Thanks to the awesome power of Couchsurfing, on our first day in Lima we met a friend, Jorge.  He helped us a lot with some venue-searching we were doing for a youth orchestra from Zach’s hometown, which is coming to Peru this summer.  Jorge lived in Barranco, and just from our first meeting in a coffee shop there, we could tell it was an awesome area.  We were able to find a free B&B in the neighborhood and moved in for our last few days in Lima.

Barranco is historically the poorer, bohemian neighborhood of Lima, although just like it’s NYC counterpart (Greenwich Village) it seems to me like it’s becoming more expensive and upscale then it probably used to be.  Still, it definitely has a multicultural vibe and relaxed, “enjoy life” atmosphere.  There’s an abundance of classic old cars parked on the streets, and the buildings are all colorfully painted or covered in cool graffiti-style murals.

The main plaza of Barranco is also just a few blocks away from Lima’s best surfing beaches.  Being the Bohemian barrio, Barranco also has the best nightlife in Lima, all week long.  We went to a salsa club with a live band on a Tuesday night, and the place was crowded with awesome dancers.  Our salsa is terrible but it was super fun just to watch the band and the dancers who make it look so easy.

After several days in Barranco, neither of us was ready to leave.  We decided to add it to the list of places we could potentially live someday.  But we have to see the rest of the world before we decide!