LimaEasy's Editors Corner

Get a Safe Taxi easily with your Smartphone or Tablet

While taking a taxi is easy and affordable in Lima, uncertainties in particular about safety and security are ever present. Especially foreign visitors often feel uncomfortable just flagging down a cab on the street or call a safe taxi with limited Spanish knowledge.

But if you are traveling with your smartphone or tablet there is a quick and simple way to get a safe taxi within a few minutes; including fixed prices (that are only a few Soles higher than the ones from taxis hailed on the street), responsible drivers, modern vehicles, GPS surveillance and payment in cash and with paypal or credit card... a great option giving any traveler peace of mind getting around Lima.

"Puente de los Suspiros" in Barranco

On the 18th of June the district of Barranco started with restoration works on the Bridge of Sighs. Due to this restauration the bridge will be closed to the public for 90 days. The works include the replacement of damaged wood segments with imported pine wood from Oregon, treatment against the high humidity and the installation of new LED illumination.

More and more the "new looking" taxis can be seen on the streets. The most significant change is a 30 cm wide stripe with a yellow/black or black/white checkerboard pattern. All independent taxi operators have to change their vehicles to the new specification within the next months.

Most of the "yellow" taxis belong to registered companies or syndicates, whereby individual or independent operators will have cars in all sorts of colors...

This new design is once again an attempt to regulate the taxi services, but currently only adding to the confusion of all the different variations circulating the streets in Peru.

Black Markets & Piracy in Peru – A new Tourist Attraction?

Peru is famous for a multitude of cultural attractions and has developed to one of the most visited countries in South America. Peruvian food by now is known all over the world and many international chefs incorporate ingredients or recipes of Peru's diverse cuisine. Exclusive hotels and exquisite restaurants are present everywhere. A very stable economy has been providing national & international investors a solid base with good returns in mining, industry, fishing, production, import and export. Additionally the country is hosting numerous national and international conferences, seminars and fairs. All in all Peru is a rising star in South America catering for tourists and business travelers alike.

Unfortunately Peru has also gained a reputation of being one of the main producers of "coca paste" (the base for cocaine) and the production of high quality counterfeit currency (US$ - Euro). Well known in the country are also certain markets selling counterfeit consumer goods (knock-offs) and piracy of any types of digital media (movies, music and computer programs) that are highly frequented by the Peruvian consumers.

The website Price of Travel, famous in the budget traveler scene, just recently published a list of the cheapest cities to travel for backpackers ("124 World cities by price: Backpacker Index for 2014"). This list shows Cuzco on position 23 with a required daily budget of US$ 27.03 for a dorm bed at a good and cheap hostel, 3 budget meals, 2 public transportation rides, 1 paid cultural attraction and 3 cheap beers while Lima can be found on position 34 worldwide with a required daily budget of US$ 31.30.

We have read some reports in the media about the total seismic events recorded in Peru for the year 2013. Most of these statistics only include data with earthquakes that were felt by the population. The Peruvian Institute of Geophysics (IGP - Instituto Geofisico del Peru) published a report with a total 217 seismic activities for last year.

Peru is situated along the boundary of two tectonic plates: the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. The interface between these two plates is located near the Peruvian coast. At a rate of about 50 mm (2 inches) per year the South American Plate is moving towards the Pacific Ocean over the Nazca Plate. That may not sound a lot but it is enough to put huge strain on the Earth's crust. The pressures are periodically released through earthquakes.

A Service Dog Partner's Dream Come True

Working in the hospitality sector you get to meet so many interesting people and sometimes when establishing a closer contact with them you hear about incredible experiences and details about their personal lives. Understandably for privacy reasons you are never able to share them with anyone.

Meeting Davis and Booster was a completely different story! I am really touched by their personalities and it is in honor that they agreed to share their story on LimaEasy with YOU:

The EU finally decided: Pisco has its Origins in Peru

After an age-old dispute between Chile and Peru about the origin of Pisco the European Union has finally decided: the geographical origin of the fruit brandy produced by the fermentation of grapes and following distillation is the city of Pisco around 250 km south of Lima and thus Peru the birthplace of the alcoholic beverage produced and popular in both countries.

As there is quite a vibrant German spoken community in Peru and due to the fact that also LimaEasy receives an increasing amount of visitors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland we decided to sponsor and promote a new Forum & Discussion Board in German language about Peru.

Da es eine sehr lebendige deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft in Peru gibt und aufgrund der Tatsache, dass auch LimaEasy eine zunehmende Anzahl von Besuchern aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz erhält, haben wir uns entschlossen ein neues Forum in deutscher Sprache über Peru zu sponsern und fördern.

Be Aware and Know How to Avoid Them

In the last few weeks reports about robberies on the main road from and to the airport and drive-by thefts have increased. And even though we already mentioned these problems on our Safety & Security page as well as on our Getting Around with Taxis in Lima page, we once again want to make you aware of it, so your visit to Lima isn't spoiled with something unpleasant like a robbery.