout, and the latte.
Because I am leaving for Lima tomorrow, I really needed to book the Airbnb today. Fortunately, there were plenty of options still available. First, I did some research on the layout of Lima and some of the most popular neighborhoods to stay. Miraflores is definitely the most touristy/hustle and bustle neighborhood of Lima and is also one of the safest in all of Latin America. Just to the south of Miraflores is Barranco, a hip and younger neighborhood where both locals and tourists reside which features more of an artisanal and colonial vibe. Then there is San Isidro, one of the wealthiest and luxurious parts of Lima. These were the main three neighborhoods that continued to show in the articles I read.
I ruled out San Isidro first because it was indeed very pricey and did not seem to attract a younger crowd. Between Miraflores and Barranco, it was actually pretty tough to choose. From what I read, Miraflores features more shopping malls, is very walkable, and is home to a very popular tourist spot Parque Kennedy. However, the prices for housing/activities and food here seemed to be about 20-30% higher than Barranco. Because of this, I chose a spot toward the Northern edge of Barranco, which features some of the best nightlife in the city and supposedly a better place to relax and unwind away from the constant buzz of Miraflores. However, I will still be very much in walking distance to everything.
The place I booked is a private room in a high rise apartment that has some ocean views. The rest of the spaces will be shared with only one other guest. It is a very new building with plenty of amenities and is very close to the public train station. In Lima, I want to learn about the history of the city while experiencing some of the beaches, catacombs, and other activities. I have also heard that Peruvian food is some of the best in Latin America.
After booking Lima, I walked to the nearest currency exchange booth to exchange US dollars to Peruvian Soles. Little did I know that I would have to go to 5 different booths across 2 miles just to find a place that had enough Soles to exchange for only $150 USD. It was crazy. Some booths didn’t have enough Soles and most didn’t have any at all. When I finally did find a place, I got a decent conversion rate, but the bills were huge (they didn’t have any smaller bills). Will need to figure that out later. Also, at one of the booths, the man working there literally couldn’t math. I had to show him what he was doing wrong in his conversions.
Finally, my last stop of the day took me to the mall in El Poblado. I was looking for a phone screen repair shop for my Google Pixel 5. I was elated when I walked into the mall and found that, seriously no joke, 95% of the stores were technical service-related. I was baffled. Literally every store was selling almost the same tech gadgets and repair services. Here’s the funny part. Out of the nearly 25 stores I talked to (not exaggerating at all), not a SINGLE one could fix a Pixel 5 screen. It was just too ironic. The funniest part was, 75% of all the tech stores didn’t have a single customer whereas the 1-2 clothing store and the singular currency exchange store had lines out the door. Just a weird experience overall. But, at least I was able to eat traditional La Paisa one more time before leaving Colombia.
Overall, Colombia has been one of my favorite countries to visit. I cannot emphasize enough how much I feel I have learned about the culture, the people, and myself. I want to thank all the amazing people I have met thus far. Here’s to more growth and discovery in Peru.