Last day in Peru

April 24

As always, the travel day is always the longest day.  We’ve had a full day of April 24^th and the flight actually leaves April 25 at 2 am.  By the time we reach Edmonton it will be the evening of the 25^th (and no jet lag to contend with).  So it becomes a whole day of hurry up and wait. Hopefully we can sleep on the flight.

The day included a farewell lunch meeting for Dave with the CESO team.  I think the project was a success.  

Even though we had a late check-out we were still leaving the luggage at the hotel while we went out one last time to see the sights of Lima.  We went for a stroll along the sea wall, browsed through some of the shops at Larcomar Mall and ended the evening with our last tastes of Peruvian food.  Then it was time for the long taxi ride to the airport and the waiting began. 

A brightly lit cross shines across the harbour.

Larcomar,  An multi-level shopping mall on the cliff.

The Larcomar built into the cliff.

El pollo y el risotto

We are probably the only tourists in Peru that didn’t make it to Machu Picchu.  We liked our little mountain village and the taste of big city life and now are content to come home with memories of these great experiences. 

This is as close as we got to Machu Picchu.

Cooking and Shopping

April 23

Lima is known for its gastronomy and from all the restaurant food we've eaten this week, we think it's true.  To have an even better food experience, I found a cooking class excursion, something I’d never done before.  As it turned out, it was a class of one – me.  I had the tour guide and the chef’s undivided attention and also, I made the choice of what we were going to cook.  Appetizer:  ceviche.  Main dish: aji del gallina (chili chicken)

First stop was at the market to find all the ingredients for these dishes:  fresh caught basa fillet, limes, red onions, chicken, potatoes, corn, some pre-made sauces, and more.  We also bought samples of a variety of Peruvian fruit for tasting, things I’ve never seen or tasted before.

From there it was to the kitchen where the food was prepared.  All the cooking was done in clay pots.  My job was chopping the pecans, parsley and cilantro into teeny tiny pieces, while the tour guide was busy mashing the garlic with mortar and pestle.  Meanwhile the chef made all the other magic happen.  The results?  Amazingly delicious! 

Peruvian Fruit Tray

Aji de gallina - Chili chicken on steamed potato with side of rice.

Ceviche served with roasted corn, cooked corn and sweet potato

In the afternoon Dave and I decided it was time to get some souvenir shopping done and we found the Inka Market area of Miraflores.  Wow!  There was an overwhelming number of little shops up and down so many little alleyways.  If we thought we’d come back to the same shop again,  think again.  It was best to make our purchases as we went along.  Our bargaining skills improved as afternoon wore on.  Eventually the wallet was empty and the feet were tired and it was time to find a restaurant for dinner.  As usual, Lima’s food did not disappoint. 

Our Spanish language skills haven’t improved a great deal even though many people do not speak English.  Nevertheless, we were able to get the restaurant manager to call an Uber for us to return us to the hotel safely – in all the crazy evening rush hour traffic.

Lima LIfe

April 22

We're staying in a hotel in a safe, quiet district of the city, not in the tourist district.  That has it's advantages.  Over this past long weekend it was dead quiet with very little traffic noise.  This morning we awoke to the reality of Lima - non-stop horns honking!

We've become familiar faces at the Cafe Sofa restaurant half a block away as it's usually too late (dark) to venture out much further for dinner.  There's a regular shopping mall about a 10 minute walk away.  I was almost able to get through making a purchase without needing English language help.  Lots of point and smile. 

Before we leave this city we'll have to find the tourist market to bring home some treasures.

Sunset from our hotel room

Cafe Sofa decor

La Rambla Mall with a pedestrian zone and restaurants around it. 

The Boardwalk Malecón

April 21

                                                                      Happy Easter! 
                                                                Jesus Christ is Risen!

It was through a friend’s friend of an acquaintance that we received an invitation to attend the Union Church of Lima, an international English language church.  We went to the Sunrise Service, at 8, which was really a couple of hours after sunrise. It was a lovely service of scripture and song, held outdoors on the front lawn of the church.  That was followed by a delicious brunch.  What a refreshing change to hear English all around with so many accents and no translation required. 

