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Published: August 18th 2009
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Having breakfast at Restaurante Haiti One of the places I wanted to go while in Lima was to a "Restaurante Campestre" (Country retsaurant) o "Centro de Esparcimiento" (Amusement center) (RC or CE for short). These places are located as close as 45 minutes from Lima, driving east on Carretera Central (Central Highway). They feature restaurants, pools, river access (some), horse rides, pedal boats, four wheelers, bungalows where to spend the night, etc.
Knowing about my plans, Monica, a friend from my HS class, offered that we all go to the Lawyers' club (she and her husband are lawyers and have access to the club/CE). Different organizations have their own private CEs but there are also lots of RCs and CEs that are open to the the general public. Sissy and Jeff joined us as well.
The plan was to go on Sunday 08/16/09. Since we hadn't gone to the grocery store, we didn't have anything at the condo to fix breakfast, so we got dressed and left the condo to have breakfast at Restaurante Haiti, right in front of Miraflores' main park. Ben and Cathy had their first ride in a Lima bus--fast and shock absorber-less. The ride was about $1 for the three of us.
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Ben's breakfast sandwhich We had a full breakfast at Haiti and headed to Sissy's parents' house in Surco, a district of Lima. From there, Jeff drove us all to the main Plaza in Chaclacayo, where we were meeting up with Monica and her family--husband Beto, daughter Giuliana, and son Adrian. The coast of Peru is a narrow desert, so you don't have to go far to start climbing up to the mountains. Immediately, you'll notice the change in weather (in winter, Lima is grey and damp)--it becomes sunny and dry. Growing up, my family owned a house in Chosica, one of the towns where Lima residents escape to relax and where a number of RCs and CEs are located. Off Lima and along the Central Highway, a string of towns are located along the route: Chaclacayo, Chosica, Ricardo Palma, and on, in a valley along Rio Rimac (Rimac river).
We met up with Monica and her family in Chaclacayo, had some ice cream, and we headed to the CE, about 15 minutes away. On the way, we passed the towns of Chosica and Ricardo Palma. How different they look now! Last time I was around there was 20+ years ago and the area
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Patty's breakfast sandwhich has grown and changed so much. A lot more people, houses, businesses...
Altogether (counting from the time we left Lima) it took us about one hour, 20 minutes to arrive in the CE. This was the first time for Ben and Cathy in a place like this. We all decided to get lunch first. Ben had a lomo a lo pobre (poor man's steak) that comes with steak, rice, fried bananas, a fried egg, and fries. I had the cabrito a la norteña (goat, northern style). Never a big eater, Cathy just nibbled from our plates. Monica's husband, Beto, had some avocado in his salad. Ben had a bite of the avocado and finally understood why I'd buy avocados in the US, always hoping they would be this flavorful, soft, and creamy. He was never big on avocados but he likes them now.
After lunch, Cathy rode a horse and Adrian went for the four wheeeler. Then they got in the pool and Beto stayed behind to watch them while the rest of us went to walk around the CE. But first we placed and order of picarones (deep fried sweet potato dough served with clove syrup) to have when
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On the way to the Centro de Esparcimiento we came back. The place has three pools altogether and a hiking trail along the cerro (mountain). We took some pictures, including some up on a rope bridge and went back to get the kids to go up to the overlook, which offers a great view of the CE and portions of the valley. After that, we got on the pedal boats and Cathy went to the playground. The sun was starting to go down and you could feel a little chill in air. It was time to head back, together with what seemed half of Lima on the highway.
Jeff followed Beto's car closely to make sure we stayed on the correct route and made it back to Sissy's parents' house. We were just going to stop there for a few minutes and then leave to go get a bite to eat, but Sissy's Mom broke out the lonche (tea time). Well, this one ended up being a "Lonche Deluxe!" We had tea, coffee, Inca Kola, tamales, avocado, empanadas, crackers and cheese, chirimoya...We run out of room at the table. What a wonderful treat! Everything was delicious and we felt overwhelmed by their hospitality. Ben had never seen this
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Driving in Central Highway type of welcoming, he says, since he was a child. I agreed--Sissy's parents were so nice to us. I told Ben that it's not uncommon to be welcomed into someone's home in this fashion, as Peruvians for the most part are friendly, want visitors to have a nice experience, and be well fed. It was a bit strange for me to be on the receiving end of the give-take, since I remember while growing up, my family would welcome visitors and trea them at our home.
We're really enjoying our time here. Monday, we're off to Lima's historic City Center.
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