Backpacking in Peru: A Bit Of A DiLima

Backpacking in Peru: A Bit Of A DiLima

Lima is the capital city of Peru. I had no real intention of visiting it to be honest as on a quick tour round South America, I dipped into Peru purely to see Machu Picchu, yes I was that selfish and that unhungry to see the rest of Peru, just yet. But without having been to Lima itself oddly, my Peru leaving stamp on my passport is for Lima, as I passed through it’s airport on the way out…having spent a brace of days in Cuzco following the Inca Trail.

Arrival in Lima, (or departures for me). It had been a shambles to get there. I got there at the second time of asking, as my first flight was cancelled without me even being notified. So I had to get my bag off one company (the horrible Tacky TACA), book a flight with another company at the airport (LAN) and then hand my bag in for a flight which was leaving in 7 minutes (it was later delayed by 6 minutes!). It was so crazy I can hardly even explain properly what happened.

I was the last one onto the plane in Cuzco, having literally bought my ticket 10 minutes before the plane actually pulled out of the airport. I really don’t know how they got my bag onto it.
Flight ticket from TACA (Cuzco – Lima) which I still have for a flight I never got on – I fucking hope they were delayed even further, calling for my name, assuming my bag was already on there. THE FLIGHT TICKET THAT I NEVER USED. I never actually found out if that flight actually left or not…

Flight ticket from LAN (Cuzco – Lima) which I got on with 7 minutes before it was in the sky. Closest call ever. LAN, in contrast to the horrible TACA were excellent to fly with. THE FLIGHT TICKET I USED.

The drama didn’t end with me simply getting another ticket and getting my bag back and transferred in to another airline. The security staff (who I had already been past 2 hours earlier) asked me to pay Departure Tax again. I’d already paid it earlier, but for the other flight, yet they tried to insist I needed to pay it again. In the end, they heard the flight being called and basically just let me through. Having just paid an extra $200 US dollars (incredible price for an internal flight – given my TACA one was about $20 US) I hardly wanted to be lumped with another $4.28 charge on top.

Boarding in Cuzco. I was the last one through and still managed to get this photo and catch up with the rest. This family in front of me, must have also booked it late. We were the last 3 on board!

Relief at being on board and going crazy. My fellow passengers didn’t know what had hit them. The woman to my left was laughing a lot!

The joy of being given a free glass of Inca Cola and able to write up my notes from the previous part of my trip and look forward to Quito, Ecuador.

My view from the plane. Just a relief to finally leave Cuzco after the airport madness and the dreamlike Christmas visit to Machu Picchu. The flight has cost me 200 US dollars on the spot, but in the spontaneous-ness of life, that hardly mattered to me at the time.

After the free Inca Kola, came the free snack and cuppa.

When I opened it up, it was crackers and cheese, a cake (keke) and a Christmas chocolate. A feast in skies above Peru.

Arrival in Lima. Suspiciously not many planes about. There was a rumour of severe winds in Peru that day, though I was too busy to find out. I had a few hours to make my international flight connection to Quito Mariscal Sucre in Ecuador.

All I saw of Lima was an airport car park and a Peru flag. Oh well…next time Lima baby…

I had time to do a spot of browsing and randomly found a Lonely Planet book there, containing Northern Ireland (nope, we didn;t get our own book, this was in the Ireland section). In true style they kicked me out of the shop for photographing a book, just as I was going to buy a postcard…oh the money they lose by poor customer relations!
Another glimspe of Lima from the international airport.I think this was actually my flight, which…wait for it…was heading for Medellin, in Colombia. Another thing that confused me was these kind of 4 stop flights in South America. It would bounce its way to Quito then Bogota or Cartagena, and end up in Medellin, a Colombian City which I never went to, and one which has suffered some bad press over the years, particularly in 1994 where Andres Escobar, Colombian football World Cup star was shot dead.

The flight from Lima to Quito included a free Peruvian newspaper. LAN were faultless.

Almost forgot the long queues in Lima to pay my second and final departure tax of the day – a hefty one at that – $31 US, but I was on a bit of a mission to cross the equator by New Year, meaning I’d have been in the northern hemisphere every year of my life! Didn’t want to miss out. 

The flight details – mine goes to Medellin by the way…picture 1 or is it Quito…picture 2. Frankly I didn’t care…

Boarding the flight in Lima, these little moments of silliness are where I find my heaven. 

In amongst all the madness that happened I was on a connecting flight with the same company so I asked them to put my bag on a transfer with LAN from Cuzco to Lima then Lima to Quito. When I arrived in Quito, I really feared the worst!

But then came another moment of bliss…yes the trolley…

Included in my flight was again food and drink – this time not just a tea and water but a lovely glass of red wine.

The last I saw of Lima.

The very last I saw of Lima. My dilemma (DiLima) was over. I chatted away to the Ecuadorian family sat beside me. They all now lived in Norway and had Norwegian passports. I didn’t ask why. Merely sipped on my red wine and drifted into another wondrous journey.

And to be continued I guess. But the first I saw of Ecuador – it’s stunning capital city of Quito.


From – Cuzco


To – Quito


Via – Lima


Number of flights booked – 3


Number of flights boarded – 2


Free meals – 2


Free drinks – 5


Departure tax paid (in US dollars) – $ 35.38 US


Key Song – 

FOOLS GARDEN – JUST ANOTHER LIMA TREE:



TACA IS TOTALLY TACKY VIDEO I TOOK IN CUZCO AIRPORT:



A QUICK VIDEO WHILE WAITING ON THE LIMA FLIGHT:



A VIDEO I MADE IN LIMA AIRPORT, PERU:

3 thoughts on “Backpacking in Peru: A Bit Of A DiLima

  • Honestly, you didn’t miss much passing through Lima. At most, you probably only need 1 – 2 days here to explore. However, if you ever do find yourself here again, then you should try some ceviche (the Peruvian national dish — fresh raw seafood marinated in lemon or lime juice with spices) and look into the 2 hour free walking tour that begins in the main square. The tour group also offers a pub crawl for Tuesday and Saturday nights, but I missed out on that unfortunately.
    Ray recently posted…Eating Ceviche – A Peruvian DelicacyMy Profile

  • Hi Ray – yes I’ve still never been to Lima and it seems my sole (pun intended) purpose of travelling to Peru was to do the Inca Trail!! However I’ll bear that in mind. I have had ceviches many times but I didn’t know they were Peruvian!! My favourite restaurant in Santa Ana, El Salvador has great ceviches (it’s called Simmerdown Bar). Safe travels. Jonny

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