Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [66]
Swimming & Surfing
Despite the newspaper warnings about pollution, limeños hit the beaches in droves in summer (January through March). Playa Costa Verde in Miraflores (nicknamed Waikiki) is a favorite of local surfers and has good breaks year-round. Barranco’s beaches have waves that are better for long boards. There are seven other beaches in Miraflores and four more in Barranco. Serious surfers can also try Playa La Herradura in Chorrillos, which has waves up to 5m high during good swells. Do not leave your belongings unattended as theft is a problem. For good surfing to the south of Lima, Click here.
The following stores carry surf equipment:
Big Head (Map; 818-4156; www.bighead.com.pe; LarcoMar, Malecón de la Reserva 610, Miraflores; 11am-10pm) A popular mall chain that sells fashion and gear.
Focus (475-8459; Leonardo da Vinci 208, Surquillo; 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat) An established board fabrication outlet.
Wayo Whilar (Map; 247-6343; www.wayowhilar.com.pe; Av Grau 111, Barranco; 9am-7pm Mon-Thu, 9am-4pm Fri & Sat) The shop of a longtime Peruvian surfer who sells his own line of hand-shaped boards.
Scuba Diving
There’s reasonable deep-sea diving off Peru’s southern coast. Contact Perú Divers (251-6231; www.perudivers.com; Santa Teresa 486, Chorrillos), an excellent dive shop owned by Luis Rodríguez, a PADI-certified instructor who sells gear and arranges certification and diving trips, including regular excursions to Islas Palomino, off the coast of Callao, to see a year-round sea-lion colony (per person US$68, not including gear).
Other Activities
You can go bowling at LarcoMar Bowling (Map; 445-7776; LarcoMar, Malecón de la Reserva 610, Miraflores; per hr S55-62; 11am-1am), in the clifftop mall of the same name. Prices vary depending on time of day; shoe rental is extra (S4.50).
Lima has several very expensive tennis and golf clubs (most of them private or by invitation only), but concierges at top-end hotels (such as the Country Club Lima Hotel; Click here) can help organize matches or reserve tee-times for guests. The Lima Cricket & Football Club (Map; 264-0027; Justo Vigil 200, Magdalena del Mar) is popular with expats and allows visitors with passports to participate in their activities. It even has an English pub on-site.
Sailors can contact the Yacht Club Peruano (Map; 429-0775; www.yachtclubperuano.com; Bolognesi 761, La Punta, Callao), which has a Travelift equipped to move crafts of up to 18 tons, dock security and numerous other services.
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COURSES
Language
Lima has plenty of language schools. The following places are recommended:
Centro de Idiomas (Map; 421-2969; Prescott 333, San Isidro) Overseen by the Universidad del Pacífico, it costs US$250 for three months with three 90-minute group classes per week.
El Sol (Map; 242-7763; elsol.idiomasperu.com; Grimaldo del Solar 469, Miraflores) Private classes are US$20 per hour; one-week courses start at US$137.
Idiomas Católica (Map; 626-6500; www.idiomas.pucp.edu.pe; Cam Real 1037, San Isidro) Managed by the prestigious Catholic University, this program charges S360 per month for five two-hour group classes per week.
Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano (ICPNA; 706-7000; www.icpna.edu.pe) The institute’s various branches (Click here for a full listing) offer Spanish courses for US$95 per month for five two-hour group classes per week.
You can also try a private teacher from about US$7 to US$9 per hour:
Lourdes Gálvez (435-3910; lourdesgalvezm@hotmail.com) Also teaches Quechua.
Sonia (251-6168, 99-889-9110; soniacb2002@hotmail.com)
Music & Dance
The Museo de la Cultura Peruana (Map; 423-5892; http://museodelacultura.perucultural.org.pe; Alfonso Ugarte 650, Central Lima) runs limited