What's Peru like? - what was your experience of Peru?

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soho

I spent 2 weeks in Peru, none in Lima. Largely because there were other places that interested me more (like Sacred Valley/Cusco) and because people who were familiar with Peru told me Lima was nothing special. It's a city, with no particular charm that you don't find in other cities, is what they told me... though I can't vouch for this!

If you want to help people and be close to/in a city, why not another city like Arequipa or Cusco? I think you'd have a more "authentic" experience here than in Lima (depending on what you take authentic to mean)... The populations are indigenous Peruvian and you'll get a better sense how most Peruvians live, not just the ones in the capital. Also, the people are, in spite of their poverty, warm, kind and friendly.

Most of my time within cities I ate at restaurants where I spied "local-looking" people and had some good cheap eats. A defining moment I had was to go to an "authentic Peruvian" restaurant in Arequipa that was recommended by my Lonely Planet guide. The restaurant was lovely but the food was expensive by Peruvian standards - maybe 5US$ for a plate, but I was outraged! ;) All of the clientele appeared privileged, European-descent. The only indigenous folk were the waiters and musicians, of course! Now I've had very nice meals, and far more costly ones, but what I felt at that moment was that it was insulting to the Peruvians to be having such a luxe experience when the vast majority of Peruvians live so poorly. As a traveler, I don't want to do as I do at home, but try to witness & experience at least a tiny part of what the locals do, I hope I make sense?

I met a traveler on this trip, he was already familiar with Peru and had brought with him a bag of used mens' shoes, toys (nothing fancy, just little toy cars & action figures), pencils and paper for the kids, and along the way, he would give these things out to people he met. It's sad but so many kids don't have pencils and paper and don't learn to read & write. At some point on my trip I was sitting & writing in my journal when a kid came up to me. We started speaking (in Spanish) and I gave him a pencil & sheet of paper. He was so excited! I can't describe how this touched and pained me...

Sorry I'm such a softie! But hm, I wonder if you'd have these experiences in Lima, with its city trappings? (Hey I like city trappings, too..)

For language, pick up a Spanish phrasebook before you leave, even better, take a Spanish class! It would be especially cool if you learned a few phrases in Quechua, a local language spoken widely by indigenous people, I think you could connect even more with the locals that you made the effort to learn this.

People in Peru are so poor, there are incidents of pickpockets slashing jean pockets open, just to get a few coins or a small clock (I met a couple this happened to). So if you really don't want anything stolen, carry money in one of those pouches you can wear under your clothes, and otherwise pay attention.

My time in Peru was magical & too short! I would love to go back.

nigthslayer

i'm from scotland and i lived in peru for 5 years i would say the best years of my life i worked for electro peru and visit machu pichu twice i lived in lima most of the time and enjoyed most of my stay i lived in the (barranco district) the food is the best i have ever tried i even still prepare some dishes at home here in scottland,i really want to go back there and settle thats how wonderful was my stay, you have a nice temperature that ranges from 12 to 24 degress all year long can you beat that? and is the only capital city in latin america stablish on the shores of the pacific ocean, the hottels are as modern as any others in the world and many that i could not even afford, i stayed at a 3 stars hotel that was a bargain ,the money coversion is about 3 soles for 1US dollar, the arquitecture in Lima is colonial and barroco stiles ,you will see many palaces in the downtown that where build in the time of the conquistadores or the colonial years,many restaurants excellent food and i repeat excellent food, lots of potencial for businesses, clothes are very good quality and prices are affordables, you can find every brand you can name DG,nike,adidas,reebok,lecoof sportif, etc
the city is a modern city with ATM's,burger kings,mac donalds and very soon even wallmart, shopping malls are very common and when you are in it feels just like europe,
you wont miss much from new zealand except for the language and rugby other than that is awesome, the riches culture in south america, lima is world patrimony for its arquitecture and for being the only capital in all of latin america established by the pacific; the city like any other city can be dangerous if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time , do that in any city and you will see, try going to downtown london at 2:00 am and you will see, the city is like any other city i lived there for 5 years and i have no regrets just craving to go back, if you have a chance go and enjoy Peru.

rj_or

Well, I was in Lima, Peru with my girl friend for about 3 weeks... I had a great time... The people are great, the weather is awesome, and everything is just different... Volunteering is cool...

Tips: Try not to bring alot a cash in your pockets there are a lot of pick pocketers...

Bring some money for the poor little children that walk around selling candy.

And have Fun!

dlfngrl05

I'm half peruvian and felt a strong need to visit my mother's country of birth along with meeting many family members still living there. I was able to go on two seperate trips, each about 3 weeks long.

In regards to your question, Lima is a nice area, very modern with many top restaurants, it's coastal so the beach is close by, but it's a regular busy city, it's when you go further out that you get to see the REAL culture of Peru, area's such as Arequipa, Trujillo, Cascas, Puno, even Cuzco(which is a major tourist area) and was the capital during the time of the Incas. Aguas Caliente is the base of Macchu Picchu which is about a 4 hour train ride. If you can deal with scorching heat and humidity then Iquitos is a beautiful place to visit. The people are wonderful, friendly but very poor and work hard to sell anything that they grow and/or make.

Someone mentioned bringing supplies, yes that is important as they lack many basic items that are needed by students, paper, pencils, crayons, coloring book, books in general. For the older folks, glasses is a serious problem, which are cheap for us, 99 cent stores sell tons of reading glasses that work for them.

Although I was there to visit family, I took part in a two day health clinic, passing out glasses, undergarments, women especially love those since they can't not afford to buy them. It was incredible, people waited a whole year for this group to return with socks, undergarments for both men and women and shoes.

The culture is amazing, the food is fabulous, and as stated before, take a spanish class, bring a spanish translation book.

Other tips: Do not wear long flashy jewlry, purses/packbacks with long straps as they can be easily ripped and taken. I fought off a would be theif who almost made off with my knappsack that had everything in there.

Be sure to keep money in pockets, passport/other important documents safe and not visable to resist any tempation, remember they are very poor and some unfortunately will do anything they can to survive.

Transportation is easily accessable, thousands of taxi's and small buses, just make sure you are strapped in...I thought drivers from NY were bad...lol it was a trip to remember.

Good Luck with your trip, it ought to be a wonderful experience and one the people and yourself will benefit from.

Mrs. Obama rules!

I've been living in Peru for the past 15 years and I totally agree with Night slayer. I have only one thing to add: in recent years, the New Zealand community has grown in Lima. Personally I know like 10 people who work with me, some are from Christchurch, some from Wellington and there was one lady who years ago used to work in a small island in New Zealand which used to be a prison but I cant remember the name of the island now (maybe Pitcairn island???) ! Check with the nearest consulate which is in Argentina and they will tell you more about the growing NZ community n Lima.

Ronald

well agree with Nightslayer!!! Lima is a modern city like in other cities around the world u must be take care. Peru is one of the most cheaper countries of the world after Paraguay, Chile and then Peru, the cost of living is so cheap for us the dollar and the euro is strong money there. Now if u r in a mission depend of the place u r going, the poor zones in Peru is like in other countries like in Australia, or USA or Chile or Turkey or Argentina or China or in u country, but u will get surprise how is Peru and u will love it. I recommend you to go to the Catholic Church of your city and u can got more information about the missions in Peru maybe u can get a mission in other Church in Peru or maybe in Lima, and of course take a spanish course but from Spain, for the missions always summer is good time for the interchange..Peru is 90% Catholic, there is a tons of catholic schools and churchs around Peru. But what more to say, enjoy and congratulations in u new mission

xime666

IÂ´m peruvian what people said before me is true.
Enjoy your travel.

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