Chapter Two; I'm not in Asia, that's for sure
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I feel this hostal met my minimun requirements for this stay and don't regret it at all. the brochures of the city's attractions were very informative and if i wasn't looking for pussy, i would have lots of things to do on the other hand.



I made the electric train my main mode of transportation and wasn't to just take taxi everywhere i go. there was this small market right close to the hostal and i went there sometimes for a quick bite to eat.



My times in Lima center were busy, so much to see and the plazas/main squares are so well kept. also, the chinatown area looks so busy and the food is so good. police cars tend to be smaller than those i see in the states. with such big traffic issues here, why drive big vehicles ????!!!???



One thing i noticed is the public small buses are a little chaotic to used, had a hard time figure them out, but were cheap, something between S/. 1.50-3.50= soles depending how far you going. but by far the electric train and the Bus metro are the most convenient way to move in the capital. I found the downtown street where most of the optical shop are located (Jr. HUancavelica) and took advantage and had my glasses made ( 3 pairs ). what i paid for them is way down of the prices in the states and glad i did it !!! another thing the cops do carry assault rifles (AK 47s) and take security very serious !!!! luv the coffee with milk and the big ham sandwiches they made here, so tasty !!!



My wonderings took me pretty much tru most of downtown Lima but had to be careful not to step in the wrong part of town. lots of colonial cathedrals here and the artwork is so detailed and well preserved. found my way thru short meals and questions to Plaza Grau and the nearby Polvos Azules market; mainly 'cause i was on a mission to buy me some bootlegged movies, wasn't disappointed at all. this is the place to find hard to get movies.



I had to go and check the local attraction here, the famous "trocadero" (CH Link). thru quiet questions i found my way to the spot where you can take the local van service and back after you done having fun and cleaned your pipes pretty good !!!! is not that difficult if you know the way. simply you head to plaza Ramon Castilla, which is next to plaza 2 de Mayo. well, on plaza Castilla you would go down or turn into Jr. zamora (you'll see sign showing the way) once you get to plaza castilla. down that street on the right hand side, you'll see a van parked on the far corner and a guy yelling: "callao, callao"; well is going to callao but doesn't say the specific place in callao where the van goes !!! i approached him and in a low voice i asked him if the van goes to el trocadero, he right away confirmed this and said the fare was S/. 3.50= soles !!! sign me up !!!! and i jumped in the van and wait to fill up to head out.

trip is about 30 minutes or so, depending on traffic. and the way into the compound is thru a non descriptive garage entrance on the side of ave. argentina (block 1879 or so).
the compound is pretty much a wide structure with 2 floors and the one on the left is the "botecito"; this place has 2 floors but i didn't like much the girls here, entrance is S/. 10 soles.
Now, the trocadero proper it ocuppies the right side of the place and the entrance is S/. 15 soles. bigger place and it has also a second floor the far right of the bussiness.
lots of rooms and lots of gals of all shapes and taste to satisfies customers. NO FOREIGN GALS!!!! all Peruvians and i did find some nice looking ones, plus the times i was there there were lots of customers. girls charged between S/. 20-40 soles and if some did charge more, i wasn't aware of it. the times i went there i saw a good number of sexy girls and not the fat ugly gals i was expecting to find. I was very happy coming here. sure beats tequila rock and all those money sucking clubs of san isidro and miraflores !!!! I miss and don't have any pics of plaza castilla but is just down the street from plaza 2 de mayo, you can see it from there.



Coming back, once you're done just go out and the vans would be there for the return trip or just wait for them. you would see other vehicles going somewhere else in town but just take the ones going back to Ramon Castilla as in my case. then over there i would just drag my way to the Grau station to take my ride to the hostal.



I used this laundry place closed to my hostal to get my clothes clean. they charge me by weight and only pay extra when i needed them express service.



The only time i kind of didn't finish a plate of food was this chicken soup that the chicken didn't look good to me and left it untouch, otherwise it was an ok fare .



On the other hand, i had this roasted chiken/pollo a la brasa that was so tasty and with an Inka Kola you couldn't get a better deal.



Some days i went to plaza de armas to see the change of the palace guard, very ceremonial and interesting, lots of security around. another busy part of town is the Gamarra section where the main market is located, crowded to the max and plenty to see and do.



another section of town i decided to give it a quick look was Barranco and Miraflores. these are you main "Gringo" areas and i saw the difference right away, lots of tourists and more layback surroundings. very middle class Peruvians and upper class in Miraflores.



I checked some escorts but i was taken aback of the high prices they wanted. was thinking in calling a girl but decided to hold it back and let it rest this time.
I did go to see some soccer or futbol like the rest of the world calls it. lots of fun and lots of noises. i did played a bit during my teens and luv it. went to this game in La Victoria and one at the main estadio nacional between main city rivals. futbol is taken very seriously in south america !!! you could get kill if you run into the wrong crowd !!! in between these games i made my runs to polvos azules looking for classics movies to bring with me.



