One last busy day in Lima - part I [November 2025]

My flight out of Lima was departing at 11pm. So before heading home I had one full day to cover more ground.

We got in the night before from Arequipa.

By the time we got to the hotel it was after 10pm. Took a couple pics of the perky lobby at Centro by Casa Andina Miraflores and crashed.

Hotel was fine. Good location. Nice breakfast. Basic rooms that felt like the building might once have been a dormitory.

In the morning I had a tour to Museo Pachacamac starting at 9:30. The site is about 50 minutes south of the city along the coast. The distance is only 24km, so as implied by the math, the traffic is slow going. And the scenes are not particularly beautiful.

Heavy vehicles, grey skies, dust, and the hallmark brown brick buildings in varying stages of construction.

The museum itself, though, is great. Nice design. Informative and interesting exhibits. A lot to take in and learn especially if, like me, you weren't fully up to speed on the pre-Incan times around Lima.

There is also the gift shop and cafe. Given the hour, both were pretty quiet. I'm sure if you passed by there an hour later it would be more lively as the various school groups we saw around the site made their way through.

Heading out to the exterior complex, you're again enveloped in a world of grey and beige. We could have taken more time to walk through the site, but I opted for a drive by. I can see how the site would be of more interest to those who lean into archeology / history / anthropology. But I was just as happy to keep it moving and get to the next stage of the tour, which I'll cover in the next post.

I was more fascinated by the modest developments across the way.

Grim. 1200 years from now will there be a museum dedicated to the lifestyles and culture of those folks? I'd be a little more interested in heading over there and seeing what's going on. Next leg of my tour would be more along those lines.

Shots from a quick spin through the Ruta del Sillar - Arequipa, Peru [November 2025]

Continuing with my whirlwind 18-hour stopover in Arequipa, we made time to visit the Ruta del Sillar on the way to the airport. I had literally no idea what to expect as I had not looked it up in advance. During my walking tour I learned that many/most of Arequipa's buildings were constructed from sillar, which is volcanic rock - one of Arequipa's plentiful natural resources. And so I assumed there was a quarry somewhere that served as the source of the sillar. The rest of the tour would be a surprise.

Our driver pulled us into what was definitely a quarry.

As you get your bearings you see that there are sculptures pretty much everywhere.

Also a couple of distinct options for refreshments.

I imagine you can find a million pictures online of all the varied pieces that you'll find in the quarry. Quirky. Impressive. Random. A bit of everything on display. And the timing of our visit helped with some dramatic lighting.

Our driver was not a guide per se, but a local who knew enough to lead us around. He steered us to a mini canyon of sorts for the next stretch of our visit.

Took the obligatory shot of the Quebrada de Culebrillas sign, covered in some not-so-impressive apachetas.

Then a couple of Chachani off in the distance.

And I'll close this post with the shot my colleague captured of the brief moment when I considered mounting the horse.

Is it worth visiting? I think each person's mileage may vary. For a quick stop on the way to the airport, sure. But I personally would not have wanted to spend 3-4 hours on a complete tour of the area.

Quick Review: 100 Pesos Burger (Del Valle Norte, CDMX)

In the 4 years we have been living in Del Valle Centro this is at least the 3rd incarnation of the location @ Pedro Romero de Terreros and Avenida Coyoacán. First I recall was an Italian / Pizza place that wasn't bad. Then it became a kids clothing store that might also have sold ice cream. Now it's 100 Pesos Burger. Storefront got my attention while under construction as I was walking by what feels like just a couple weeks ago, but I see it already has ~100 reviews.

We reviewed the menu, placed our order, and grabbed a table outside.

Menu is pretty simple.

Do you want a 100g sencilla for 100 pesos or a 200g doble for 150 pesos?

Do you want the default, which is that it comes with everything?

Everything includes ...
Papatinas (potato sticks ... is this becoming a thing? Saw this on the Burger King menu in Lima, but as papas al hilo. Ordered by accident thinking it might be Peruvian spanish for papas a la francesa. Disappointing.)
Jalapeños
Pepinillos
Cebolla
Aderezo
Mostaza
Ketchup
Queso

Maybe a side of papas a la francesa (clearly labeled)?

Do you want one of the 3 aguas de sabores (Fresa, Limon, Chia ... I think?), or a Carta Blanca? All beverages were 50 pesos if I recall correctly. Saw a lot of tables with Carta Blancas on them. Kinda hipster, akin to Mexico's answer to PBR. Don't get me wrong, great value mainstream economy beer that I was enjoying regularly a few years ago. But it's a hipster choice.

Then go wait for your burger. Noticed that the crowd was young and ostensibly cool. The coolification of Del Valle continues apace.

Service was friendly an very much on top of things. Got our order pretty quick. We both went for the dobles.

Para tomar I got the agua limón, Judy went for fresa. Both decent. By comparison, though, the pepino agua we got Sunday at Judy's favorite shrimp taco joint was superior (and 10 pesos less).

I went with everything except the potato sticks. Get outta here with that. They also had a bit of a pepper bar inside, featuring more pickles and jalapeños if you need them. Standard pickle and pepper load turned out to be sufficient.

Burger was tasty. One thing I wouldn't do next time is use the 'salsa de pimienta' (literally, pepper sauce). Wasn't terrible, but I over applied it. Might BYO some hot sauce next time. Or see if I could get extra onions. But it was good.

All told the tab was $450. Two dobles @ $150 c/u. Two aguas @ 50 c/u. And the side of fries for another $50. Fries were pretty great, actually. Crispy, airy, not oily.