Lima with the locals

14/07/13

After a full day of seeing all the churches in downtown Lima I was so excited to be getting picked up by the family who met me at the airport; Elmer, Miriam, Christina and Francisco. They picked Sarah and I up from the retreat centre, and the two of us squeezed into the back seat of their car with the two kids who are 12 and 14. It mustn't be a highly punishable by law offence in Peru, as the fact we weren't in seat belts didn't phase anyone. We were packed in tight so wouldn't have gone anywhere even if there was a crash!

The first thing they asked was whether we had time for a tour before dinner, which was a resounding YES! So we drove for about half an hour, hearing about their schools and upcoming exams, as well as some local information.

We eventually ended up near the beach and got out at the top of some stairs where below there was a beautiful bridge called the Whisper Bridge. It is apparently a place where couples go to get their wedding photos taken. So all the females hopped out of the car, Sarah, Mirium, Christina and me, and went and had some romantic pictures on the bridge and then quickly ran back up to the car that was holding up traffic.

Whisper Bridge

We then drove further towards the coast and in the distance could see a radiant glowing cross. I asked what it was for and Elmer explained to us that after the terrorists attacked the electricity plants about forty years ago, they used what was left of them to build a monument to remember the hard times. I found this really beautiful and made the glow feel so much more important for what it represented, not only was it a symbol of the faith of the country, but a celebration of the life lost in struggle. It reminded me of the memorials at the 9/11 site in New York, and I think in both cases although life must go on, it is really important to always remember those who have come before us.
Because it was such a bright light this was the best photo I could get - the cross is the glowing thing in the distance towards the right at the back.

We then pulled up at the shopping centre that we were going to for dinner, which compared to other buildings in the city was new and modern. It was right next to the Marriott Hotel and was therefore a popular tourist stop. On our way to the restaurant, which was a chicken place, I found it awesome to see, that even though each individual shop was enclosed, the common areas were open air, and the breeze was beautiful. The downside of constant cloud cover is of course never seeing the sun, but the upside is nobody needs umbrellas, and more time can be spent outdoors in any season. I think I'd always choose sun over overall convenience. I like Summer too much!!

We had dinner in the chicken restaurant and had our first taste of Inca Cola. Inca Cola is such a popular drink in Peru that Coca Cola couldn't even beat it in sales, so they bought it and now own it so get all profits from the sale of both products. Definitely a smart move from Coke. If you're wondering what Inca Cola is, it kind of tastes like a cross between creaming soda and Mountain Dew, and is really sugary but really nice. If you're ever going to try it though I would recommend you don't have it anywhere near a time you're going to sleep because that night I woke up at least twenty times unable to sleep.

For dinner we had some grilled chicken and super tasty chips, and tried some Yucce which were fried and are like a potato only not. Whatever they were they were really good! For dessert they brought out a tray of desserts and we had to choose... There were the usual things like lemon tart and cheesecake, but we decided to try something new and had the something leche which was a little tart thing with cream on top which was great except I could only eat the cream on top because the filling at the bottom was a toffee caramel which I can't eat.

After dinner we were walking back to the car when Christina ran into a music store and came out with a Big Time Rush album... Apparently they're big in Peru. I decided at that point that I wanted to buy some Peruvian music to take home with me, so I went in to have a listen. My friends acted as my interpreter, and so I asked for Folk music, not realising that that means something different in Peru, and so I was listening to a CD of pure instruments... Not quite the same as Australian folk music. I then asked for something with words and my friends as well as the shop keepers were confused as to my initial request, but then kindly took me over to the pop music section and pointed out a Cd of the biggest Peruvian pop singer at the moment, so I had a quick listen and it didn't sound terrible so decided after the effort everyone had gone to I should buy it!
Working in Coles for eight years I have spent a lot of time in supermarkets or complaining about bad ones, so I was very excited when Elmer said he was going to take us to have a look at the local products in the supermarket. We saw the fruit and vegetable section first and I was so excited to see that in this tiny supermarket alone they had at least ten varieties of potatoes. I was I'm potato heaven! They also had white corn, and really big papaya among other things. I couldn't take any fresh fruit with me so I settled for buying a local pack of potato chips that were all in different colours inside.




Over dinner we had been told about the local "cocaine" plant that was used to make tea, and did not have the same effect as the drug, so when Elmer and Miriam pointed it out to me in the shop I had to buy a pack. Now I just have to wait to see what Sydney customs have to say about it. (they let it through)

After we left the supermarket it was sadly time to head home as we had an 11pm cutoff until the gates of our retreat centre were closed and we wouldn't be allowed back in for the night. We did get to drive past some ancient inca ruins on the way home though, and I found it so strange that they had been gated off and lit up with buildings and houses built all around them. It was really cool to see something so old though in the midst of a normal suburban landscape.

We had so much fun on this trip, and I am so glad we had the chance to see the coast of Lima, and get a local perspective and tour where we weren't confined to the limits of twenty people and a bus. I will definitely visit again some day and see more of the wonderful and different city that is Lima. Who knows, maybe I'll come back for the concert of Pedro Suarez-Vertiz, my new favourite Peruvian singer!

To top off the night they gave us a box of chocolates each. "Princess chocolates for two princesses." Awww!