Bienvenido a Lima

We made it! actually the flight to Lima from Miami is short, almost too short. so don´t take sleeping meds like we did. otherwise it´s a pretty rude awakening. 5 and a half hour flight, soquick.
staying at the Gran Hotel Bolivar. gorgeous building with beautiful stained glass dome in the lobby. not what it used to be but it´s very easy to imagine what it was during it´s golden age.
as one of my friend´s acurately described Lima, it really is a shit hole. the cab from the airport to the hotel was kind of a shock. just immense immense poverty. really sad.
we´re in miraflores now, which is the nicer area on the ocean. it is definitely nicer but you can still see these pockets of poverty. Down by the water we went to the Parque de amor, v. much like the Gaudi parks in Barcelona. it´s gorgeous and right on a cliff overlooking the pacific. lots of paragliding too, and surfing. sadly, no kelly slater yet. ;)
we´ll sample some local ceviche for dinner (not brave enough to risk the cuy aka guinea pig just quite yet) and then we have an early flight out to Cuzco in the morning.
v. v. warm here... jealous? ;)