Barranco

 

Decided to go visit Barranco, another of the wealthier areas of Lima on the coast. This part of Lima is where most of the students live and by no coincidence also the center of the nightlife in Lima, with clubs and bars scattered across it.

I had planned on taking a taxi there, but didn't really know of any landmarks in Barranco and the taxi driver I tried saying 'Barranco Centrale' didn't apparently seem at ease to determine where that was. So I hiked down there, which was quite a ways but as always, beautiful as it was along the coast. Evenings here are just magical. The sun sets around 6:00 PM way off on the horizon and everything takes on an orange glow. The parks along the cliffs are just scattered with couples taking in the evening.

Barranco itself was bustling with shops, food stands and people everywhere. A much more bohemian set than central Lima however and it felt much safer. I tracked down an antichuchos de corezon stand (marinated and skewered beef heart), another local specialty and eagerly handed over my seven soles. This was probably my favorite meal yet, the meat was nicely grilled and spiced and not overly chewy or gamy as I had feared. Serious yumminess.

By this time it was dark and I had some studying to do for the first day of class tomorrow, so I hitched a cab back home. Pretty sure I payed a few soles too much this time, but it feels silly to argue over 60 cents.

Huaca Hullamarca

 

Decided to go take a short stroll to a local site, an Inca pyramid dating back to 400 AD. It's a bit north of me in the ultra ritzy San Isidro neighborhood. San Isidro ups Miraflores by not only having be quiet signs (see my new pictures for the previous post) but also security cameras everywhere. On top of the normal gates and security guards Miraflores has it must be mighty safe. Apparently condos here run around $40,000.

There was a tiny little museum here with various pottery and even some of the remains of enshrined queens which had been dug out of the pyramid. Apparently they think there are many more inside but they have stopped the excavation.

 

It does make a mighty cool sight to come walking upon it in the middle of the modern neighborhood.

 

On my way back home I ran across a Chifa restaurant and as it was lunch time decided to grab something to eat. Ended up playing russing menuette again and got a good but not fantastic or terribly unique serving of stir fried rice and chicken noodles. A huge quantity of food that left me reeling afterwards but not as exciting as my previous adventures. Eight soles for those keeping track.

PS. A neat view of the pyramid from google maps.

Lima is a noisy place

 

These pictures are probably helping you get a feel for Lima, but you really are missing out on a huge part of it, which is the constant racket going on in all parts of the city.

Since the majority of vehicles here are taxi cabs, they contribute the most:
* they honk anytime they pass a pedestrian, asking "want a ride?"
* they honk driving away from said pedestrian, as if to say "your loss"
* they honk coming into an intersection
* they honk when turning
* they honk pretty much anytime they are stopped
* they honk a lot when merging
* they honk in response to other honks
* they honk when they are about to hit a pedestrian
* they honk when slowing down (mind you, never for a pedestrian)

It's non-stop honking!

Add to this that there are cops on almost every street corner, and often they are blowing their whistle at cabs for something or another (not enough honking!?). Additionally, there are ice cream vendors on bike-carts all over during the day, and they have their own whistle which they blow at every occasion.

Almost all cars have alarms here and during the day you can almost always hear one going off for one reason or another. And when the car alarms go off, the dogs start barking. Lots of dogs barking. Never ending barking. I don't know if this is security thing or what, but nobody seems to mind having their dog bark for hours on end.

It's a really noisy city, they should rename it to Honkania, or Barkorrio, or maybe even LListlelica.

Lunch and Shopping

 

After the monasteria, I started looking around for a place to eat. I came across another hole in the wall with a fixed price menu, and this time I understood one of the appetizer options, Ceviche! Ceviche is a uniquely peruvian (and largely Limanese) dish consisting of raw fish 'cooked' in citrus juices with thin slices of onion. I had tried some in the states with Mom and Rob on our Peruvian restaurant field trip, and this was rather similar. A small plate came mounded with the onions and fish, as well as some lightly popped kernels of the huge Inca corn. (the kernels are the size of a small grape) The second course was a mystery until it arrived, but was like a vegetable fritata served over fried slices of plantain. With a side of spicey cury it was really tasty and hit the spot.

Again, prices were crazy. Five soles for the menu, plus another two for an Inca Kola, which I'm starting to acquire a taste for though it's rather sweet.

Afterwards I found a big pedestrian shopping street. For five or six blocks both sides were packed with stalls selling various wares from clothes to electronics. I went into one of the shops to buy myself some cheap speakers to listen to music but the lines were too long and I gave up. This seemed to be the major shopping drag in central Lima for the locals.

 

More wandering east found me at Plaza San Martin where I finally hitched a cab back to Miraflores. I think my more confident delivery of asking for how much the fare was might have saved me a few soles. :)

Central Lima

 

I decided to go explore the historic area of Central Lima. This was my first time grabbing a taxi, and it's no wonder an estimated one in seven cars here is a taxi, it's pretty good money. I got the gringo price on the way there, 15 soles, but even on the way back when I got the normal price according to the doorman, 10 soles you can see how it is fairly lucrative. In all fairness it was quite a ways though, about 15 minutes.

My destination was Plaza de Marma, which is the old center of Lima. The presidentical office can be seen above, and the square is surrounded on all sides by buildings of Spanish heritage. Apparently not a single one has lasted through all the earthquakes however, which became a common theme when visiting other areas.

