lunch in an odd cafe

Most of the time, we had great luck with meals in Cusco. We followed the advice of guidebooks and random people, and ended up having many delicious meals. Cusco is known for it's mountain food (rather than the fish-based specialties that you get in Lima, on the coast). This includes dishes made with quinoa, alpaca, beef, and cuy (guinea pig). They say that until your body acclimates to the high altitude it's best to eat light foods and to avoid meat. I tried this tactic and it worked for me. Britt and Addison were more adventurous and tried various local meat specialties, though no one had cuy.

One day, we were looking for a place to have lunch after a long morning of hiking. We looked for two different places recommended in one of our guidebooks, only to discover later that both had moved. Tired and hungry, we settled on a little cafe that was brightly decorated and offered a simple choice of sandwiches and freshly made fruit juices. As is often the case in this part of the world, the service was very slow, and we waited quite a while for our meal. Bored and hungry, Britt picked up some of the magazines that were laying around - only to discover that they were from the 1970s and consisted of nazi propaganda from the 1940s translated into Spanish. It was very odd and gave us the creeps. We were the only clients having lunch, though the rest of the staff was busy eating their own meal, ignoring us, and closing doors constantly. There was also a lone young woman, who was drinking tea and reading (we bumped into her again at Macchu Picchu.) Eventually another group of people came in - two couples, American. We were on our way out, by then but couldn't help but notice the looks on their faces as they innocently picked up the reading material and figured out what it was.

Temple of the Sun, Cusco

The Incas built a magnificant set of temples in the center of Cusco. The Temple of the Sun was said to have walls covered in shets of gold studded with fine jewels. The mummified bodies of former leaders were kept in special rooms on thrones of gold, and taken out for festivalsand to give advice that was interpreted by special priests. The patios and gardens were filled with life-size statues of animals and plants, made of gold, silver, and jewels.

The Spaniards took all the treasures and melted them down. They built a church dedicated to Santo Domingo on top of the temple buildings and grounds. You can still see the Inca stonework in the foundations and walls. And the church sits atop a magnificent garden that still features a natural spring and series of fountains used by the Incas. It's a beautiful spot.

Cuzco

Cusco (or Cuzco to the Peruvians) is the ancient capital of the Incas. Located east of Lima, well into the Andes, it stands at an altitude of nearly 11,000 feet (3,330 meters) above sea level. In the 15th century, before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors, Cusco was a thriving city of 15,000, with gold-covered temples and gardens filled with gold and silver plants and animals. The Incas considered Cusco to be the center of the world. The treasures were all plundered by the Spaniards, who also built their churches and fine mansions atop the remarkable stonework of the Incas.

We arrived in Cusco via the plane from Lima. This meant that in the spanse of little more than an hour we had gone from living at sea level to trying to function in the very thin air of a city in the sky. We followed the advice of friends and guidebooks, taking it easy the first day, downing altitude sickness prevention pills, and drinking cups of coca tea. Thus, the first day we simply wandered around the plazas and back streets of Cusco. Even this entails lots of steps up and down, as the city is built in a valley and filled with hills. So, though we are all in pretty decent physical condition, walking around was draining and found us gasping for breath.

Still we were able to enjoy the back streets of San Blas, the more Bohemian neighborhood of Cusco. And because it's what we seem to do, we stumbled across a festival - this one in honor of "Amistad" or friendship. This festival involved competing bands of brass instruments and the ubiquitous pan pipes.




We also took in the colors of Cusco. These include compesinos, people from the countryside, generally very poor, who dress up in their traditional clothes and either try to sell you their wares or offer to pose for photos on the understanding that you will offer some sort of tip.

Admiring the colors and styles of Cusco also means taking in the amazing stonework left over from the Incas which serves as the foundation for much of the city's buildings. The Inca stones are huge, weighing many tons, and cut into odd, often multi-sided, shapes that are fit against each other like a perfect round of Tetris. They were joined together without mortar, and they have withstood the test of time as well as disasters (natural and manmade). One local fellow explained to us that the lowest layers was made of slightly smaller stones to absorb the shock of earthquakes. Don't know if it's true, but it was a good story.

The side strees of the San Blas neighborhood are filled with wooden balconies, interesting carved stones, and bright blue doors/shutters. They reminded me of the streets of Sidi Bou Said in Tunis, or some of the Greek islands.


























