I was born and grew up in Lima, the only capital city on the coast in South America. 9 million souls live in this unorganized, giant, concrete monster. If you aren’t careful enough Lima can eat you alive, but as gnarly as it sounds, it also has a captivating side that brings in tons of tourists a year. Of course the picture changes when you are driving into the city, with your home on wheels through the Panamerica Norte, and at every moment there is a huge possibility of an accident. I know plenty of people in this situation that decided to save themselves the stress and skipped it completely. But that alternative was impossible for us. We took this way in and prayed for no accidents as we inched our way to my mother’s house. We made it just before peak traffic time, and the celebrations started. I had not visited Peru in three years, and we arrived just on time for mother’s day.

Our original plan was to visit for two months but life doesn’t always go as planned, and we ended up staying six months instead. Matty had an accident skateboarding and broke his wrist, which had him flying back to NY for surgery. So in reality I stayed six months in Lima while Matt was there for four months of that time.

There was plenty of time to re-discover a city that is not my hometown anymore but inevitably will always be a part of me.

Lima is growing exponentially, there are more people, more cars, more restaurants, more bars, more everything. The majority of touristic points are downtown, in Miraflores and Barranco, but there is so much more to see, and to really experience all sides of this crazy city it is necessary to pop out of the bubble.

HERE ARE A FEW PLACES I LOVE

CALLAO MONUMENTAL

If you haven’t heard of El Callao you are missing a whole lot of great things including restaurants, charming coastal neighborhoods, the famous and historic Fuerte San Felipe, and of course the beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean. But El Callao has a bad reputation, and with plenty of reason, there are dangerous areas which keep tourists away, but it is a slow changing scene.

There are many colonial buildings in decay but there is hope for these architectural gems and Casa Fugaz is a great example of it. This building has been brought to life again with a project that includes art and social work all in one place. CASA FUGAZ recently opened a space that includes art galleries, art studios, shops, restaurants, bars and social projects working with local people. It is important to note that Callao is a rough area, a lot of delinquency, lack of education, and very poor housing. The initiative of social projects takes in locals that otherwise would have a really hard time finding jobs, opens activities to children that have no access to education, and it is really making an effort to re-establish the area as safer and interesting, loved and cared by its own people.

I went on a Sunday with a group of very good friends. We started with a graffiti tour, guided by a local young woman who told us about the artists, their techniques, whys and whats about the different designs. There were plenty of food options, we decided to stop at La Osteria, an Italian restaurant with delicious home made pastas and a very refreshing Pisco Sour. The afternoon came upon us with the discovery of interesting art galleries, that kept us wondering around for hours before heading back home.

Stop by their site https://www.monumentalcallao.com for schedules, they offer guided graffiti tours, concerts, art exhibits, roof parties, and more weekly activities.

MUSEUMS

If you are into museums but can’t spend much time visiting all of them, there are two musts in my list. They can give you a very well rounded idea of the vast history of Peru, through ancient items, paintings, architecture of the buildings themselves and photography.

Museo de ARTE DE LIMA - MALI

Outstanding permanent collection. With any luck you might get to see a temporary exhibit as good as the one we visited showing the work of Miró through the years.

MUSEO MARIO TESTINO - MATE

In the heart of Barranco, you get to see incredible life size prints by the most famous Peruvian fashion photographer of all times. There is also a great boutique with overpriced items before the exit.

GRAFFITI THROUGH THE CITY

LIMA is a hot area for tourism, there are cool stores, great restaurants, parks, it’s by the sea so you get a breeze and expansive views of the Pacific Ocean. And if you pay close attention you might see that art is splattered around every corner, with graffiti art very well curated through out key districts like Miraflores, Barranco, Callao and the old city center. Lima Mural Project was an initiative that wanted to make the street walls canvases, with public art available to everyone. Check out tours and routes on their Instagram @limamuralproject

EL MERCADO DE SANTA ANITA

We have a soft spot in our hearts for markets. Latin America’s rich food culture can be understood best through its produce, and there is no better place to see, smell and taste that richness than the markets. El mercado de Santa Anita might be the biggest produce market of Lima, you can walk one full block just of potatoes. Prices are more than fair, vegetables and fruits come straight from the farm to this place, they might still have dirt on them, and for that they feel even fresher. Sunday mornings are hectic, busy, loud and colorful, a great day to visit. Bring small bills, coins, and of course your own bags.

GAMARRA

The ultimate textile emporium. Take the tren electrico, which took forever to finally get built. Alan Garcia, the two times president, who brought the country to bankruptcy and promised to build this train in the 80s finally delivered during his second term(2006-2011). It will definitely be crowded, but it’s fast and cheap. It is through rides like this that you get a feeling of the real side of Lima.

We went to buy cotton rope and supplies for my macrame small business initiative. It was a wonderful adventure. The streets are alive, colors everywhere, textures and sounds all around. If you decide to come here, keep your cash and your phone in the front pockets, be ready to find anything and everything fashionable you can imagine. Any brand, any model, it might be original, or it might be fake, but it certainly will look good.

LOMAS DE LUCUMO

Peru’s coast is mostly a desert, it’s covered by a grey sky during the winter, humidity prevails high all year and there is a thin, light rain called garua that has been a part of every Limeño’s life since the beginning of time. That’s why there are places like Las Lomas de Lucumo, where a green oasis spurs out of nowhere.

My best friend Valeria took us for hike to this magnificent, enchanted, and solitary place. Only half an hour driving from the city, the entry fee is less than $2. It’s hard to imagine that the sand can become green rolling hills as you drive the dusty roads that take you to this magical place.

Delicate flowers showered by the thick morning mist, rock formations, lonely paths and a very peaceful feeling is what we found at this secluded spot in the outskirts of Lima. Believe it or not we even got a bit cold when we got to the top, so don’t forget to bring a warm layer.

Hope you adventure into the unknown and get to see the other side of Lima, a less popular but certainly very interesting side.