The Knitting Men of Taquile, Peru

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A Knitting Man of Taquile

The last stop on our Lake Titicaca adventure was the Taquile Islands, and for me, it was the most beautiful of the three we visited.

The main village 4000 metres above sea level could only be reached by climbing up 535 stone steps, and as we ascended laboriously upwards, we were treated to views of never-ending blue waters, and the symmetrical beauty of the Taquileno’s farming terraces.

Beautiful water at the bottom of the mountain

After 535 breathless steps, the Bears finally reached the top!

The Knitting Bear of Albania

Famous for it’s handwoven textiles and clothing, Taquile’s textiles were declared “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2005.

Fascinatingly though, knitting in Taquile is performed solely by males, starting from the age of 8. The Taquileno women are responsible for making yarn and weaving only.

All of the men wore colourful hats that they had knit for themselves, with the colour of the ball on top of the hats denoting their marital status (though we were never able to find out which colour meant what). When the Taquileno men hitched a ride back to Puno on our boat later on in the day, we also discovered that they store their supply of coca leaves in the top of the hat as well. That is one multi-purpose accessory!

The knitting men of Taquile chewing coca leaves

Homestay on Amantani Island

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A further note on the Uros Islands: As someone who has traveled to many countries over many years, I have to say that our time on the Uros Islands was, in my eyes, tourism at it’s absolute worst. I understand that the people that live on the Islands want to benefit from people visiting their home, and they should, but it also needs to be done in a way that offers something of real value to both parties. Travel, at it’s best, involves authentic cultural exchange and understanding, and the realization that there is more that binds us, then divides us…at least to me.

There was not a single traveler on our entire boat, that didn’t feel completely taken advantage of. None were willing to spend even one extra soles on anything on the Uros islands. Just as I’m sure the people of Uros don’t want to feel like animals in a zoo, tourists do not want to feel like walking ATMs.

Which brings me to our homestay on Amantani Island.

On our way to Amantani Island

Two hours away from Uros on what was possibly the slowest speedboat in the world, Amantani managed to erase the bad taste of the T-Uros Islands, in just 1 night.

As we approached the dock, we were greeted by a small group of women. There were none of the big smiles and contrived waves we had encountered on Uros. Instead, the women hung back and gave us shy smiles, as a village elder determined which families would host us for the night.

Rustic accommodation on Amantani Island

The Bear and I, along with a Peruvian from Lima, followed our homestay lady to her home, a short 10 minute walk away. We were shown to our rooms, which were rustic, with no electricity and only an outhouse for a bathroom. The beds were large and surprisingly comfortable, and we settled in for a quick rest before lunch.

We’d been warned that meals would be very simple and starchy, and they were. We were served a simple vegetable soup to start, followed by the ‘main course,’ a plate of many different kinds of boiled potatoes and a slab of fried cheese. The meal was filling, if not wholly satisfying. But hey, this is what the people of Amantani ate everyday, and we could certainly do it for one day.

A simple soup for lunch

12 million kinds of potatoes and fried cheese for the main course

After lunch, our lady walked us to the main square, where we were met by a “tour guide,” from the island, that explained that there were 2 peaks on the island: Pachamama (Mother Earth), and Pachatata (Father Earth). We could choose to hike to either or both peaks.

We made our way up to the top of Pachamama. At 4100 metres above sea level, this was great training for our upcoming Inca Trail trek. At the top, we were able to see for miles in every direction and witness the natural beauty of the island itself

At the 4100 metre peak of Pachamama

Terraced farming and beautiful water

Sunset over Amantani

After watching the sunset until it became too cold, we made our way down the mountain and back to our homestay for dinner (which was more of the same). The Bear, clothed in traditional Quechua clothing, made his way back to the main square after dinner for a dance and music. Too cold to contemplate the half hour walk back in the dark, I huddled under the covers, and awaited his return a few hours later.

A traditional dance

Our homestay family cooking us breakfast

The next morning we woke early and had a breakfast of bread and instant coffee, that had been freshly prepared that morning on the family’s campfire stove kitchen.

Saying goodbye to our homestay family

And with that, our Amantani Island homestay was over. After saying good-bye to our family, we left with lighter hearts and a better sentiment about the Lake Titicaca Islands.

