Lima!

Mother and child, Plaza de armas, Lima, Peru.

Travel Tips:

1. Do not buy a new camera to take on a major vacation the day before you leave.
   You will take bad pictures while you learn the new tool.
   You will accidentally take videos instead of photos.
   You will drain the battery at inopportune moments (like in the middle of the jungle).
   
2. Do not arrive on an election weekend.
   It will be illegal to purchase or sell alcohol, including in the bar fridge in your hotel.
   Many shops and services will be closed.
   If things do not go smoothly, it could be, erm, exciting to be outdoors.
3. Do not attempt to take public transit downtown during a major religious festival.
   Roads will be closed, so you will walk much further than expected.
   There will be many, many people.
4. Do bring an ample supply of those little travel pouches of Kleenex as well as a small container of hand sanitizer.
   Toilet paper may be on a bring-your-own basis.
   You may learn that the public sewer system can barely cope with solid waste so you must deposit all paper in a wastebasket beside the toilet.
   There may not be soap, never mind towels or hand dryers.
5. Do learn a little of the local language.
   You will still sound like a turista, but you will at least be able to read some signs and menus.

These are just a few of the things we encountered on our trip to Peru. But as you'll see in the photos in this and the coming posts, they did not in any way hinder our enjoyment of this trip of a lifetime.

As you may have guessed, we arrived in Lima on "departmental" election weekend. These are roughly equivalent of provinces or states. The elections also included mayors for each district. I didn't take any pictures, but the political signs used slogans you would see anywhere in Canada or the US: Change! Honesty! Stop Corruption! Family Values!

All in all, though, the election was (from our perspective) a non-event. Going without alcohol wasn't a trial – we were tired and not up for a party anyway.

Our visit started with a fabulous walking tour which included a visit to the local mercado where we sampled typical Peruvian (or Liman) breakfast foods and fruits.

At this point, we were staying in an upscale hotel in the Miraflores area, a very nice neighbourhood.

In Miraflores, Lima, Peru

This particular park is known for its many cats.

Miraflores means "look at the flowers," which this area is known for. Lima, like southern California is actually quite dry, so all of this greenery is irrigated, something you would only find in a relatively wealthy area.

We did not grow tired of the brightly coloured flowers at any point on this trip, though I think our guides may have lost patience with all the stopping for photos.

Before we entered the market, we stopped outside for a typical breakfast, including a beverage and a tamale.

The drinks were brewed of quinoa, maca or soya (with herbs and spices). We tried the maca and quinoa; they were a little glutinous, but tasty. Maca is also known as "Peruvian ginseng" – both are undoubtedly quite healthy.

Next, we tried breakfast tamales: a potato or corn paste wrapped in a corn husk, often with a chunk of meat or a nut (or olive) inside.

Breakfast tamales

These were quite dry and bland, but hearty. If we hadn't already had breakfast at the hotel, we would have been happy to eat the whole thing.

The market itself was huuuge – so many vendors, so many smells! Our guide (and every guide later on the trip) took great pride in informing us that Peru was home to more than 400 types of potato. I swear, all of them were in this market, along with some other unique items.

This booth was run by a shaman who presumably prescribed various herbs and things to cure what ails you. I did not ask what was in the Coca Cola bottles.

Honestly, I can't remember what most of the things we saw were called, but the meat in the following picture is cuy: guinea pig.

The dusty white things are potatoes! (I think they've been dried, but I could be wrong.)

Our guide explained that all of this meat was freshly butchered (that morning) and perfectly safe without refrigeration. The smells were certainly fresh (not rotten), but it was disconcerting.

There are, by the way supermarkets in Lima, but I got the impression that most people still go to the mercado to shop for fresh items. There certainly is plenty of choice!

Also, I doubt that most supermarkets make room for Jesus!

This guy was only one of many fishmongers in the mercado.

Despite all the familiar fruits in the background, our guide, Rosario, introduced us to a lot of unique fruits,
including the big green pod she's holding. The pulp inside it is actually quite sweet.

I can't even remember what most of these were called. I wish I did. The one that looks like a pickle is actually a tiny avocado with almost no pit. I'm going to look for all of these at our specialty stores in Ottawa.

By the way, we were cautioned against eating fresh fruit or vegetables in Peru. Our gut flora are not equipped to deal with the microbes in their water, so even washing it is not enough and could have left us ill for days. For that reason, our guide wiped the fruits with a sanitary wipe before cutting into them. We ate and did not get sick at all!

That was only the first half of our first day, but I am tired (and now hungry!) so I'll sign off here.