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Published: November 5th 2007
El Parque de Amor
The lova´s park on the coast.The Top Six Things We Loved about Lima
#6. Being back in 2007 and where the big-city action is.
Lima is a world of difference from some of the smaller indigenous towns where people still live like they did 100 years ago. The fancy parks full of dogs with actual owners, and seaside highrises with surfers frolicing in front reminded us of California. The rest of the city´s colonial architecture looks a little like Europe. In the first day alone, we saw two weddings in cathedrals, a parade full of kids, a rockin´ band playing only percussion, and an art fair with paintings in the park. We also saw a movie with snacks for $6 and joined a crowd to watch cute older couples strut their stuff on a dance floor in one of the plazas.
#5. Big, bad American brands.
We normally avoid most chain restaurants and I usually consider fast food just an occupational hazard. However, we pulled into town and did what any hungry northerners would do in a sizeable city - we immediately hit McDonald´s for some delicious, dependable fast food. Trevor did, in fact, eat two Big Macs. We discovered plenty of Europeans also
Cordillera Huayahuash
This is the mtn range where the events from Touching the Void occurred. make a break for the fast food circuit for a change of pace. I also had my first Starbucks drink in many months. There was no seasonal pumpkin spice on special (it´s not a global flavor just yet, Val), but my vanilla latte was delicious.
#4. Instant amigos!
We made some fast friends with students who wanted to practice their English with us at the Plaza de Armas downtown. Some simply wanted to giggle through a survey of questions about our trip. One friendly guy named Wilmer spent the afternoon with us to chat it up. His language skills were excellent, and he had a knack for imitating English accents around the globe, from the UK (Hello, chap. May I use the computa?) to Australia (G´day, mate. That is a lovely kangaroo). He also knew the city well, and took us across town and directly to the nearest ceviche spot for lunch.
#3. The Barranco barrio.
Barranco is known as the bohemian quarter of town, a beautiful colonial neighborhood along the cliffs of the Pacific. We explored the streets, climbed up and down stairs for good ocean views, and then stumbled upon the Taste of Barrancol. It was
Our first go at Ceviche
This place was good, but nowhere near as good as the next one we tried. a food festival like the Taste of Chicago, only without thousands of people and fewer foods on sticks. At the festival, we avoided roasted bull hearts, but tasted ceviche and Trev´s new fave, Ricoto Relleno (hot pepper stuffed with beef, onions, spices and topped with cheese). We also sampled desserts called suspiro de la limeña (the sigh of someone from Lima) and arroz con leche (rice pudding that was almost as good as the kind my family made for me when I was in Spain).
#2. An amazing monastery experience.
We ventured into the San Francisco church and monastery to ponder how the 30 monks there today obtain inner galactic oneness. It was built in 1546, so we saw ancient paintings of the last supper, where our tour guide asked if we thought the meal featured was fish or cuy (the special Peruvian specialty - guinea pig). Then we explored the catacombs underneath the church, where over 25,000 people were buried before a cemetery was created outside of town. The bodies have been excavated so the bones are categorized in piles and the skulls are placed in neat rows - it was like being in Indiana Jones, only with
Liz tried each and every one of these
not really, but I suspect she would have had the money not been in my pocket. a chatty lady from the Cheq Republic who chased us around instead of snakes, rats or bugs.
#1. The best ceviche EVER.
Ceviche or delicious citruis-marinated seafood originated in northern Peru. We tasted ceviche each day we were in Lima, but on our last day, we had just enough time to enjoy lunch with our hotel owner, Christian, at a restaurant with the best ceviche we´ve ever tasted, plus more español practice. We enjoyed fish with tasty ricoto or hot pepper sauce that was like sashimi straight from the sea, along with mixed ceviche of fish, octopus, squid and shrimp, plus a tasty juice made of dark maiz. We need to come back to Lima - to make new amigos, see the rest of the sights, and to eat!
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