Miraflores, Provincia de Lima

Lima was an enriching city with great food and beautiful historical sites. I stayed in an Ibis hotel in downtown Lima. I’m from the DC area in the US, so it was quite comparable to that!

It was a bit of a shock as a tourist, because you have people on the street trying to sell you something at every turn, and they are persistent! In that regard, be discerning. Sometimes the sellers will try to scam you because in their eyes, as a tourist, you have a lot of money.

The food was WONDERFUL! The Peruvian chicken was good (of course) and many local dishes like Causa, Ceviche, and Limo are more than worth a try.

As a black woman and an American, it was an interesting experience. I hardly saw any other Black people (although Lima has an Afro-Peruvian presence) and I would get stares here and there. There’s no malice though, especially when you speak Spanish. The more I spoke the language, the warmer people became.