Happy Bears basking in the beautiful light of Amantani Island

The Amantani Island homestay costs 30 soles per person and includes all food and accommodation ($23 for both of us). The homestay can be easily arranged by visiting the dock of Lake Titicaca in Puno. You can also arrange it through a tour company in the town, but it will cost more.

Uros aka The “T-Uros” trap

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Historically, great civilizations have always had a deeply evolved spiritual connection with one or many higher beings. The Egyptians had their gods, the Romans had Jove, the Indians had Krishna and Vishnu, the Arabs Allah and so on. Strangely, though the world is a very big place, the land of the Gods always seems to fall within their own domain. The Japanese came from the Land of the Gods, for the Greeks, the gods lived on Mount Olympus, and Mecca happens to be just where the Prophet Mohammad is from. Coincidence?

The beautiful Lake Titicaca and the Uros Islands

For the Quechua people (commonly/mistakenly known as the Incas), the holiest place is Lake Titikaka. Mythology has it that the Sun, their main God, was born here, on the Isla del Sol, and that they themselves originate from this sacred place.

Now I see nothing wrong with venerating the Sun, many other civilizations do so, and I for one, am a big fan. It provides us with heat, food and recently with electrical energy, free of charge.

The Isla del Sol falls on the Bolivian side, and though not far geographically from Puno, to get there is a bit of a trek. Fortunately, Peru also has beautiful islands on the lake, so off we went to Uros, Amantani and Taquile.

Uros is the closest island to Puno, and certainly the most peculiar one. In fact, the whole island is made of nothing more than reeds. The reeds grow naturally in this shallow part of the lake, so the people of Uros cut it, pile it in big cubes, stack it all together by hand and voila, you have an island. Because the islands float on the lake itself, they have to be anchored down like a boat, so that the Peruvians don’t wake up on the other side of the border.

The Uros women hard at work

The Aymara people of Uros have lived here for longer than a millennium and here they work, fish, go to school, and even pray in the Methodist church. Some livestock is also raised here, and the pigs even have their own little islands.

A piggy on it’s very own little reed island

The intrigue of a place like Uros, fills the average tourist with excitement and curiosity and we were no different. As we approached the island, we were greeted by the local people, dressed in their customary colourful outfits, and their quirky hats. They were all waving with cheerful smiles, as if meeting us was the biggest event since the discovery of the Americas. We could not have imagined more hospitable people and were certainly impressed by this, after all a traveler dreams of being accepted by the locals. Wow.

A demonstration of Uros reed construction techniques

We paid the 10 soles entrance fee, got off the boat, and were greeted personally, introduced to the locals and given a short demonstration of how the locals build the island from reeds, complete with a display and a quick talk about how they have lived on the island for generations.

The REAL Uros Islands. You know, where they actually live.

Five minutes later, all the travelers were invited by the local ladies to visit their living conditions (for a mere 5 soles more). So the female Bear and I were ushered into a hut of reeds, only to discover that the space could not house more than one and a half people, it had no door or windows, no mattress (I guess they sleep on reeds), and nowhere to place possessions. The kitchen was a separate communal hut that all the villagers share, understandable, an easy way to prevent a fire burning down the village. When asked where the kids sleep, we are told that they sleep in a separate hut, on a separate island, which is a bit strange, but I guess the parents like their privacy (but not enough to have a door, I suppose).

The people of T-Uros. I mean Uros.

Soon afterwards, we were shown an impressive collection of artisan craftsmanship created by the lady herself – hats, scarves, sweaters etc. We were asked if we wanted to buy any of it, but we’re traveling for a while and don’t like carrying more than necessary, so we said no. The lady, though disappointed, was very persuasive and kept urging us on and on to buy her work of arts. Sorry lady not interested. Ok, I guess we’re done here, let’s go outside, where there is another stand of goods to be purchased. Sorry lady still not interested. But look, it has pachamama, the mother earth, the Sun God, the serpent and other Inca spiritual symbols, surely all this is very marketable. Sorry lady still not interested, but we are sure feeling a bit more guilty.