 

The Cathedral de Lima can be seen above, also on the square. It was originally built in 1555 but has been knocked down multiple times by earthquakes, first in 1687, then again almost completely in 1746.

Central Lima feels VERY different than Miraflores. Miraflores is where all the upper class live, central Lima is the middle class. People were bustling all over and the streets were clogged with taxis. It is obviously much poorer in general than the posh San Isidro and Miraflores districts I live in, and there is evidence of it everywhere. It feels much more genuine however.

 

A block away from the presidential office, on my way to the Monasterio de San Francisco I ran into this building, which had beautiful antique frames but had seen better days.

 

The Monasterio de San Francisco, dating back to 1687, is one of the more famous attractions here. Among other things it has a huge library of ancient texts, which they estimate contains 2500 unique books and artifacts. When visiting it it didn't seem like any work was being done to preserve or study said texts though, it was incredibly musty. That's one thing that contrasts with places in Europe and which Ali and I noticed in Tunisia too. Many of the areas here are beautiful and important artifacts, but there just doesn't seem to be the money to properly restore and present them. Just like the incredible Roman ruins in Tunisia that were completely deserted, the monasteria had numerous areas that just needed some TLC.

Apart from the library, the other attraction is the catacombs, which served as Lima's cemetery for a while. They say over 70,000 people were buried here and just like the other catacombs, some macabre soul took it upon themselves to start organizing and stacking the bones and skulls. They think the catacombs and various tunnels connect many of the churches in central Lima, but most have not been excavated.

Rob had told me about this, but it was still funny. They are very proud of a huge painting of the last supper, very similar to DaVinci's. The tour guide pointed out all the differences, and the best one by far is that they are eating what was (still is?) considered the ultimate delicacy here, roasted Cuy, or guina pig.

Got Milk?

I'm sitting here eating an avocado that's as big as my head. Ok, maybe not quite, but it's at least seven inches long and three inches wide. Yumminess.

On my walk I found a little local food stand on the cliff band. No real menu but they had a board that had words I recognized: "triple pollo sandwich". Sold! Four soles later I had a grilled chicken sandwich with these crunchy mini french fries on top. Pretty dang good, I could have eaten two but that probably would have been rude.

Thanks to Tom I found milk! He correctly pointed out that milk isn't sold refrigerated here. Instead it's in an aisle like any other in little nondescript cartons. I guess you only need to put it in the fridge after you open it?

Tom also told me to go buy some chocolate. Which I did. It's pretty good, but I'm not really a chocolate connoisseur so I can't say whether it's really any better than what I've had in the states.

Ok, onto the other half of Godavocadozilla.

More Wandering

 

I went out to find some food and ended up walking a similar path as yesterday except in reverse. I started off a bit farther north than I had before and ran into a really neat skate and bike part that was packed with kids. Overall the coast was really busy today as it was a public holiday and the weather was fantastic, about 75 degrees with a cool breeze.

 

Of course I also ran into the parasailers again, and after watching them go around for a while I think I'll have to renig my earlier statement and say that I most definitely DO want to go for a ride, even if it's a dual tandem. It's really cool as a spectator too because they are often actually below you and no more than 20 feet away. They just float by weightlessly.

 

I had two unexpected interactions with locals today. While watching the waves come in a woman walked up and asked me the time in English. How dare she assume I'm american!? Actually I looked especially American today with my dual striped t-shirt on, so I was easy prey. I gave her the time (I should say "Je ne parles pas Anglais" next time) and she then began chatting me up about this and that. Apparently I'm beautiful because I'm over 2 meters. Hrmmm. Anyways, she was trying to sell me something, either the tour guiding she claims on her card or something less reputable. I eventually clawed myself away.

The other was much more geniune, cuter and proof that language is no real boundary. I was stocking up on my strawberry gogurt (mmmm, strawberry gogurt) and walking down an aisle when an old lady called out. I turned around and she pointed at the top shelf and said something or another I didn't understand. But the message was clear. Yet again, my incredible height could help less fortunate folk, for once more I was "Top Shelf Man"! Uhmm.. ya, well anyways, I got what she asked for, she thanked me (I understood that) and I said no problem. See? I'll have this Spanish thing licked in no time.

Speaking of learning Spanish, I decided to ask the doormanm, Jose Luis, how much a taxi to central Lima should cost. Per the usual drill I spent all day practicing the phrase and upon returning belted it out on him. He understood and this time since the answer was numbers I mostly understood the answer too. More importantly we got to chatting about various things in his broken English and my more than broken Spanish with the help of my dictionnary.

Fascinating things he related to me:
1) France is #1 country in world for food, Peru is #2
2) The French hate the Americans, the Americans make fun of the French
3) The French have more culture and intellect, the Americans just have money
4) Wong, that shop I got my phone at, is like Costo, you can return things no questions asked. It's Chinese.
5) There are lots of Chinese Peruvian folks in Peru, and Chifa, what they call the Peruvian Chinese food is very popular and extra yummy according to him.
6) He's never been to Machu Picchu because he can't afford it, and asked whether Americans knew of the Incas

Anyways, I think I found someone to torture a bit every day with my Francospanglish, his job is just hanging out and he seems to enjoy the excercise.