Two for the Road

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT CONCERNING THE INTERNATIONAL NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS TIER LIST

In the wake of the phenomenal and uncontroversial success of the non-alcoholic drink tier list, it has been brought to our attention that something has been uncharacteristically missed from the list. Iris and I have always stridden for truth on this blog and the truth cannot be hidden by an administrative error.

Yes, L&P, New Zealand’s favourite soft drink, was omitted in error from our list. To avoid a diplomatic incident with the great nation of New Zealand, we wish to assuage all doubts. Yes, we think the L&P is worthy of being on the list. But, at risk of extinguishing one diplomatic incident by replacing it with another, we are firmly on the belief that it belongs in the Mid Tier. We will be taking no further questions at this time.

Now onto the blog proper.

BLOG PROPER

I’m writing from the departures lounge in Lima airport after being served what can only be described as the biggest fruit salad I’ve ever seen. My immune system has a new lease of life. But, anyway, this week in Lima has flown by. In the short time we spent in Peru’s capital we learned about its history, tasted its great food, and were almost deafened by the incessant honking and beeping of car horns.

Lima is a coastal city whose unique geography means it’s notoriously grey for most of the year. It has a desert climate, pretty rare for a coastal city, and the cold Humboldt current from the Pacific colliding with warm air on land creates a thick, low-hanging fog which is present for most of the year. For us, it’s caused the amusing situation where tour guides have sheepishly apologised for how grey and ‘cold’ it can be. For your reference, if the temperatures reached the same in the UK everyone would be moaning it was too hot, and I would likely be one of them. Our tour guides don’t know what an upbringing in South Wales does to your weather hardiness.

We stayed in Miraflores, one of the city’s more touristy areas, right next to John F. Kennedy Park, named after JFK for his role in the Alliance for Progress, and 7 June Park, named after a battle which Peru lost in the War of the Pacific¹. It’s interesting to see a public place named after a lost battle. Could a Somme Square be coming to a town near you?

The park is also famous for its many resident cats. They’re regularly fed by the council and by tourists, so thankfully there were no mangy strays like we saw on the streets of Istanbul. There are many campaigns to get the cats adopted. We were considering it but it would likely result in many an awkward conversation with border controls, so we decided against it. Pretty cute, though!

On our first full day we embarked on a walking tour of Miraflores. Funnily enough, the church at which we met our tour guide had a big display concerning the Vendimia festival from Mendoza. Even the Peruvians agree we have exceptional taste in our destinations. We strolled the streets, learned more about the War of the Pacific, and got given many a great recommendation for places to eat.

Our second day consisted of another tour. We started off in Barranco, the artisanal district of Lima, famous for murals and sculptures as well as colonial architecture. As if we hadn’t had anough of the Pacific War, we saw a church whose roof was still ruined from the war, with vultures perched on the remnants of the roof. First time we’ve ever seen vultures in an urban setting. Talk about motivation to not pass out in the heat.

We then moved on to some older ruins at Pachacamac, an Incan settlement an hour and a half’s drive out of the city. It’s amazing how well it’s been preserved, but we had no idea how relatively recent the Inca Empire was. It lasted for around a hundred years, at it height from between 1438 to 1533 until the conquistadors came along. We took in a museum showcasing many artefacts, including the statue of the god Pachacamac him/herself!² Afterwards we got to climb the ramp to the top of the temple itself and saw where the priests would stand and where sacrifices would take place. Pretty gnarly stuff.

Iris went scuba diving the following day and saw many a fish. Even briefly discussing scuba diving fills me with dread, so I’ll let Iris chime in here should she so wish.

Iris: Hi guys, yes another scuba dive! I saw some manta rays, sea linos and the dive took place from a beautiful harbour a couple of hours drive from the city. Our dive group was all female which was fun in the week of International Women’s Day. One thing I will say was that the water was absolutely freezing, around 15C!

Lima is famous for its food and it did not disappoint throughout our stay. The ceviche is amazing, the fish being so fresh due to our close proximity to the coast, and while we dialled down the drinking while we were here,³ it would have been rude of us not to sample some Pisco Sours. For those unaware, this cocktail is a Peruvian staple. The name comes from the Pisco spirit, a brandy which is its base liquor, and it’s mixed with citrus juice (hence the sour in the name), egg white, and sweetener components. Think of it like a cross between a Margarita and a Whisky Sour. This will either delight or revolt you, but we were very much in the former camp.

We also made sure to sample the delights of La Lucha. A favourite of many a local, this small fast food chain offers exceptional sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Iris liked the Chichurron, a pork sandwich, while I enjoyed the pollo a la brasa. Read into that what you will. It was here we first sampled Chica Morada, a non-alcoholic drink made from boiled purple corn (you read that right) and mixed with fruit. Bloody delicious!

So what better way is there to get to know Peruvian food than taking a cooking course? Alongside a group of friendly Americans, our guide, Jorge, took us through making causa (a cold, layered appetiser made of potatoes, chicken, and peas), ceviche, and a Pisco Sour. It was great fun and we had a great time meeting our fellow cooks.

We also went to Museo Larco, a veritable treasure trove of Incan and pre-Incan artefacts. If anyone’s struggling for any present ideas for me at any point, I’ll take a golden headdress.

Yesterday we decided to take in the historic centre of Peru. It’s a surprisingly beautiful place compared to other areas of the city. The architecture is very European and the streets are wide and magnificent.

What wasn’t so magnificent was the walk we then went on to the Water Fountain Park, something we’d heard so much about. While the fountains were lovely to see when we got there, it seems the locals of Lima decided to pull a prank on us and close several walking routes through nearby parks without any notice to be found anywhere. As such, we had to negotiate our way through busy, hustling streets and navigate our way across manic roads. Peruvian drivers are mental. Whenever we were in a taxi I refused to look outside. And did I mention how many times they would beep their horns? We retired home with headaches but had a good meal out on the coastal boardwalk to seal our final night in Peru.

So it’s onto Costa Rica next! My parents are flying in to meet us and we’ll be spending the next couple of weeks enjoying excellent coffee, kayaking down rivers, and I’ll be busy reviewing who I have to bribe to get a sloth through customs. Name suggestions in the comments, please.

1. A war between Chile and a Bolivia-Peru alliance towards the end of the 19th Century, which Chile won. If anyone asks, we’ve never been to Chile, not even to transfer. Definitely! ↩︎
2. The Incans believed duality was important to all things, including the duality of man and woman. As such, their gods were often carved with one side male and one side female. Very right-on! ↩︎
3. What? Why are you giving me that look? ↩︎