Lima is on my travel destination for while, so I take this chance to visit there. Our cruise excursion has Machu Picchu tour - 3 days for USD 2000 per person. I participated one day Lima tour for USD 149 per person. Downtown Historic Centre is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
Prior to port Callao, Peru, the ship issued a memo to every stateroom:
There have been a number of reports of armed robbery and other street crimes against foreign tourists in Lima, as well as in the outlying areas in the vicinity of various Incan ruins. There assaults have occurred both during daylight hours and at night.
It is a very high alert memo. Port excursion department has organized special shuttle services - from ship pier to port gate and from ship pier to the shopping center. It is a free service paid by ship company. I have to thank Princess to make such arrangement. Normally, shuttle service is not free; in Stockholm USD 18 from pier to Opera House and the distance is short. My experience, only Shanghai city, Hong Kong and Nan Tran provided free shuttles. The Shanghai shuttle is an hour trip from Yangtze river to the Bund.
Historic section is on Plaza Mayor area - Cathedral, Presidential Palace, Convent of Santo Domingo, Convent of San Francisco, etc. Our tour guide insists Cathedral is a museum and not open on weekends. The Cathedral door is open for visitors, probably not for group.Photo and Video are restricted, especially for Convent San Francisco - no photo inside the building.
Monastery of San Francisco
Plaza Mayor
The beautiful city center, many visitors around. The Presidential Palace is there, so the security is kind heavy and added safety to the area.
Somewhere in Lima
Gold Museum
A private museum with collections of native gold plated wares etc.
Chinese food is Chifa. I figured it out, it is Chinese eating - 吃饭
Our Peruvian lunch in a beautiful buffet restaurant
A bottle of Peruvian Pisco. They are proud of their Pisco Sour and
claimed it the best, but in Chile, Chilean claimed their Pisco Sour is the best.
Lima International Airport is nearby
Downtown - a plaza
Just a market to buy local stuff, you can bargain for a small discount, not like in China you started with 70% off then added a bit more.
Miraflores - A rich suburban and commercial section in Lima
A new shopping mall, Real Plaza Salaverry
Our free shuttle bus take us to this mall. There are taxis to take people to downtown or other places. The area is safe. The mall is very good. Dunkin Donuts provide free WiFi password if you buy their coffee or donuts. There is a big supermarket with wide stuffs. Local agricultural produces are abundant with affordable price.
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