Tourists on their way to the T-Uros Trap

By this point, the beautiful island is becoming more and more of a tourist trap to be escaped, an Alcatraz made of reeds, if you like. Hey look, there’s a boat made of reeds, it has two stories, let’s go check it out, hopefully the lady won’t follow me, or ask me for money to get on it. She doesn’t. I get up on the boat and the view is absolutely stunning. The Island is more of a collection of islands, stretching on forever. You can see where the people really live, where the church is, and you can also see dozens of other tourists trapped on separate islands, lured into buying goods. More boats come from far in the distance, with groups of Asian tourists, backpackers, all greeted by the same trained cheerful smiles.

A little girl climbs up onto the boat with me. She’s 4-5 year old, barefoot, dirty and beautiful nonetheless. I love kids, I’m a teacher after all, and am very excited to see her. We sit, try to communicate, and after a few minutes she goes for my pockets. Has she not ever seen pockets before, or is she going for my money? Huh.

I get off the boat and am told that for just another 5 soles per person, we can take this actual boat across to the other island. Ten soles is about 3 dollars, so I convince a reluctant female bear to jump on the unmotorized boat. This is definitely going to be a cool experience, it’s a very cool looking boat, and they’ve been navigating the lake on these for centuries.

The boat made out of reeds, and pushed by a motorboat, at least for tourists

Well, the gentleman uses an oar to push the boat out on the lake and gets himself on a smaller motorized boat, turns on the engine and starts pushing the bigger boat across the lake with it. Our jaws drop, we’re pretty peeved but well, at least we escaped the pushy lady, at least.

Once on the other side our tour boat awaits us, with everyone else on it, ready to dash for dear life. They’re all smiling at our authentic boat experience, feeling wise they didn’t fall for it.

Off we are to Amantani, where we are spending the night with the locals. Let’s hope they don’t also go for our pockets.

Poooooono, I mean Puno

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Our first view of Puno

After NOT trekking the Colca Canyon in Arequipa, the Bear and I board our second Cruz del Sur bus, for a 6 hour climb to the town of Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. It’s a journey that leaves us breathless in places, and it’s on this trip that I begin to understand what altitude acclimation really means.

The Bears on the shores of Lake Titicaca

At 3,812 metres above sea level, Lake Titicaca gets a lot of attention because it’s the highest navigable lake in the world (whatever that means). Sandwiched between the borders of Peru and Bolivia, it turns out that it’s also the largest lake in South America by volume of water.

Why don’t they where hats that fit!?

From the Peruvian side of the border, the lake is decidedly unattractive. Puno, the town on it’s shores, doesn’t fare much better. It’s a dusty town full of ramshackle buildings, unused railway tracks and women in hats that don’t fit properly. Before long, the Bears have nicknamed the town Poooooono (yeah, we’re that mature).

The lovely streets of Puno

Puno looks nice from the windows of our hostel

It doesn’t help that we’re both feeling pretty nasty. The 1500 metre increase in elevation has left us both with lingering headaches that won’t go away, breathlessness and slight nosebleeds. It takes 2 or 3 days before we’re fully back to normal. However, it’s weeks before my skin recovers from the lack of humidity in the air and the impact of the searing, hot sun. We both burn our scalps so badly, that the skin on the top of our heads is peeling off in chunks for days afterwards. Really, scalp burn?

Most people arrive in Puno to visit the islands dotted on the surface of the lake, and the Bear and I are no different.

More about our visits to the Lake Titicaca islands of Uros, Amantani and Tepile’ in the next posts.

Where we stayed in Puno: Santa Maria Inn. Private double with ensuite bathroom, hot water (not a given in Peru), delicious breakfast (eggs and freshly squeezed juice) and wifi in the lobby. All for 64 soles ($24). Definitely recommended.

The Santa Catalina Monastary

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The Bear and I are probably the farthest thing from religious that you can find, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate beautiful architecture. In Arequipa, the thing to see is the Santa Catalina Monastary, so we dedicated an afternoon to wandering around the massive 20,000 square metre complex.

Originally built in 1580, today, the Monastary only houses about 20 nuns (I wonder how many square feet that is per nun?) ;)

If you’re interested in the history, you can check it out here.

Some pics from our wanderings:

Fresh figs from a tree in the Monastary

Dinner (cuy) being raised in the Monastary

Arequipa and the Canyon that was Not to Be

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La Ciudad Blanca, Arequipa (By Christian Monzón (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

I had never heard of Arequipa until I looked at a map of Peru, but apparently a lot of travelers stop here en-route to Cuzco or Puno, in an attempt to acclimatize more gradually to the high altitudes. Known as La Ciudad Blanca, (the white city), because of the predominance of buildings made of sillar, a white volcanic rock, Arequipa was indeed the first stop on our altitude acclimation tour of the Peruvian Andes.

