Lima

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Geo: -12.122, -77.0266

Yesterday we flew LAN A319 to Lima, a 100min flight landing at 1520. Got to Juliaca airport (an hour's drive from Puno) two hours early and spent more than an hour waiting in line to check-in. In Lima (pop 10M) it was an hour's drive to our hotel in the up-market Miraflores district.

Our hotel room is on the 16th floor and has large picture windows. Sadly the haze/fog/pollution has not lifted and it is a very grey outlook. Not dissimilar to China. Our guide said it rarely rains in Lima; there is no wet season. We went for a walk and saw several good-looking and busy cafes and, surprisingly for a downtown area, a few large and lavishly decorated casinos. Our guide recommended a local restaurant for dinner and we had a good meal with Peruvian white wine. Their wine industry is much smaller than Chile's, or even Argentina's.

Today we had a fun culinary tour. First our cooking guide Christian (a German expat) walked us through a fresh food market, explaining the fruits and vegetables, poultry and fish. We then went back to the cooking school which was in a high end, roof top apartment.

After lunch we strolled back to the hotel via a couple of local markets, where even I was tempted into making a purchase.

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Photos

For the foodies...
Dinner at Punto Azul restaurant, a few blocks from the hotel. I had chicken with ratatouille and creamed potato. Robyn had mixed seafood in a tomato base. Both very fine.

Surquillo Market, Miraflores
The climate of Peru is varied, from coastal deserts to wet foothills and highlands, with lots of valleys with different micro-climates. Thus they can grow all types of fruit and veg, except those that need distinct seasons to flourish (like apples). Christian's explanations were entertaining and informative and we had no trouble deciphering his accent.

Sky Kitchen
Four years ago Christian suggested to his Peruvian chef friend Yurac that as there were no tourist cooking classes in Lima, they should start one. Now they're doing well and have many competitors. They run a slick operation. The discussion and food preparation happens at the bench, then we move to the cooktop (stage left) or to the table to eat while the staff clear the bench ready for the next course. We started with tasting the different fruits we saw in the market. Then we had different types of potatoes, boiled and served in a bell pepper-based sauce. Next ceviche (raw fish 'cured' in a lime-based marinade) served with different sweet potatoes. Finally we had pulled chicken served with rice and a pecan onion sauce. Delicious.

Fresh tasting
We had four different plates like these to taste citrus fruits, bananas, potatoes and then miscellaneous fruits, shown here. Cleverly they arranged the whole fruit/veg on one plate, and the tasting pieces in the same order on another plate.