Playa Lima
The past week I have spent at the Hogar has been one of the busiest but also one of the most amazing time's I have had. Despite the dread of going into town for children's appointments about 3-4 times a week, I was given the opportunity to see the true Lima that Peruvians live through.
I had a discussion with another volunteer about how different life in Lima can be after just traveling out of Lima center for just 2 hours. While going into Lima with one of the Hogar staff members, we were warned about the more unsafe parts of Lima that are popular for robberies and shootings. We drove through the impoverished neighborhoods and saw quintas, small skinny hallways throughout the streets that encircle the city and contain hundreds of stacked apartments. Just from face value, you can tell that it is a difficult place to live with the constant risk of theft and robberies.
When I left the Hogar yesterday, only a 40 kilometer drive separated myself and another volunteer from the smog-ridden, overpopulated Lima center and into the seaside southern towns of Barranco and Miraflores. We spent the day wandering our way through the small beach-resort town of Barranco and Miraflores, the modern and bustling hub of Lima. Lima actually turns out to be a large city containing 20 different neighborhoods that are popular for different reasons and house different people who live dramatically different lives. Lima center is highly populated with lots of dirt, shops, apartments, hospitals, malls, and theaters that attract not only tourists, but people from surrounding cities. South of Lima brings you to a more relaxed, historic area of lima where the grand old homes and land have been converted into hotels, eateries, churches, and homes for Peruvian residents. North of Lima will take you to the more residential areas with authentic restaurants, but not much space for tourism.
Vittoria, the another Hogar volunteer and I, made a short walk the beach bluffs of Barranco and walked the edge of the cliffs all the way to Miraflores. We took the liberty of stopping into a few cute boutiques with local, hand crafted goods and stopped at a popular cevicheria, El Punto Azul. We walked through the garden of the Museum of Contemporary Art and meandered our way back to Barranco with a whopping 15 kilometers, almost 10 miles, added to our weary feet.
My favorite part of our adventure yesterday was all of the art that Barranco and Miraflores have to offer. The streets and walls are filled with beautiful, loudly colorful expressions of culture and life in the city. We stopped more than a few times to take photos of the street art pictured below. I even though that these very creative, artsy towns resembled Portland, Oregon a little bit with how they contain small shops and amazing street food.
I can't wait to explore more of the Lima in the next 3 days that I am here. I will be uploading a post about my final days at the Hogar, the children, the volunteers that I met, and the conversations that I had that will stay with me forever. I have been amazingly lucky to have the opportunity to travel to Peru and I think that had it not been for the Hogar, I wouldn't have thought to come to Peru which would have made me miss out on all of the experiences that have lived here for me in the past 1 month.
- Nicole
I had a discussion with another volunteer about how different life in Lima can be after just traveling out of Lima center for just 2 hours. While going into Lima with one of the Hogar staff members, we were warned about the more unsafe parts of Lima that are popular for robberies and shootings. We drove through the impoverished neighborhoods and saw quintas, small skinny hallways throughout the streets that encircle the city and contain hundreds of stacked apartments. Just from face value, you can tell that it is a difficult place to live with the constant risk of theft and robberies.
When I left the Hogar yesterday, only a 40 kilometer drive separated myself and another volunteer from the smog-ridden, overpopulated Lima center and into the seaside southern towns of Barranco and Miraflores. We spent the day wandering our way through the small beach-resort town of Barranco and Miraflores, the modern and bustling hub of Lima. Lima actually turns out to be a large city containing 20 different neighborhoods that are popular for different reasons and house different people who live dramatically different lives. Lima center is highly populated with lots of dirt, shops, apartments, hospitals, malls, and theaters that attract not only tourists, but people from surrounding cities. South of Lima brings you to a more relaxed, historic area of lima where the grand old homes and land have been converted into hotels, eateries, churches, and homes for Peruvian residents. North of Lima will take you to the more residential areas with authentic restaurants, but not much space for tourism.
Lima Center, Banco GNB Building:
Miraflores Beach Bluff:
Vittoria on the Barranco Beach Bluff:
My favorite part of our adventure yesterday was all of the art that Barranco and Miraflores have to offer. The streets and walls are filled with beautiful, loudly colorful expressions of culture and life in the city. We stopped more than a few times to take photos of the street art pictured below. I even though that these very creative, artsy towns resembled Portland, Oregon a little bit with how they contain small shops and amazing street food.
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I can't wait to explore more of the Lima in the next 3 days that I am here. I will be uploading a post about my final days at the Hogar, the children, the volunteers that I met, and the conversations that I had that will stay with me forever. I have been amazingly lucky to have the opportunity to travel to Peru and I think that had it not been for the Hogar, I wouldn't have thought to come to Peru which would have made me miss out on all of the experiences that have lived here for me in the past 1 month.
- Nicole
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