One note of interest, found this hostal on ave. abancay that has good room rates, only problem i see is the area. i would be very careful walking there at night; daytime is no problem 'cause is always crowded, just of interest if somebody wants a place for a nite or two !!!
I found this bar, called quarto bar (block 22 of ave arequipa), in san isidro that is nice and plays rock music every nite. did go there a few times and enjoy much classic rock music. drinks were not cheap by Peruvian standards but if you order a pitcher of beer, you'll save a bundle. if anybody hasn't try "anticuchos" before, you should, so good !!!!



In the following days i made other trips to el trocadero and the cucardas, too. For el trocadero I did my best to showed the path and make sure where you have to go catch the van service. guess you could take a taxi from downtown but i think is a waste of money why do it if you could find something cheaper and easier to do it !!!!! going to las cucardas you got no choice than to take a taxi, you have no choice. also, the polvos azules is a gold mine for movies, they go for as low as 2 soles !!!! i mainly paid between 2 and 4 soles and got most of the movies i was looking for.

I understand trying to get the best value possible in a trip but it seems you were so obsessed with saving money and your safety(less so) that you didnt really get to enjoy all of what Peru has to offer. You didnt mention actually fucking a girl so not sure if you did or not. Were you there just to get the lay of the land and stay in your hostel during the day and eat at some local loncherias? If you lived there, I can understand the extreme thrifty attitude but you were there as a tourist. Not saying to pay the ridiculous prices of the high or even high mid places but you were looking to live like a local and I think it held you back a bit.

Blazers;
Obsessed ???? not at all; safety ??? always; fucking a girl ?? sure did but won't said it second by second ha ha ha !!! live there ?? don't think is your damn business BUT to please your lady ego, fuck no !!! I lived in the land of the free home of the brave !!!! would add living there is a damn good option in my future.
Went Las cucardas and the trocadero more than once and sure as hell didn't go there to sweep the floor ha ha ha !!!! you talked about a trifty attitude ???? always try to maximize my bucks regardless where i go !!! don't like my doings and goings ??? don't give a shit of your opinion !!! still we all have a right to voice our sayings but you tend to be so negative and is a constant trait on your inputs so its like i said it once about you: "like a zero on the left, which means nothing ha ha ha !!! why i went that way on this trip ??? my command of spanish did help tons (my portuguese is so so and my german has gone weak over the years without practice..) I got some good brain matter and so happy !! and if you can do better, let's see it and if not, well, keep your ass in tourist ghettos like miraflores/san isidro/barranco/lince/san borja with idiotic prices on every thing and show us how flooded with dollars you are ha ha ha !!!
nothing personal on my part and dish out if makes you so happy but expect something back in return ha ha ha !!!! at this stage in life is so ridiculous irrelevant listening or reading these lonney tunes comments.

MarcoPolo

Hello MP. RT here.

I am loving your trip, especially the every-day type photos.

Yes, Blazers overlooked your trips to the Troca and Cucardas, where you pointed out that you wound up doing five different girls during your trip. But he was simply sharing that -- by looking to save some $$ -- you were missing out on some of the things that makes Lima a fun city. He didn't say that you were doing anything wrong; he said that you were limiting yourself.

Frankly, I agree with him. Yes, you and I have exchanged notes and you have shared many of your adventures with me already. Just because I think that you are leaving some of the fun 'on the table' as it were doesn't mean that I can't appreciate you taking a very different Peruvian vacation than I do.

It's your trip -- enjoy it however you want. But in a forum like this, people are going to give their opinions.

I'm going to wait until your report is complete to comment on individual items, but I have already noted two things that I haven't done in all of my 5934964498 trips that I am now going to check out. So... thank you for what you've posted so far.

Hi there RT;
I have noticed over the years i am a menber on this site that no matter what a menber does and no matter how a trip report is posted, you'll get some negative comments, regardless if they are in a positive way or not. Don't believe you should just criticize for the sake of it but doing in a constructive way, well, my 2 cents !!!!
Since truly this trip was a scout trip for me and see the lay of the land, i did it this way and it did help me tons !!! no doubt about it. from how to get a hotel to real estate, to weather and getting to see how local Peruvians click (sort to speak). did accomplish all my tasks and was so pleased.
I did check some massage places and called a couple of escorts but not impressed with them and never went all the way.
I went maybe 3 times to las cucardas and 4-5 to el trocadero. las cucardas is an ok club and it has just a few good looking ladies, maybe 3 or so, the rest are on a level with the trocadero gals. so, you could say is a little overpriced. the trocadero got numbers and i was happy with the ratio and the times i went there i ALWAYS got me a session with a girl. any given time i saw around 80-100 chicks so it was very "healthy' in that respect; and i'm not counting the botecito business next to it, which had around 40 gals or so, never got a girl from this joint 'cuase were of slight quality of the troca site. in the troca on the other hand, you easily could find like 15-20 gals that could easily work at las cucardas. another thing, i found a lot lot easier to come and go to el troca for the van service it provides from a side street off plaza castilla. If you want to go to las cucardas, taxi is the only way in and out (unless you rent a car). you could walk form ave. argentina in the daytime but at a risk, and at nite is plain stupid and you are asking to be mugged !!!
One thing i was at a disadvantage was the conmute time from my hostel to downtown and districts beyond it, i admit it ate a good deal of time. guess you can't have it both ways. probably on my next trip i would move somewhere closer to miraflores (maybe pueblo libre, surco or lince good choices and not too far).
I already forgot comments and it is what it is. my personal nature is not to harbor any grudges or anything like it.
another matter is that i would like to travel during the summer down there, beleive it would be more fun and rewarding; and to make at least some side trips outisde Lima (Huaraz, cuzco, Iquitos and tacna in my sights). most of the time i was there it was overcast and maybe rained a couple of nites !!!! (sure missed Pattaya and angeles city)
Going back to work in a few days and going to do my best to go back to Lima next year.
It was never ever my intent in any way to do any disrespect to Mr. Blazers; just a quick answer to his remarks and that's it. said it once that he is on a higher level with other clubhombre menbers (like Dr J. among others..) with the most experience and know how when it comes to mongering and for that i will always be grateful; heck, when my time comes to say goodbye to this super site, would take all that knowledge with me with great pleasure and ever grateful for it.