Bright, blue skies in Arequipa

Our painless overnight transit completed, we stepped off the bus and were greeted by bright sunshine and a blue, cloudless sky. After so many hours cooped up inside with only recirculated air to breathe, the gift of crisp, clean air inside our nostrils was fresh and rejuvenating.

Our first day in Arequipa

A quick 12 soles taxi ride later, we were settled into the spotless Los Andes Bed and Breakfast, 1 block away from the main square, and ready to explore the town. But not before we had a cup of coffee! Fortunately, this was a simple endeavour in Arequipa, which has 3 or 4 decent coffee shops within a few blocks of each other. We settled onto a comfortable couch at the Cusco Coffee company, and plotted out a detailed travel strategy over cheesecake and lattes.

I’m lying. We drank coffee and checked Facebook. ;)

Coffee and wifi at the Cusco Coffee Company

I’ve realized in the last 3 months, that the Bear couple’s travel style does not include running around to see all of the famous sights of a place. Our style is more to relax, soak up the vibe and try to meet the locals whenever possible. In South America, this has involved a walk around the main square, a look at the main buildings (usually just from the outside), and eating lots of local food.

Does this mean that we miss some stuff? Absolutely. I’m sure we miss lots of super amazing stuff. Do we feel regret about it? Honestly, sometimes…mostly when we meet other travelers, that rave about a can’t miss sight, or totally “unique” experience. But we also need to feel sane and peaceful, and running around trying to see every last thing would make our trip stressful, rather than enjoyable.

One small part of the Santa Catalina Monastary

So even though Arequipa has some major tourist draws, including the massive Santa Catalina Monastary, the city’s proximity to the Colca Canyon (billed as the deepest canyon in the world), and views of the almost 6000 metre tall, El Misti volcano, we skipped most of it.

We’d planned on trekking into the depths of the Colca Canyon, in what would seem to be one of those do-not-miss traveling experiences, but when the time came to actually book it and do it, it didn’t seem so attractive. Perhaps it’s because we were still getting into the traveling groove. Perhaps it’s because we had the Inca Trail trek already scheduled. Honestly, I’m not sure why. (In restrospect, I don’t regret the choice, though I think the Bear might).

We didn’t even venture to the region’s most popular attraction, Cruz del Condor, where majestic condors supposively soar gracefully on the warm drafts of air rising from the canyon floor. (glad we didn’t, because we heard from other travelers later on, that they shelled out the cash, and didn’t see a thing – nature is finicky I guess).

We did manage a walk around the gargantuan and beautiful Santa Catalina Monastary though. Pictures in the next post.

Where we stayed in Arequipa: Los Andes Bed and Breakfast
72 soles ($28) for a large room with 2 double beds, fan, private bathroom, internet and breakfast included. Definitely recommended.

Upwards to Arequipa: Our first Long Distance Bus Journey

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We were slated to hike the Inca Trail on March 29th, and as the date loomed, my nervousness began to grow in magnitude. Let’s just say that I’m not the most naturally athletic of people. The prospect of hiking 42km over 4 days did not fill me with glee and anticipation, like it does most people. For me, the feeling was more of trepidation. Or dread. Yes, dread pretty much sums it up.

My sister-in-law Melissa had a major bout of altitude sickness while trekking Kiliminjaro last year, which involved her vomiting, passing out and having to descend from altitude as quickly as possible. The consequences of not doing so? Dire. The fact that Melissa is at least 500x more athletic than me was not inspiring much confidence, despite reading that fitness level has nothing to do with getting sick or not. Apparently.

Needless to say, the last thing I wanted was to be suffering from altitude sickness on our upcoming Inca Trail trek. It would be like adding an unnecessary trial on top of an already physically demanding challenge…one that I wasn’t sure if I was up to.

The solution as I saw it, was to take lots and lots of time gradually acclimatizing to the high altitudes of the Peruvian landscape. So, after 2 belly filling days of ceviche and calamari in Lima, we headed further south and higher up…in altitude that is.