Here, Addison has a chicha, a favorite Peruvian drink made from blue corn. This one was particularly good. We were having dinner at Chicha, a new restaurant run by Gaston Acurio, the acclaimed Peruvian chef.





In the side streets of San Blas, we came accross Evelyn, an Irish woman who has lived in Cusco for 5 years. She has a shop called Philo (Carmen Alto, 260, Cusco) in which she sells funky and very original women's clothing. I was trying on some pieces, which she then tailored to fit me perfectly. Now, I just need an excuse to wear them.









Here is Britt in front of one of the many blue doors in the back streets of Cusco.










The old streets of Cusco are lined with amazing stonework - and beggars.












People from the countryside - especially women and children - dress up in traditional clothes and bring their alpacas into town to pose for photos, hoping to make some money that way.

Other side of the Rimac

We spend most of our time in Miraflores and San Isidro, which are some of the really nice neighborhoods of Lima.

But Lima is a huge city. There are nearly 9 million residents and it is very spread out. Some of the sections are quite poor, and driving out of the city you see shantytowns perched precariously on the sides of the hills, which are themselves not much more than giant sand dunes. The very poor build dwellings for themselves one wall at a time, often starting with woven mats as walls and roofs, adding cinder blocks and corrugated metal as they can afford them. Eventually, the city may bring in electricity and build a road. I don't know what they do for water and sewage. Often in poor neighborhoods they have to purchase water from delivery trucks.

There is underground water, here. And Lima is where it is because of the Rimac River. You can see it in this photo. Though the center is shallow, there were parts where the water was clearly deep and swift.

Note the red and white stripes painted on the hillside. Those are the colors of the Peruvian flag, presumably chosen because they represent the colors of a local type of flamingo.

This neighborhood is across the Rimac River from the side with the presidential palace. The pedestrian street has just been installed. In fact the edges had not been completed.

It's a relief to have a pedestrian street in a city where there are way too many cars and half of the drivers are complete maniacs (the other 50% are just trying to survive). They don't respect lanes, or lights, or rules. Many accelerate when they see a pedestrian, and do everything they can to get in front of anyone else. Many intersections have no lights, yield signs, or stop signs - so getting across is just a big game of chicken.

National Pisco Sour Festival

It seems that each time we go into old Colonial center of Lima (okay, it's been twice) we run into some sort of festivity. Last time it was the anniversary of the founding of the city some 400-plus years ago. This time it was for the national pisco sour celebration. Or make that the Grand National Pisco Sour Festival.

Now we all remember that pisco sour is something of a national drink in Peru, and it is a source of great pride. It's also pretty yummy, but potent. I can't really drink a whole one - they make my head spin. Pisco is a brandy, made from Peruvian grapes and perfected in the town of - you guessed it - Pisco.

Of course, Chileans will try to tell you that they invented pisco, pisco sours, and make the best ones. This drives the Peruvians crazy. As it is, Chile took a chunk of their country back in the 1890s, and Chileans own the two main department store chains in Peru, as well as one of the major grocery stores. Claiming that they make better pisco sours is... well, it really ticks off the locals. Chile has even gone so far as to create or rename a town in their country, Pisco. But they don't fool us. We've been to the REAL Pisco. And we know it's in Peru.

So for the Grand Festival, there were tents and booths set up in an area along the Rimac River, just behind the Plaza del Armas. The plaza is in the heart of the old Colonial center, where the presidential palace and cathedral are located. The booths featured different brands of pisco, and not much else. However, the stage was where the action was taking place. Here bartenders were facing off to see who could mix up the best pisco sour. They were competing in groups of two at a time. We saw contestants # 17 and 18. Each had a very different style and order in which he did things. We thought the one in this picture had a definite advantage over his opponent. Here he is adding the final few drops of bitters that float on top of the drink.

Summer Evening

It's summer in Lima. The evenings are warm, and people are out and about. Friday evening, we strolled around Parque Kennedy, which is a large park in Miraflores, one of the pretty and more touristy neighborhoods of Lima. The park was buzzing with activity. There are lots of artists who set up and try to sell their paintings along the alleyways of the park. Most of them are pretty dreadful, but it doesn't matter.

People of every age and type are there to enjoy the outdoors.

