Safety Lima

I just look at Wanderlust web page, a British specialized magazine about travel, and I was surprised that Peru is the third top searched country on that page. Earlier this year, Peru appeared twice in Wanderlust Travel Awards 2009: sixth place for Top Country and eigth place for Top City (Cusco). In this sense, there is a major interest in our country and obviously, Lima is a must for every tourist passing by Peru and for him/her there is always a concern, before and during the trip: security.

During eighties and nineties, mostly in Lima, it reigned curfews, car bombs and blackouts. All over Peru suffered terrorism. Nowadays, we have forgotten all of them and Lima relatively became a modern and a quiet city. Personally, I feel more unsafe in New York than Lima, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

As any (cosmopolitan) city that you visit, always be careful. In order to enjoy your journey you must to keep a low profile. I other words, carry only what you need the most: leave the expensive watch, leave the laptop and have exact money. Either way, do not dress up like "typical tourist": beige short/beige cargo trousers, shirt, hat and a camera dangling from your neck. That's no a good idea because people can take advantage of you. I mean it. It happened to me, even in my own country people think I am foreigner. I spend such a bad time when it is a matter of money: I have to bargain more than a regular Peruvian and I cannot leave my identity card at home.

So, come to Lima, come to Peru and enjoy your trip. These people were warned to look out for thieves in Lima:

Cat Woman, Spiderman and the Magical Guinea Pig being on guard