The streets of Arequipa on a Sunday morning

Situated on the bottom of a geographic triangle, with Lima and Cusco making up the other corners, the city of Arequipa, at 2335 metres, seemed like a safe bet, altitude wise. To acclimatize even more slowly, we decided to take a long distance bus. Beyond that, having read so many positive reports about South American bus travel, we were frankly quite curious about the experience.

The 15 hour overnight bus journey from Lima to Arequipa in Cruz del Sur’s first class, Cruzero service cost us just $55 each. It included almost fully flat wide sofa bed seats, a hot meal and a whole host of security features, like non-stop service and 2 drivers that alternate 4 hour shifts of driving.

Waiting to board our Cruz del Sur bus

Big, leather seats inside the bus

15 hours in these seats? No problemo!

We were a little hesitant about 15 long hours on a bus, but having done it, I can safely say that it was one of the easiest trips I’ve ever made. After watching a few movies and being served a hot chicken meal (decent, not amazing), I pushed my seat as far back as I could, covered myself with the blanket they provided and promptly fell asleep. I’m not sure if it was the motion of the bus, or just tiredness from so much traveling, but I was out, in a way I never am on a plane.

Sleepy Bear

Eerie landscape on the way to Arequipa

Fifteen hours passed while we slept soundly in our plush, leather seats, and before I knew it, we had traveled 1018 km and arrived in Arequipa safe and sound. I didn’t feel the trip at all.

Greasy after 15 hours on the bus

During our time in Peru, we ended up taking Cruz del Sur on 3 separate occasions, and every time, the whole process of booking tickets was simple and hassle-free. In this instance, we had our hostel call and book the tickets for us, and Cruz del Sur delivered them, at no extra cost. Because we weren’t traveling in Cruzero class for our next journey from Arequipa to Puno (only 6 hours), we bought tickets at the terminal 15 minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave. No problem.

On our final journey from Cuzco to Lima (23 hours!), we booked online in advance, to ensure that we would have the Cruzero class seats. We were able to reserve and pay for the tickets online and pick them up at the terminal with a confirmation code on the day of travel.

There are a million bus companies in Peru, and many of them are cheaper and probably just as good as Cruz del Sur. But with our Canadian currency, the difference in cost was pretty minor, so we stuck with what we knew, whenever we could. Sadly, we quickly become creatures of habit, even in foreign countries. ;)

Lima Barrio Throwdown: Miraflores vs. Centro vs. Barranco

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I have a confession to make.

Despite having traveled to over 35 countries, and experiencing the confounding of expectations over and over again, Peru completely unhinged me. I admit that I had fallen into traveler’s bias, believing that a country would be similar to the marketing of the country.

Where were the Peruvian women in traditional costumes and bowler hats? The men chewing on coca leaves? And llamas? Where were the llamas? And people in llama sweaters?

Certainly, not on the streets of Lima – our first destination in Peru. Instead, we were confronted with young women flaunting themselves in the shortest of shorts and skimpiest of skirts, and men with iPhones and cameras, cruising the whole scene. Add to that, a prominent McDonald’s, KFC and Starbucks, and I felt like I could’ve been anywhere in the world, BUT Lima, Peru.

A ride on the Lima public bus

We visited Lima twice. First, for a couple of days before heading off to Lake Titicaca, via Arequipa, and again at the end of our time in Peru, before we departed for the second leg of our Colombian tour.

In our travels through South America, we have noticed that different barrios seem to have a markedly different feeling, perhaps due to economic status, the history of the location and the type of people that live there. Quite different than Canada, where usually one neighbourhood seems to blend into the next, without much noticeable difference.

So, to experience as much of Lima as we could in the short time we had, we stayed in different neighbourhoods or barrios on each occasion.

Miraflores

Miraflores is, what we in Canada, call a suburb. In Lima, it’s considered a very safe, and upscale area of the city, complete with shopping malls, parks and fast food chains.

I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but in short:

What we liked:
- Being able to walk around worry-free with camera and wallet in hand
- a big ole’ cup of Starbucks percolated coffee (brewed coffee is difficult to find in South America!!)

Not so much:
- it felt very suburban…one could even say boring…
- there was not much character to the area

Pedestrians can walk safely in Miraflores

Yes, we’re truly in the suburbs. On the patio of Starbucks in Miraflores.

