Our Walking Tour Of Miraflores
What a pleasant scene awaited us in Miraflores on our arrival at Hotel Antigua Miraflores in Lima, Peru. This hotel is small, with a real sense of privacy, and the atmosphere and décor are eclectic and charming with Spanish overtones.
But the one striking aspect of our first impression of the hotel and our room was the overwhelming perfume that permeated the whole complex. It originated from flowering trees in the courtyard and was heavenly.
The temperature in Miraflores was only 68F for our first walking tour of the holiday. Thanks to the proximity to the ocean, there was a constant cool breeze.
The designated route for this tour leads visitors to the beaches. What a breathtaking view showed itself as we descended on cobblestone walkways that cut through the surrounding hills. The ruggedness of the sheer cliffs bordering the beaches gave way to the rock-strewn shoreline where eager surfers and sunbathers thought nothing of spreading their towels and taking their ease on the bumpy, hard surfaces.
One of the most notable observations we made was that of the thundering surf. With each surging wave, a load of pebbles was dumped at the edge of the beach and then withdrawn again by the retreating waves, causing the stones to clatter noisily over one another.
Body surfers headed down to the breaking waves on the main beach at Lima.
Our tour of Miraflores took us through a local city park that features the pretty Parroquia Virgin Milagrosa (Miraculous Virgin Church).
On our way to a small market in Miraflores, we sampled some local fruit from a street vendor then followed up by purchasing cheese and buns for a light snack before returning to our hotel room.
By then, it was 3 p.m. or so. From my seat by the double windows in our room, I enjoyed the softly lit shades of salmon and yellow used on the adjacent walls and the soothing sounds of the water fountain 3 stories below. It was so peaceful there!
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