If during the day the traffic in Lima is chaotic, colorful, messy and noisy, at night the city is transformed. The streets that during the day are the kingdom of tuk-tuks, cabs, mopeds never seen at our latitudes and clamoring peddlers, at night are completely deserted. Only a few stray dogs (very few in Lima, to tell the truth) and the cats in Kennedy Park (a park inhabited by stray cats that have now been adopted by locals and tourists) are active. Certainly the lack of security at night in certain part of the city is the main reason… This is demonstrated by the fact that some “communities”, i.e. residential parts of neighborhoods, have decided to equip themselves with metal fences with gates on the outgoing and incoming routes. These crossings are closed at night and often there is a guardian who controls inputs and outputs. In short, if an inhabitant decides to take a lover, the guardian is the first to know 🙂

Walking the streets at night is a unique experience. The few people who walk on the street do so with a quick and determined step, looking at others with suspicion. The stores that are open 24 hours at night are closed in by metal gates through whose grates you pass the goods you wish to buy. It can be very intimidating… except for the taxi drivers and uber drivers who are always ready to have a conversation with a “gringo” who just wants to sink into the back seat and sleep 😀