By now, you probably already know what a “tourist visa run” is: Your visa or tourist stamp expires, so you have to leave the country and, optionally, come back under a different visa, or – more commonly – as a tourist. I did it at the end of 2023, and in September 2025, I had to do it again.

This time, I chose to spend 2 weeks in Peru for several reasons:

• Even though a flight to Panama is more economical, I’ve already been there
• Mexico and Paraguay are too far (ticket prices are too high)
• I’ve always wanted to visit Peru
• For ME, Peruvian local/typical cuisine is far better than Colombian local/typical cuisine
• I want to explore Peru because it looks like getting residency there could be significantly easier than in Colombia

By the way, no I didn’t go to Machu Picchu because it’s too far and would drive up the cost of my visa run… but I hope to visit that classic tourist destination in the near future.

I Fucked Up

No one is perfect, so let’s start off with all the ways I fucked up on this trip.

Deceived and Defrauded by an Airport Taxi

First of all, when I got to the airport, I looked for Uber, as I usually do. However, I dunno if it was because I was very fatigued, or optimistic, or what… but I allowed myself to be convinced by an aggressive “official airport taxi” driver that I should hire him at the same Uber price. I told him that I can pay S/60 (PEN60 or 60 Soles, the local currency), and he said that’s fine. I confirmed it with him twice, he said yes yes yes.

When we got to the destination, he showed me his bullshit fare table, and said the 60 he agreed to was in dollars, so the total was actually 240 soles! Literally FOUR TIMES what we agreed.

Of course, he didn’t care about my loud and angry complaints. He held my luggage hostage until I paid.

Classic bait-and-switch. I felt so foolish and naive, that I almost burst into tears (grown-ass man) but I held it in. I felt like a damn N00B, not someone who’s lived in Colombia for 3 years and managed to avoid 99% of the scammers.

And people wonder why I am so guarded, paranoid, and suspicious of people, even at the cost of my freedom and my mental health.

Never again.

My AirBnB host’s housekeeper expressed a lot of regret for my first experience in Peru. She suggested that I contact the company and file a complaint, but guess what? The receipt was a bullshit receipt, with no company nor contact info 🤦

And people wonder why I am so suspicious, distrustful, and paranoid in Latin America… even at the expense of my freedom and mental health.

Never again.

The next time I land at an airport in Latin America, while I search for Uber or a bus, I won’t reject the taxistas with a polite “No, gracias”, I’ll likely go with a more direct and honest “Déjame en paz, mentiroso”.

I suggest that you do the same.

Froze My Ass Off

Despite having prepared for this trip for over a month, I STILL forgot that the weather in Lima is generally cold, especially during this time of the year. So, like a moron, I packed a bunch of shorts and t-shirts 😅

For comparison, this is what the indigenous people usually wear 👇

Fortunately, I did come with two pairs of jeans and 1 pair of sweatpants, which really helped me out.

The first few days were a bit rough, as my body acclimated to the significantly lower temperatures (what can I say? I’m a Tropical Dude, haha)! My AirBnB host was kind enough to lend me 2 jackets and a space heater for the duration of my stay. What a cool guy Emerick was! His AirBnB was on the less-glamorous side, and it is located in a “somewhat rough” part of the city… but it was well-equipped, honest, cozy… and Emerick’s hospitality and assistance made it all worth 5 stars to me!

Language and Communication

The Spanish-speakers I met on my trip spoke Spanish at a reasonable velocity, and they enunciated enough for me to capture the Principal Ideas (and ask for clarification as-needed). I found myself eavesdropping on random conversations, just to see how much I could understand.

In other words, I was at about 75% Listening Comprehension throughout my trip, which means I was able to respond appropriately to native speakers, instead of continually asking them to repeat themselves slowly. So, despite my weird accent and bad pronunciation 🤓 and I was able to have functional conversations with most locals completely in Spanish.

The Language-learning never stops, I tell you!

Peruvian Cuisine

By now almost everyone knows that Peru has some of the best cuisine in the world, and definitely the best food in South America. So, onto the good stuff 😋

Guinea Pig

My first dish was Cuy Frito con Picante de Papa, which I ordered from Rappi. It was my very first time eating guinea pig, and I had been looking forward to it for MANY months. My original plan was to wait till I visit Cali, then take a long bus ride to Pasto, just to explore the cuisine… I am glad I didn’t have to wait to try Cuy. Honestly? It tasted mostly like chicken 🤔 🤷🏾‍♂ but slightly less fatty. I liked it, though I want to try other variations (grilled, boiled, etc) before I make up my mind. I want to at least try and pinpoint the flavour.

Green Pasta

The second day, I went urban hiking in the semi-posh, bustling, expat-friendly neighbourhood of MiraFlores, and later had lunch at a random local restaurant called Sabor & Salsa. I had some green (cilantro) pasta, pork chop, salad, mango juice, and some amazing peanut-based spicy sauce! All for S/15 (less than 5 U$D), so you KNOW I enjoyed it and wrote a full review.

Beef Heart Skewers

A few days before leaving Lima, I whipped out Rappi again and ordered Anticuchos, which are Peruvian Beef Heart Skewers. They were well-seasoned, tasty, and nutritious. I needed that protein, son!

This dish and the presentation reminded me of “suya” (spicy beef, goat, chicken, pork, or dog meat skewers), a very popular street food in Nigeria 👇

I could go on and on about the culinary delights I experienced in Lima, but this article would end up being 10 pages long!

Ambient Noise Levels

This is something I noticed after about 2 days in Lima: the ambient noise levels were tolerable. For example, even at the open-air market, there was the ambient noise based on hustle and bustle, but it was not overwhelming.

