Lima, Peru - Our First South American Adventure

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When most people think of Lima, the next thought that comes to mind is that long layover before flying to Cusco and Machu Picchu. But Lima has preserved history in a way that is truly amazing, by adding culture and accessibility. In fact, there was such a variety of sights and experiences that it’s really hard to write them down in an orderly way. So, I’ll start of with our kid’s highlights.


Part 1: Intro and Kid's Highlights

Part 2: Our Mini-pilgrimage and Domingo de Ramos

Squid Ink Pasta

The food scene in Lima is impressive, highlighted by some big name chefs who have made an impact on the city. But more importantly for our family of 5, it is affordable! And by affordable, I don’t mean that you can go street market diving for $1 (e.g. Thailand). No, in many cases you can actually visit a popular local sit-down restaurant, complete with a breeze flowing through the windows, for way less than a meal at Chili’s (which is also available for the less adventurous, btw). Our most memorable meal was at Punto Azul Cevicheria, where we enjoyed a plethora of local cuisine including the famous Ceviche, and more unique squid ink pasta. Now, most parents would immediately think “My kids aren’t gonna touch that!”, which is always a concern for us. In fact, we have created a rule that each kid has to only try something new once, and then they can eat whatever they want. To supplement this, we try to order a wide variety of dishes, family style. Surprising to me, the rule actually worked this time, and each child found something unique and different that they would have probably never touched before. The squid ink pasta was a hit, only marred by our 3 y.o., who became terrified when he realized that his hands were dyed black after handling the pasta, and then blurted out “I don’t want to die!” (a good segue into our lesson on homophones...’dye’ vs ‘die’).




In general, the food is very coastal with lots of really fresh seafood that didn’t have the least bit of ‘fishiness’ that we typically associate with seafood. Ceviche demands this freshness and is only available until 3pm in some places since the fresh catch is brought in each morning.

Choco Museo

Another highlight of our trip was a visit to the Chocolate Museum (Choco Museu), which is a small privately owned business that specializes in education about the harvest, preparation, and cooking of cocoa beans. Mom and the girls were able to attend a hands-on class which allowed them to fully process some cocoa beans into a traditional South American hot chocolate. This was quite an experience to even taste, as it is very different from the milder ‘European style’ hot chocolate that we’re used to, which has added sugar and water or milk. In addition, we were able to sample several other chocolate recipes, including chocolate tea, which was the favorite of our kids, and finally make some chocolate candies to take home. The kids watched in awe as a group of chocolatiers tempered and poured chocolate into molds while we were waiting for ours to cool.

Huacas

Some of the most visually impressive sites in Lima are the large pyramid-like complexes called Huacas, which are basically ancient religious sites of the pre- and early Inca civilizations that lived in the area. The large city of Lima has actually grown around many such sites, but they are still preserved in protected areas and can be toured. We decided to limit ourselves to one major Huaca, the Huaca Pucllana, which is located in the popular Miraflores district. At this site, we joined a guided English tour around and over the large sod structures and were amazed by the innovation that helped this one to survive earthquakes and time. The site also maintained some examples of common foods and animals used by the civilizations of the time, including some Llamas, which we had learned were very important to the Incas, and the kids absolutely loved to see.

One suggestion for visiting would be to bring plenty of water and sunscreen if touring during afternoon hours, as the areas can become unpredictably hot when the morning clouds burn off. We did not even think of bringing sunscreen (it was barely spring at home!) but were burned within an hour of walking around this site.

Transportation, Safety, and Language Fun

Lima is the first major international city in which we were not able to use public transportation due to the accessibility and sprawl involved in this city. Our hotel supplied private cars and drivers which was a safe, helpful, and overall very reasonable method of transportation around the city. There are standing warnings to not hail taxis from the street due to a history of crime in unlicensed taxis, so having these drivers available to us took a load off of our minds. Getting back to the hotel can also be a challenge, so I recommend setting up a meeting time with the driver at the drop-off location so that you can be assured a safe ride home. This was fun for us to practice our limited knowledge of high school Spanish since most of the drivers were not comfortable with English. Otherwise, find a taxi stand in a shopping mall or have your restaurant call a taxi to be sure you are getting the real deal. We never felt endangered in any of the areas we explored, as most of these areas are well travelled and popular districts.




Having recently introduced our kids to Spanish, this was also the first country in which they were able to read and understand some of the signs. This was a great way to pass the time while being chauffeured around - some times the driver would start laughing and help pronounce a word or two. And when they got a little too crazy in the back seat of the car, we would start the quiet game with "Uno, dos, SILENCIO!" (followed by a bunch of giggles).

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Lima has a reputation for being overshadowed by the more mysterious Machu Picchu, or overlooked completely in lieu of the glamorous Brazilian cities. But there are a lot of really good finds in this up and coming city, and I encourage anyone passing through to just stop and have some ceviche!

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Sites to See and Internet Resources:

1. For an amazing site with lots of information about sites to see in Lima, check out http://www.limaeasy.com/

2. Miraflores was a beautiful party of the city right on the ocean with a beautiful boardwalk to walk along. Located here is the Larcomar mall and a playground.

3. Choco Museo and tour http://www.chocomuseo.com/

4. Legends Park Zoo is a huge zoo with many local animals. It also has other archaleogical sties there as well. http://www.leyendas.gob.pe/zoologia/

5. Huaca Pucllana http://huacapucllanamiraflores.pe/




Teaching Resources and Activities for Kids.

1. Llamas

a. Read book The Llama’s Secret, A Peruvian Legend by Argentina Palacios

b. Read book Llama and the Great Flood, a Folktale from Peru by Ellen Alexander

2. Chocolate:

a. Read book Chocolate Riches from the Rainforest by Robert Burleigh

b. Read book Chocolate From Start to Finish by Samuel G Woods

c. Watch movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

d. Watch online the Hershey’s video on how chocolate is made. https://www.hersheys.com/ads-and-videos/how-we-make-chocolate.aspx

3. Lima Beans

a. Read book The Lima Bean Monster by Dan Yaccarino

b. Read book One Bean by Ann Rockwell

c. Experiment: Grow your own lima bean plant http://firstgradefactory.blogspot.com/2011/03/lima-bean-experiment.html

4. Eat Lima Beans: http://perudelights.com/pure-de-pallares-silky-lima-beans-puree/

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