MarcoPolo

Great photos, MarcoPolo, thanks for the detailed post.

Porker;
thanks and just trying to do my best and enjoy myself along the way. believe best time to go to Lima is during summer time.
One thing that caught my attention is how cheap food it is !!!! always had my fill and didn't have to spend much !!!! not even in thailand or Pi you could do this !!!!!

MarcoPolo

porker;
thanks and always try to post a trip report that has lots of info for all menbers to share.
believe the best time to go down there is during the summer and amaze how cheap food it. not even in thailand or PI you could eat so much for so little.

MarcoPolo

MP,

Like to hear some details for "Las cucardas and the trocadero"

What are these places about?

Thx.

thanks for the report

would have like to see some peruvian pussy pics .

but its your trip and many thanks for sharing with the few of us your insight of the land of incas

ceenotes;
There are some slight differences between las cucardas and the trocadero.
las cucardas, you would say or some guys say is more upscale but all is in the eyes of the beholder. first, getting there is by taxi or your own wheels, leaving the place you got taxis outisde but they tend always to overcharge a lot. not a friendly place to walk to the main avenue to catch a regular transport and not recomended, the area is in an industrial area. the place smaller than el trocadero and not many gals. sure it has nice looking ones but not all of them. i saw a few nice chicks at el trocadero that could work in las cucardas. here they chicks will charge you more so it comes with the place.
the trocadero is a lot easier to get there, you have this regular van service leaving from one of the side street off plaza 2 de mayo (i beleive), ride is only like S/. 3= soles or so so, you can't beat this price. the trocadero is a lot bigger and the amount of chicks is very good. i went there a few times and always found what i was looking for. the good looking ones would charge as much as S/. 40 soles but this is a lot cheaper than the S/. 70+ or so soles you would be charge in las cucardas !!!
leaving you have the same van service and would take you where you caught it coming in. i saw van services going to other points an, of course, you have taxi service if that is what you want. always agreed on a fare with taxi drivers before even you open the door. sorry but you must have some command of spanish , otherwise, you're shit out of luck !!! law of the land !!! try learning some basic survival spanish and you'll do fine; you don't have to get a doctor's degree in the lingo at harvard ha ha ha !!!
one thing, whatever you buy to drink over there, make sure is bottle and never ever ever drink tap water !!!!! i did it one time long ago and ended with the mother of all moctezuma's revenge !!!!! it fucked up my whole trip and ended up shitting like a chinese duck ha ha ha !!!!
so i think those bars in miraflores, san isidro or so are not good at all and these 2 places gives plenty of choices while in Lima.

MP

MP,

I looked on the net back in Aug on these places. Las Cusardas looks better more like a strip club with rooms upstairs. The owner of this place was killed some time back.

Tracdero looks a bit seedy. A long barnyard look with many doors. Do girls just hang out in front of the door for customers?

I'll visit Cusardas of the two.

Thanks for the report, MP. It's been years since I've done Lima. It's a nice city, especially if you have local friends. I have a former student who lives there and she's shown me many of the sites. As a mongering locale, it ranks kinda low for me, but travel is not always about fucking, and even an average fuck is better than none at all.

Enjoy!
Bwana

Ceenotes. RT here.

The Troca is seedy. That's an excellent word for it. Yes, the girls stand in the doorway, and you can interview them before making your decision. Some rooms have a line of guys waiting outside. It's pretty gruesome, but at the same time, pretty great. Whenever I show someone around Lima, the Troca is a must-see. All that being said, I haven't taken my pants off in the Trocadero in maybe 8 years.

Las Cucardas is an upscale Trocadero. Less seedy. Many less girls, but if you judge based on 'standard' beauty, it's a step up. Yes, the girls cost around US $10-$15 more, but IMO, you get what you pay for. It's probably been five years since I've partaken there; but I have been there in the last year.

Slightly off-topic, I use either Uber or TaxiBeat when I am going anywhere further than a two or three dollar cab ride. You pay a few cents more than street prices, but you aren't getting gringo-taxed, and with the mapping features, the drivers get lost a lot less.