La Lucha Sandwich Shop in Miraflores

Centro

We’ve noticed a strange similarity in large South American cities. The historic districts or old cities are almost always in the centre, very beautiful, and nearly always deserted at night or on weekends. The magnitude of this has varied from city to city, with Lima’s historical centre being busy and relatively safe-feeling, and Rio and Sao Paulo’s, which felt like dangerous ghost towns with boarded up buildings, and rather nefarious citizens.

The historic centre of Lima was designated as a World Heritage site in 1988, because of it’s high concentration of monuments constructed during the Spanish occupation.

We had a very pleasant afternoon, walking around enjoying the various public squares and buildings (of which there are many). We definitely used caution while wandering around, but from our experience, the whole danger element of South American cities has been over-exaggerated. Normal precautions are all that’s required.

Barranco

We only booked one night in the artsy district of Barranco, and it was a mistake. We could easily have spent many days exploring the atmospheric streets and sipping lattes in one of the many unique cafes (not to mention the delicious ceviches!)

We stayed at the beautiful Casa Nuestra, which is basically the home of a Italian/Peruvian couple. I was feeling pretty exhausted by the time we got there, so I just chilled out on the super comfortable bed, while the Bear had a great night chatting with the locals.

The pictures tell the story better than I can, but in case there was any uncertainly, Barranco is best!

Below the Equator! Landing in Lima, Peru.

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The deserted streets of Guatavita, Colombia

When we board the undersized local bus departing from one of Guatavita’s deserted streets, it is not without a small measure of regret and sadness. We’ve accomplished our good-byes with Felipe and the gang at La Juanita without too much drama, but still, our leaving is bittersweet. Because we don’t actually feel ready to leave the graciousness of Colombia’s arms quite yet. In 19 short days, she’s already managed to seduce us with her charms.

But there’s no need to be truly morose.

After all, we’re departing for new lands. Uncharted territory. Traveler’s gold. It’s our first time visiting Peru AND the first time, either of us have been below the equator…surely this must qualify as some kind of traveler badge of honour, right? ;)

Jorge Chavez International Airport

After enjoying Colombia’s parade of warmish days and suffering through her coolish nights (sans heaters), the blast of humid air that hits us as we exit Jorge Chavez International Airport is nothing short of blissful. We’re greasy from a full day’s worth of travel and soon the stale smell of airplane mingles with our sweat and the pollution of Lima to create a truly unique bouquet.

Fortunately, the only person that is obligated to smell it, is the driver that has been sent to pick us up by the Wasihpy Hostal at an elevated rate of 55 nuevo soles or 20 Canadian dollars.

First time in the Southern Hemisphere! Arriving in Lima, Peru.

Arranging airport pick-up is not something we normally do, but in an uncommon bout of new country apprehension, I submit to the hostel’s warning that it is “for our own safety.” And I must admit, that it is certainly a pleasant experience to exit immigration after a long day of voyaging and immediately be whisked away into a cool and waiting car.

After driving for approximately 40 minutes, we end up in the middle class Miraflores neighbourhood, outside the locked door of the Wasihpy Hostel and wait anxiously for the door to open. There is some confusion when the driver needs to paid, because we don’t yet have any Peruvian currency and have assumed that the fee will be added to our hostel bill. Once it’s sorted (with the hostel taking a 15 soles cut out of the fee!), we are shown to our private “room.”

And it’s a private room alright. We even have our own bathroom. The problem is that there is only ONE slightly larger than average twin bed for both of us to sleep on. There’s no fan in sight and of course, no air conditioning, and the humid heat that we’d so appreciated on landing is starting to stifle.

We look at each other with dismay, but we have agreed to a room that has a bed that is a “square and half,” in size. And I must admit that the Bear and I were more than a little curious about what a “square and a half” bed might look like way under the equator in Lima, Peru.

We have no choice, but to cuddle tight and hope that one of us does not roll off it in the middle of the night. As you can imagine, for us, this is no problem at all. :)

PS: For those of you wondering about the “safety” of taking a cab to the middle class neighbourhood of Miraflores at night, in Lima, Peru – it’s totally fine. Save the 15 soles and take your own taxi. Also, don’t book a square and a half bed for 2 people. ;)