Half way thru our stay, we moved to an Airbnb, a 3 bedroom apartment, just across the street from the Malecón and the historic lighthouse. The Malecón is a six-mile walkway along the city's cliffs, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Malecón runs thru numerous parks and even along the coolest mall that exists.
Though it looks distant because of the cliffs, you can see a bit of the Pacific Ocean. It's really only a few minutes walk to look over the edge and see the full, unobstructed ocean view.
This lighthouse was built in 1900 by Gustave Eiffel, yes of the Eiffel Tower fame. It sits in a park named after the lighthouse, Parque el Faro. It's still in operation.
This park has workout equipment in different areas throughout. The kids enjoyed learning some new tricks. Asher was able to jump from the curb to the first bar, then jump both hands to the second bar at the same time without touching the ground.
The streets in Miraflores are generally very clean. Just watch out for the occasional dog poo on the sidewalk. Lots of dogs here, and a majority of them are wearing clothes, booties or both. I've never heard, "Aww, look at that dog!" so many times before in my life! They were all leashed and most of them were a recognizable breed. Lots of schnauzers which reminded us of Aunt Janie. There were no street dogs to be seen within Miraflores. Outside of Miraflores is a different story.
Another park just a little further down the Malecon, Parque del Amor features a giant, famous sculpture of a couple kissing. And hey, you can even paraglide from here, if you dare!
Beach access was even closer from the Airbnb.
Walking thru the neighborhood. We were still close enough to our Spanish school and all the restaurants we enjoyed and even found a few new ones on this side of town.
We had salchipapas (a pile of fries with cut up hotdogs on top) here a couple times. We enjoyed the 2nd floor street view while we ate.
Found this fancy place, Pitahaya Lounge, between our place and the main strip. We loved the glowing tree and tables.
Our Spanish school, Peru Wayna, hosts four weekly events for students. We attended salsa lessons one night. Asher sat this one out, but the rest of us had fun!
We walked to the Indian Market on our last day in Lima. It was a Sunday, so about half of the vendors were closed, but it was still fun to walk thru and Journey picked out a pair of hummingbird earrings. I love that they have a ring of chairs for men to wait while their ladies shop!
When I was researching Lima, I read advice from prior travelers encouraging others to skip Lima. I am so glad we didn't listen! I initially had concerns, primarily for safety, which is why we picked Miraflores, and we never felt in danger. The community does a lot to keep the area safe with extra police and security officers seemingly on every corner. My other concern was regarding dengue fever, but we haven't had any insect issues at all and actually keep our patio doors open while we're home. We aren't even fans of cities, but the combination of scenic coast, Malecón, parks, Spanish class and restaurants kept us busy and entertained. I do recommend spending some time in the Miraflores area if you're flying into Lima.
I am going to miss this city and the beautiful ocean! Now we're off to Arequipa.
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