"Love" Sunday - Lima, Peru
Lima, Peru
Where I stayed
Miraflores Atrium
What I did
Shopping Center Larcomar (Centro Comercial Larcomar) Lima
Parque del Amor
Pacific Ocean Cliffs
Milaflores, Lima, Peru
After breakfast at the Atrium Miraflores, we decided to walk to the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. On our way to our hotel our taxi drove on the highway along the ocean so we knew the way. We saw a multitude of women exercising in the street closed by Parque Kennedy. It looked like everyone was having fun following the somewhat risqué gyrations of their leader on the street stage. After a 20 minute walk, we arrived at the cliffs.
The Miraflores 'malecón' or boardwalk is possibly the most emblematic attraction in Miraflores. This six mile stretch of board walk starts with Malecón de la Marina in the north, then becomes Malecón Cisneros, and ends as Malecón de la Reserva in the south. This stunning cliff-top walk offers fabulous views of the Pacific Coast and is a great place for people watching.
There is a series of parks and sculptures along the board walk. The imposing Intihuatana statue was inspired by the Incas’ sacred stone. Intihuatana in the Quechua language translate as "hitching post of the sun." Considering that the cliff top is blanketed in gray and mist for at least half the year the statue didn’t seem to be “hitching” to the sun.
We walked north across the Puente Villena Rey Bridge where we found the famous ‘Parque del Amor’ or Love Park which is a favorite spot for lovers to meet. Inaugurated February 14, 1993, the park is devoted to the old Peruvian custom of courting in a public garden. In the center of the park is a colossal statue of a kissing couple, “El Beso”, or “The Kiss” by sculptor Victor Delfin. The park was crowded, but we didn’t see any kissing couples. A serpentine mosaic bench is embedded with the names and notes of love. It reminded us of Gaudi’s Parc Guell in Barcelona.
The heart of this area is Larcomar, a stunning feat of architecture located on the boardwalk in front of the JW Marriott Hotel. You can’t see this multi-level food, entertainment and shopping complex from street level as it is tucked away in the cliff face boasting stunning views of the Pacific Coast. Built in 2002, the Larcomar comprises three terrace levels carved into the Miraflores cliffs. There we saw big brand named stores like North Face, Adidas and Banana Republic plus Peruvian stores like Ilaria Jewelry, Kuna Alpaca and the great gift store Dedalo. This iconic spot continues to be controversial as either a beloved addition or an eyesore to the park area.
Larcomar has a western feel and is usually packed with well-heeled Limeños and international travelers, because it is a good place to shop and enjoy the view of the ocean below. We found the restaurant Mangos and settled at a table at the edge of the cliff for lunch. They were offering a giant Sunday brunch but we opted to order off their menu. Although, the lowest level of the restaurant was a full house, two separate levels above were empty. We wondered what their business plan was when it was designed.
After a couple of hours of pleasure, we left with half of our lunch in a doggy bag. We toured the retail cliff dwellings and stopped at an amazing free photography exhibit. We were impressed that the Lacomar offered such a large gallery for the arts. We stopped at the glitzy looking JW Marriott and then headed back up the street towards Parque Kennedy. We stopped once to purchase some last minute souvenirs and again to enjoy some gelato.
We arrived back at the hotel by 4:00 PM and prepared ourselves for tomorrow, our last day in Peru. We had made contact with Chef Hector during the day to participate in a Peruvian cooking class tomorrow morning after we check out of the Atrium Miraflores. We warmed up the left over lunch from Mango’s in our microwave and washed it down with our left over wine we purchased Saturday.