We once again got first class on our buddy passes on Delta (I know, we have had some luck this year). This cool storm cloud formations on the way from Atlanta to Lima, Peru were a beautiful start to an exciting journey.
We arrived in Lima at night. It is an ENORMOUS city (almost 8 million people according to Wikipedia). Many sections of the city are dangerous to visit, just like any big city, but we studied where to go and how to get around. We didn't have any problems, and we enjoyed our brief 3 days in the capital of Peru.
We stayed in Miraflores, which is an upscale area of Lima, in a pretty good hostel. The owner of the hostel gave us lots of suggestions on things to do and food to eat while in Peru. Lima is expensive compared with other parts of Peru, and this hostel cost $35 per night (much cheaper than Spain already).
A theme in many Latin American cities (which are any of the countries influenced by Spanish and Portugese colonialism - so that means Mexico, Central America (except Belize), several Caribbean countries, and 95% of South America) is large amounts of poverty. Countries, like Peru, have come a long way, but there are many people still living in daily hunger and fighting to survive. Therefore, petty crime is something to always watch out for - especially in bigger cities. In a regular restaurant, for example, you never put your bag on the back of your chair - it will be gone 9 out of 10 times.
Even with the difficulties, traveling to Latin Americ is very exciting for us. First of all, we both want to practice and improve our Spanish speaking and understanding. We'll have plenty of chances being immersed here. Secondly, countries such as Peru have a rich, interesting culture and history. The music, food, art, and people are varied and complex. This makes for a fun and action packed visit for us.
Upon the hostel owner's suggestion, our first excursion in Lima was to find good food. We did indeed! There are so many traditional dishes from Peru due to the many climates and soils of the country. In Lima, we had one of the most famous Peruvian dishes, Ceviche. It's fish that's not cooked in an oven, but rather, is prepared in lemon juice, which kind of cooks it. We love it. It's usually served with corn on the cob (notice how big the kernels are), onions, a sweet potato and cancha, which are toasted corn kernels (kind of like corn nuts).
Another dish that Kari ordered was Causa de Pulpo, which is octopus with avocado between layers of corn dough. We strongly recommend it!
We spent our days walking around town... the first day along the boardwalk along the whole coast watching surfers and people playing in the parks and the second day in the historical center to see the presidential palace. Here's Chad inf front of the national palace.
On our second night in Lima, we went to a show called Brisas del Titicaca. Here we are in excited anticipation of the show:
The FIVE hour performance showcased traditional music and dancing from all over Peru. The costumes were bright and colorful and the music, too. Between the dances, the band played modern songs and we took to the stage for some dancing too. It was a lively night. The dancing was so fast, it was hard to get a good picture. Here's one that shows some of the action:
The FIVE hour performance showcased traditional music and dancing from all over Peru. The costumes were bright and colorful and the music, too. Between the dances, the band played modern songs and we took to the stage for some dancing too. It was a lively night. The dancing was so fast, it was hard to get a good picture. Here's one that shows some of the action:
Here's a clip of just one type of the traditional dancing:
Our stay in Lima was very short because we were excited to head off to Arequipa in southern Peru for four weeks of language study.
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