Guide to Volunteering in Lima
Lima is made up of a number of very distinct and disparate neighbourhoods, or barrios. Downtown is centred by the massive Plaza de Armas, dominated by the enormous colonial cathedral built by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. In the small streets running around the plaza are a number of small bars and cafes, as well as artisan shops, where you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re in mainland Spain.
South-west of the downtown area is Miraflores, best described as Lima’s ‘New Town’. Here you will find international restaurants, cocktail and craft-beer bars where young and wealthy Peruvians mix and meet. Across from Parque Kennedy is the imaginatively-named Calle de las Pizzas (or Pizza Street), which provides the focal point for Miraflores’ backpacker scene. Many long nights out have started with the suggestion ‘shall we pop to Pizza Street and see what happens?’ The western side of Miraflores follows the Pacific coast; almost permanently enveloped in a light mist, this is where you will find Larcoma Mall. If nothing else, this is worth strolling through to spot the suited businessmen having meetings and lunches while tapping away on their MacBooks while paragliders swoop precariously close to your head before descending onto the beach below. If this is your first time in Latin America, there are few better places to show that there are some very wealthy people in this part of the world, in spite of what you may have read beforehand.
Further south Miralfores is Barranco, a slightly gritty and bohemian district that is worth spending a few hours. Home to a number of art collectives and painfully fashionable bars (the Barranco Beer Company feels like it’s been airlifted from Shoreditch in London or Brunswick Street in Melbourne, and it’s maybe a matter of time until a cereal restaurant opens up...) it’s one of the best places to wander around and watch the quirkier parts of Lima life unfold in front of you.
