Peru impressions

I only spent 6 days in Lima, but I can pass along a few impressions, mostly noting how things have changed in the last 11 years.

The sol/dollar exchange rate has stayed relatively stable, now hovering around 3.7 soles per dollar.

Talk of immigration is everywhere — with native-born Peruvians commenting on Venezuelan immigrants everywhere I went. The local cuisine now includes several items from our neighbors up north. Tequeños are now available in most restaurants in Miraflores. I also saw arepas in a few places.

Lima feels just as dense and filled with cars as in 2014. Cars seem newer on the streets. Drivers seem to adhere to traffic norms more in 2025 than in 2014. Drivers are still mostly men.

Chinese cars are common. Back in 2014, a high percentage of cars on the street were taxis. The number may be the same now, but it’s less easy to tell, as car hailing apps are more common now. No one spoke of Uber. Regional services are common.

Lima’s informal economy is still relatively large, but is quickly digitizing with peer-to-peer mobile payments like Yape from BCP. WhatsApp is now fully cemented as the main tool for personal and business communication.

Peruvian TV shows that used to make jokes at the expense of Andean culture are no longer airing. Most notably, Jorge Benavides’ La Paisana Jacinta.

Miraflores is still the safest, most tourist-friendly district in Lima. Larcomar, an open-air mall which opened when I lived there, has enduring allure. The Pacific Ocean doesn’t go out of style, it seems. New in Miraflores are the joggers. Exercising in public was rare before, but is now common in the more affluent districts.