And off to the side you see a big group gathered around in a circle. You also hear the sounds of samba and marenge. In the middle of the crowd is a sunken area filled with people dancing. Most of them are well over the age of 65, but their joy and youthfulness is apparent and contagious.

Just off Parque Kennedy is Calle de Pizza. This is one of the few places in Lima where we've seen groups of loud Americans. It is a pedestrian street, lined with restaurants (mostly pizza places, but not exclusively). It's very touristy. Each restaurant has it's own specialty - Karaoke, Tango, Disco, whatever. And they are all blaring their music, one next to the other. It's kind of fun, actually. However, we followed the advice of friends Sarah and Mark, and did not try any of the restaurants.

Instead, we headed to another part of Miraflores and ended up wandering into a Uruguan parilla restaurant. Here they offer all sorts of meats, ranging from beef and chicken to sweet breads, hearts, and cuy (guinea pig), which are grilled on the parilla (sort of bbq grill). The place was run by a guy who had been a former soccer player in Uruguay and was decorated with signed jerseys. His father was a Tango singer, so there were also lots of photos of famous tango people. They had 2 TVs going. One had a S. American basketball game going. The other was offering competitive marathon billiards. That's probably not what it's called, but it featured two opponents, who would each try to clear the table as fast as they could, and this went on for many rounds. It was oddly mesmerizing.

lunch with toucans

The great adventure that is Lima continues. 

This weekend, we got a taste of what it will be like to have a social life here.

First, we had the return of the Princeton 8. These are some of the members of the Princeton water polo team, one of whom is an old Pre-K classmate friend of Jeremy's. They spent a week in Cusco, with short stays with us in Lima on either end. After a week of hiking, high altitudes, adventures, and one hospitalization (altitude sickness, nasty bug, combination of both?), they weren't too much worse for the wear - mainly tired and sunburned.  They were terrific house guests, unfazed by our lack of furniture and supplies, lots of fun to be around. Too bad our pool was still empty, though they were happy to pose in it for a photo. 

Hopefully, this is just the first of many happy visits from friends and family. 

We also went out to dinner with Britt's boss and her husband. She is American, he is British, and they have been in Lima 2 1/2 years. They had lots of helpful tips regarding fun weekend trips and on buying furniture in Lima. He is an artist and does volunteer work in a school in a poor neighborhood. He has interesting stories of coaching a girls' soccer team composed of teen moms.

On Satuday, we checked out the local cinema multiplex. It is quite modern, with shops, cafes, very comfortable theater seats. We had a quick meal at one of the cafes. Very hip and modern looking. We saw the Mysterious Life of Benjamin Button, in the original English version with Spanish subtitles - an ideal combination.

On Sunday, we were invited for lunch by our landlords, Bela and Dany. This was quite something. They live in a lovely house on a hillside in La Molina, a suburb of Lima. The garden is really lovely, including fountains, ponds, a swimming pool, and a sort of 1/2 tennis court for a sport not unlike outdoor squash. Bela, the husband, has an amazing collection of animals. There are several ponds and fountains with different types of fish, carp and koi, but also tilapia and other things. Then, he has several aviaries with beautiful, exotic birds - toucans, brightly colored pheasants, quail, and big parrots. There are several tortoises, too. He let us feed some of the birds. 

Lunch was one of those meals that goes all afternoon, with interesting food, wine and other drinks, and good stories. 

Bela is Hungarian, and has quite a story about getting out of Hungary as a 14-year old, alone, literally running away from Soviet soldiers with lights and dogs. Eventually, he made his way across the Austrian border with a family he met that was also escaping the country with 4 children under the age of 5. He describes helping them to carry the kids and bags, running till they couldn't run anymore, finding a place to forge a river, and heading toward the lights of a city, hoping it was in Austria and not Hungary. They spent time in a Red Cross refugee center in Austria. He also has a tale of being arrested for vagrancy in southern France as a 17 year old. Eventually, he went to Switzerland, where he obtained a citizenship, an engineering degree, and ultimately made his way to Peru, where he has become a very successful businessman. Dany, his wife, has Italian roots. She is warm and charming and a lot of fun. We were also joined by their two daughters, ages 17 and 27, who are also very lively and hospitable. 

Hopefully, our stuff will arrive soon, and we'll be able to return the invitation.