An exciting football game, Paella and Ayuhascha
Qura bowl bar
Day 16 came around and our Peru trip was sadly coming to an end. We had a relaxed morning and checked out of our Airbnb in Cusco. The weather was pleasant and sunny and we were happy to wander with few plans on our last morning in Cusco. We tried Qura bowl bar which was a quirky vegan-friendly cafe hidden in the backstreets of the city. We ordered fresh juice, a matcha latte, vegan waffles and avocado toast. This is a great brunch spot but it is very small so you may struggle to get a table.
Flight Cusco to Lima
After some more wandering and soaking up the last of the sun, we jumped in an Uber back to the airport. We took a flight from Cusco back to Lima. Peru were playing Uruguay in the Copa America and the score was tied. The penalties began and the Peruvians were glued to their phones watching the match. As we were sitting on the runway the pantomime-style cheers and ‘boos’ commenced. This was shortly followed by a communal groan as the air hostess reminded all passengers to turn their devices to airplane mode. We took off and around 5 minutes into the flight, we heard another cheer from the rear of the plane and quickly realised not everyone had listened to the air hostess a few moments ago. There was a break of silence before another cheer came which was longer than the rest. Word soon spread that Peru had beaten Uruguay 5-4 and the cheers rippled through the cabin. The next thing we knew celebratory music was playing through the speakers, there were arms in the air and singing coming from all sides. After the commotion had settled down, the second half of the flight was peaceful and we landed safely back in Lima.
LA37
Another Uber took us to our final Airbnb of the trip which was located in a large apartment block in the Barranco region of Lima. I was amazed to find how high-tech this apartment was and James opened the door using his phone. The apartment was modern and stylish and arguably our favourite of the trip. We freshened up and headed out for dinner to LA73 around a 15-20 minute walk from our apartment. We had a paella dish and Chinese pork and they were both extremely tasty. We ended the meal with LA73’s speciality, churros. Just about every other table around us were devouring churros and some had came simply to have churros and nothing else. We couldn’t resist. They were served with some fruit and some chocolate sauce and were delicious. You could definitely tell how fresh they were in comparison to some of the street vendors. We did however find some delicious churros in Arequipa and Cusco. In Cusco the best we found was a kiosk opposite the San Francisco Plaza. We tried a vendor outside of Cusco market another day but they were disappointing. The churros we found being sold by street vendors were packed full of Dulce de Leche and they were the epitome of indulgence. For 1 sole (25p) per churros it’s extremely hard to resist. I’m sure one a day during your trip won’t do you much harm…
Ayuhascha
We finished the night with some Pisco sours at Santos and then went to the very sophisticated Ayuhascha. This bar is huge and it is said to be a ‘must’ when visiting Barranco. Mostly to get that perfect Insta shot so you can tag your location and let people know you’re visiting the place-to-be. The bar has a great atmosphere and is guaranteed to be filled with cocktail drinkers. The menu is vast and there is just about every type of sour could you wish for. This is a very different experience to any other bar we visited in Lima and we would definitely suggest a visit during your time in Barranco. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling great this evening (nothing to do with the food earlier) so after one drink we headed back to our apartment for an early night.
La Bodega Verde
Our last day in Peru began with a lie in and packing to head home. We sat in the courtyard of La Bodega Verde for breakfast and enjoyed a deconstructed chicken and avocado sandwich and yogurt, fruit and granola. They were both unusual but delicious and the outdoor cosy setting really brings this place to life.
Sightseeing
We walked to the Bridge of Sighs and then to the main parks in Barranco. We managed to catch what we presumed to be a Peruvian pop princess shooting a section of a music video alongside a graffitied wall with two skateboarders passing. We then headed to the Barranco Beer Company for some of their delicious craft beers. On the way back to the apartment to collect our bags we stopped at a local supermarket to pick up some Peruvian sweet treats to take home with us. We got a taxi back to the airport and after enduring a 45 minute delay we were on the plane back to London Gatwick. We consumed a lot less alcohol during the flight back and managed to sleep through the majority which passed the time quickly.
Peru is an incredible country and we can’t wait to head back to South America to do some more exploring.
Next post: A whistle stop in Miraflores, Lima