Dinner show at Manos Morenas in Barranco, home to the fusion style music called Criolla. And great food too. Seriously a highlight of our trip, and well worth a visit. This guy was also a talent on the cajon, enough so that we were inspired to go out and buy one for ourselves to bring home.
Paragliding in Miraflores. It became clear the second time my guy failed to complete a landing that he hadn't done this much before. My 15 minute ride turned into almost 40 minutes. The folks at the Larcomar shopping centre were probably wondering why we kept hovering past.
Biggest piña colada ever. Unfortunately, it was at Pizza Hut. My concession to R. and G. after a week of culinary struggles.
Still, a great, great trip! Our last meal, some good ceviche, more steak, Peruvian wine, and pisco. That's a sendoff!
From Lima, we flew to Cusco. At a height of more than 10,000 feet, we felt the effects immediately. None of us succumbed to altitude sickness, but the shortness of breath was pronounced. Not enough that we needed the oxygen cylinders (available at our hotel), but enough that we had to take it easy for a bit. Hilly place, this Cusco.
After catching our breath, we went for some lunch - pizza, and some Peruvian wine. Not great, but not awful.
A view of Cusco.
Tempting fate. Huge peals of thunder followed immediately.
A downside of semi-guided tours? Dinner performances. Ok, ok, the costumes were interesting, the songs were interesting, but the food was definitely only so so. R. is not pleased with my sampling of the llama and the cuy - guinea pig. But the troupe of Japanese visitors was entertaining.
Travelling between Ollantaytambo and Chinchero, we stopped in the market town of Písac and saw this curious sign in the market. Didn't try, not sure I want to.
And onto Macchu Picchu.
The swollen waters of Aguas Calientes.
Class IV and V rapids on the Urubamba River, south of Cusco.
This is a trip long time coming. While at Oxford, my friend M. invited me to come London for a Peruvian concert he had free tickets to - M. had a way of getting free tickets for things. Anyways, the performer was Susana Baca, who I was already a fan of. Fast forward a few years to another Afro-Peruvian jazz concert in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, and the stage was set for a trip to Peru, with my sister G. joining us.
We got to Lima in one piece, installed ourselves into the hotel in Miraflores, and launched on a tour of the city, starting with the Plaza de Armas.
The barriadas of Cerro San Cristóbal in Rímac. Half of Lima's 10M live in similar communities.
Having some pre-dinner Pisco Sours at La Carreta, a popular steakhouse in San Isidro.
Taking a bus south to Ica. Ica is the gateway to the desert of the famous Nazca lines, and is also a major centre for the production of pisco. Unfortunately, it looked like we reached the end of the world before getting there.
Yes, end of the world indeed. Billboards for the bubble-gum flavoured Inca Kola.
The control tower at the Ica airport. If Gilligan's Island had an airport, this would fit right in.
Over the Nazca desert. This is a dry riverbed, but the lines themselves were incredible.
Sandboarding on the dunes of Huacachina. Fun.
But not as much fun as the dune buggies!
Miraflores. Down on the pier is a popular seafood restaurant. Unfortunately R. and G. are amongst the least adventurous eaters in the world, so we didn't go there. I'm not bitter. That said, the alternative was just as curious - chifa, the Peruano version of Chinese food. The food was really just ok, but it turns out there was a wedding reception on at the restaurant, and we were the only diners who weren't guests.
At the end of their dinner, a microphone came out, with speeches and such. Things took a turn though, when we heard the words "famous American singer" - turns out Gloria Loring was somebody's auntie and came to Lima for the occasion - and gave us all a performance of her hit single, "Friends and Lovers." Clearly, time to get out of Lima.
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