After the worship service we decided to do a walking tour of the area.  This church is right near the ocean so we walked along the sea wall and also at beach level.  It was a beautiful day for a walk, watching the surfers enjoying the waves roll in, and families enjoying the beaches.  We stopped at one point and took in the roar of the ocean as the sound bounced off the cliff walls and waves rolled over the rocks.  What an amazing sight.

The end of the walkway was at the Larcomar Shopping Mall which is built right into the cliff.  It’s several levels of shops, but not all under a roof as this city never gets rain.   The stores were mostly familiar names from any mall back home.  By this time we were walked out, not really interested in shopping and so hailed a cab and headed to the hotel for a rest, followed by dinner at an excellent restaurant near our hotel.

Historic Downtown Lima

April 20

This afternoon, while Dave was stuck in the hotel room writing his report, I joined a tour of the historical downtown.  The tour company specializes in small groups and thus we were a group of five women from four different countries. 

The downtown is a UNESCO world heritage site with buildings from colonial times. We walked through two main squares. One was created in the 1920's to commemorate the centennial of independence and honour the liberator, San Martin. The other was the Main Square with the Cathedral, City Hall and Presidential Palace around the sides. Both were lovely gathering places, especially on a warm sunny afternoon.  I enjoyed seeing the beautiful buildings and learning about the history from our guide.  Peru is in an earthquake zone so many of these old buildings have been rebuilt from time to time over the centuries. 

The main part of the tour was the Saint Francis Cathedral and Monastery.  It was built in the 15^th century in a Spanish baroque style.  We weren’t allowed to photograph inside but I can tell you that it was very beautiful.  We saw walls covered in tiles from the Seville region of Spain, wood for stairs and ceilings from Central America and many paintings, including a Last Supper painting, Peruvian style.  That is, they were sitting at a round table, eating indigenous foods like fruit, potatoes and guinea pig. 

The main tourist attraction for this building, though, is the catacombs.  It’s a weird experience to go beneath the church to see display upon display of bones (mostly femurs) and skulls, almost like mass graves.  This was the church cemetery for Lima up until the 1800's, and it is estimated that some 20,000 people were buried there. 

To lighten things up we then wandered through the tourist market and each of us enjoyed a churro dessert treat.  It was a wonderful afternoon of exploration. 

Saint Francis Cathedral

Archbishop's Residence

Lima Lights and Food

April 19

Now that we’re back in Lima, Dave will be busy with writing the report for his CESO assignment, and I’ll have to figure out what to do on my own – maybe just relax, read and draw!

This evening we took a short tour to a waterfall and laser light show at a park.   It was a beautiful water fountain display.  There was laser light show choreographed to music using the water fountain as backdrop to representative images of the various regions and cultures of Peru.  Nicely done. 

It was a wonderful place for a family outing so the park was packed.  Good thing we had a tour guide to follow.  The Peruvians walk the way they drive!

Lima is known for its food and we’ve not been disappointed.  Most of the time it’s been a guessing game as to what to order because there aren’t many places with English menus, nor English speaking staff.  Not that we should expect that.  Trying to figure it out in Spanish makes it all the more fun. I don't remember the names of these dishes, but they all were delicious. 

We also wandered through a supermarket and discovered so many fruits and vegetables. I have no idea what some of these are! 

Return to Lima

April 17

The thoughts of a hot shower and sleeping in a warm house were uppermost on our minds as we began the long journey back to Lima.  The time spent in Vilca had been most enjoyable, except for those two missing elements!

All began well as we drove, snapping photos of the beautiful mountains and villages, until we were stopped by a track-hoe on a flat-deck trailer trying to make its way around a corner. An hour later, when they finally unloaded it, we were able to pass by.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The rest of the drive passed uneventfully with hours of gravel, then single lane and finally two lanes with lots of speed bumps and switchbacks.

We stopped for supper, (or maybe lunch) at a beautiful garden retreat.  The owner was a gardener of fruit trees and showed us around his lovely place.

Dave with our new friends:  Liz, CESO Country Rep; Marcel, our driver; and Andrea, the project officer and translator. 

By the time we were finished our meal, the sun had set, and we continued on the rest of the way which was mostly freeway now.  Before long we were snarled in Lima traffic and were wishing to be back in Vilca again.  Oh, wait.  First a long hot shower.