That is, whatever music or announcements that were being played by a few vendors, was at reasonable “We are outdoors, so if you are within approximately 5 meters of this kiosk, you WILL hear loud music” levels, not at “We don’t care if you’re within 5 meters or 500 meters, fuck your eardrums and fuck you!” levels, as is so common in most of Colombia (but especially Barranquilla and the north coast). Also, there wasn’t the incessant UNNECESSARY SHOUTING AND YELLING that is the hallmark of most public spaces in Barranquilla. In this open-air market in Lima, people were talking, sometimes loudly, but NOT SHOUTING.

Yes, it’s still Latin America so people and public spaces (and even some private spaces) are generally much louder than in North America… but As I moved through public spaces in Lima, could actually hear myself THINK, and I didn’t have a migraine afterwards!

Music

It turns out that Peru is big on 80s and 90s pop and rock… much to my delight 🤩 I was surprised to keep hearing my favorite songs from that decade – as well as modern Peruvian hits – all over the place. I was also told that several dance clubs in Lima play that genre. So, if I move here, I’ll actually be able to go dancing!

Are The Women Hot? (TRIGGER WARNING)

WARNING:

This section contains honest personal opinions regarding women, from a cis-het male’s perspective, in “plain language”. Some people might consider this offensive.

If you’re part of that demographic, please SKIP THIS SECTION.

Since the majority of Peruvians have “indigenous genetics”, most of the women I saw out and about in Lima were nowhere near as curvy nor attractive (to me) as Colombian and Venezuelan women.

There are pros and cons to this!

Anyone who’s paying attention (and who isn’t in denial) already knows that Colombian/Venezuelan women are generally as broken and toxic on the inside as they are hot/sexy on the outside, and that Colombia is considered to be the Brothel of the Western Hemisphere. This means that the women AND the larger economy over-rely (directly AND indirectly) on physical appearance, Sex Tourism, and Sex Work in all its forms… and therefore they don’t fully develop OTHER skills or industries.

In mathematical terms: A Colombiana’s internal toxicity and evil are Directly Proportional to her outward “hotness”.

Since Peruvian women – lovely in their own way – are not AS “genetically blessed”, and Peru doesn’t have the same reputation as Colombia… it stands to reason that the average Peruvian single woman might NOT be as narcissistic, shallow, and toxic as a Colombiana… therefore the average Peruvian woman MIGHT make a much better partner, than the average Colombian woman 🤷🏽‍♂️

This is pure speculation, of course… I can’t know for sure until I relocate to Peru and try dating.

However, I can confidently say that if you’re a cis-het single man going to Peru to look for a romantic partner, and if her physical figure is important to you… well… you better learn these phrases: Shorties, Pancakes, and Spare Tires. ‘Nuff said 😅

Socialization

On literally the 2nd day of my arrival in Lima, I came across an “open invitation” to a dinner party at a fellow digital nomad’s apartment. Her and her boyfriend wanted to meet some cool people, and they felt I’d be a cool person to meet.

It was a fun gathering, with diverse people from Peru, USA, Colombia, Argentina, Australia, and Poland (probably more, but I didn’t stay the whole night to meet everyone).

The host was really sweet and down-to-earth, she made me feel at home and comfortable, which was a welcome contrast from my isolation in Barranquilla. I made some decent connections, and we kept in touch.

In addition, my AirBnB host Emerick went above and beyond! He did everything within his power to make my stay comfortable and enjoyable, like lending me 2 jackets and a space heater. On two occasions he took me sightseeing and showed me key locations like Chinatown and the indoor/outdoor local markets where one could buy things at deep discounts. He also gave me crucial fashion (“self-presentation”) tips and invited me to a full traditional Peruvian breakfast.

Emerick basically treated me not just as a guest, but like a brother… it was a surprising and unforgettable experience… I felt “seen”! 😭

I was also added to a Lima expats chat group (in WhatsApp), full of articulate, intelligent, mature, and interesting expats.

Exploring While Black

While I was out and about in Miraflores, I saw groups of Chinese people, and a group of European people. I didn’t see many black people, but the couple of black individuals I saw just kind of “blended in”.

Wherever I went, people didn’t pay me much – if any – attention. When I went into a pharmacy, the security person did NOT automatically start following me around. When I went into a restaurant or upscale shopping area, the staff did NOT attempt to block my entry, ask who I was there to deliver food to, nor question me about my purpose for being in that space 😯

What’s even crazier, is that I was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie! In Barranquilla I’d probably have been locked out of every establishment and then arrested by the Barranquilla Fashion Police 😆

Obviously the people of Lima – at least in the various neighborhoods I explored – are accustomed to seeing foreigners and diversity of people, food, and fashion. I’d gotten accustomed to ignorant microaggressions in shitty-ass Barranquilla, so the new (temporary) situation was quite refreshing. I found myself more positive and less anxious overall. I could fucking BREATHE.

Lima vs. Barranquilla

After a few days of exploration and understandably reflexive mental comparisons, it dawned on me that it’s not fair to compare a big, international, cosmopolitan, diverse city (Lima) with a xenophobic, hyper-classist, hyper-colorist, shit hole flyover town full of close-minded people (Barranquilla). A better comparison would be Lima vs. Bogota.

Now that I live in Cali, I’ll visit Bogota again soon and explore it as a tourist, to see how it compares to Lima.

Summary

Every country – and city – has pros and cons. My trip to Lima, Peru was nice, even if I didn’t go on amazing touristic adventures. However, I paid attention to what matters to me as a potential future resident, and I feel comfortable with the idea of living here long-term… though I’ll pick a warmer town like Trujillo so that I don’t freeze my ass off 🤪