The interior pointer of Ayahuasca: La Casita
At the end of summer in Lima, the sea breeze envelops us as we walk to the viewpoint, where the horizon opens up in all its breadth, and the Pacific -here called Mar de Grau in honor of the Peruvian hero-, shows us a face of a metallic, leaden gray. The sunset ticks all the boxes for postcards: reddish light turning bluish and a couple passionately kissing. We looked at each other and the three of us laughed. Yes, it will be a postcard, but the view is still spectacular, to enjoy.
Already in darkness, we go through small mansions of the most diverse styles, open to the public to show the most avant-garde design and craftsmanship. The charming interior patios have become bars where you can have an Inca Kola, the sweet national drink, or a pisco, the other national drink, with the permission of the Chileans.
The first stop is Dédalo , a department store, which houses an exhibition hall where the works of local graffiti artists, such as Entes & Pésimo, who have made the leap from the street to the galleries, are shown. In the landscaped courtyard a bar has been set up with furniture brought from remote villages in the Peruvian highlands, and in Inside, jewelry, clothing, ceramics, toys for children and tableware from local designer brands such as Sumi Kjon, Aturo Caudette and Andrea Navascués are displayed, who know how to combine craftsmanship, indigenous materials and innovation. You should also visit the Colich Center, another meeting point for design, fashion, art and decoration, with another idyllic café. The store is housed in a Belle Époque-style building, like much of the district's architecture.
The Pedro de Osma Museum, in the Barranco neighborhood, the epicenter of Lima design
The most groundbreaking Peruvian contemporary art can be found in the gallery Lucia de la Puente and in Wu Editions. The first is located in a mansion declared a national historical monument, where you can regularly see the work of Sylvia Fernández, Ivana Ferrer, Ariella Agois, Luz Letts or Julia Navarrete.
Later, with Mario and MaFe, I have the opportunity to thoroughly visit the Artisans Don Bosco shop-gallery. With all the flavor of Italian design, the Italian architect and landscaper Angelo Colombo has lovingly renovated this villa that houses pieces of furniture and sacred art made by young people from the mountains or the Peruvian jungle. In all the pieces a forceful line is observed: heavy smooth wood furniture with small carvings, firm forms that are intimately linked to the cultural imaginary of the indigenous people, as Angelo tells us. He belongs to a group of Italians that helps integrate thousands of young people through decent and creative work.
Lima at nightfall
To have a drink and regain strength after the walk, there is no shortage of options, you can go to La Bodega Verde, a new bar with a small and cozy garden full of students and artists, and have an organic coffee and a sánguche (sandwich). And in another line we find Ayahuasca, recognized by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the best bars in the world. It is a large colonial-style mansion that the interior designer and artist Maricruz Arribas has filled with pieces of wood, ceramics, fabrics and notoriously pre-Columbian elements.
We ended up, of course, at the Bridge of Sighs, where young lovers from Lima were already sighing before tourists filled the Bridge of Arts in Paris over the Seine River with love padlocks. Here the river, instead of carrying water, is human: thousands of people go down to the sea and to the spas through the narrow channel.
While Mario and María describe to me the success of the architectural and urban rehabilitation of this old fishing village, in the background the memorable song of Chabuca Grande : "Let me tell you, Lima..." And I feel like the Lima they tell.
Another corner of Ayahuasca: La Casita