Peru {Part 2}

A view of the ocean from Miraflores--a tennis club is in the foreground.

Ursula at her painting studio.

The Passion Roll at Huarike where I ate sushi and cebiche.

La casa de Baertl.

Andres´s cousin, Cholo, and I.

Andres´s sister, Agatha, and I.

Andres´s mother, Ursula, and I.

As trips often do, this experience is all beginning to blur together for me. The fast, winding car rides to a restaurant or Miraflores are soon replaced by a slower pace when we arrive at our location.

The only time this really was not true was on Monday morning when I went Agatha and Abbie to their spinning class. It was intense and I was feeling good and having lots of fun until the heat and humidity got to me and I had to stick to the seat for the last 10 minutes. I was drenched in sweat after the 45 minute workout but felt really good (mainly to be done!).

Agatha took me to Miraflores in Lima, which is a nice area of Lima that is located on the ocean. She showed me Ursula´s painting studio and Alfredo´s architect´s office.

I spent about 3 hours exploring Miraflores -- walking through the parks, seeing the ocean up close for the first time on this trip, people watching, shopping for new Adidas sambas, eating cebiche (a mixture of raw fish marinated in citrus juices and a staple of Peruvian cuisine) and sushi at Huarike, and finally meeting Ursula at her studio to go home for a 2 pm lunch.

Alfredo drove Ursula and I back to the house for lunch. I have finally found a person who drives faster than New York City cab drivers and on much smaller streets -- it was an exciting adventure just going home for lunch.

We zipped and zagged through Lima at an incredible pace only to completely slow down when we arrived for lunch -- rice, beans, cheese and salad.

My afternoon nap was ended by Axl who told me it was time to go. Where were we going you might ask?

Well, I´m going to save the details of that experience for my next blog. Let´s just say that there is video of this and mom, you might not want to watch -- mountains, a steep cliff and a wooden box car are involved!

After surviving ¨las montanas de muertos¨ I enjoyed a meal of Chifa with Andres´s family. Chifa is what they call Chinese food here and it is very popular and also very good. Andres, Cholo and I went to the Atlantic City casino after supper and played some $3 blackjack. The night ended at about 2 am -- once again, a speedy car ride taking us home, The Killers blaring through the speakers, a city of almost 8 million going to sleep.

---

Today has been a very relaxing day after a busy Monday. I slept in until nearly 11 am, had a small breakfast and sat on the couch with Andres and Cholo to watch 2 and a Half Men on tv.

All of a sudden at about noon Andres says time to go and we were off to lunch in Miraflores. When we got there we had pisco sours while waiting for a table. Then, of course, without having any clue we were meeting his family for lunch, his family arrives and Andres says - I forgot to tell you my family was joining.

Cholo, Andres and I joined Alfredo, Ursula, Agatha, Alfredo´s aunt from Texas and her daughter.

The meal at Panchito lasted two hours.

It started with bread and 2 dipping sauces -- butter and a spicy chile sauce. Next came the red wine and skewers of meat served with Peruvian corn and a type of sweet potato. We had two types of meat -- swordfish and anticuchos (martinated cow´s heart). The anticuchos was truly amazing -- the highlight of the meal for me. The meat was tender, flavorful, and paired with the chile sauces and chimmycurry, the taste made time stand still for a while.

We were then brought clean plates and I assumed dessert was on its way. However, the 3 main dishes were then brought out. They included cabrito (baby goat), duck with rice, and osso bucco.

Stuffed beyond belief and a little buzzed after having two pisco sours and one glass of wine, dessert finally ended this never-ending meal -- I say never-ending with a sad tone, this was a meal that I didn´t want to end even though my stomach would not have been able to go on eating any more food.

Dessert was a funnel cake like donut served with honey.

The meal at Panchito was better than the Churrascaria in New York City or the Mario Batali Italian joint in Vegas.

For me, Miraflores, will always remind me of lunch. My first true experience of cebiche on Monday and a lunch fit for kings on Tuesday.

---

Tuesday continued with visits to the country club, a drive around Lima with Andres, Cholo and Alexia, and a long nap followed by Pancito leftovers and a tamale for supper.

The slow pace has once again set in -- but as I´ve come to expect in Lima, it won´t last long. Tomorrow will come soon enough and spinning classes, the historic centre of Lima and more incredible food are only a short, incredibly fast car ride away.

A cycle of fast and slow. A city bursting with energy and a passion for food. A people filled with vigor and excitement -- who obviously know that a two-hour lunch with family and friends can be the most important part of the day.

Those same people speeding from place to place only to relax upon arrival, kiss the cheek or shake the hand of all whom they meet, and settle in to make each individual moment the most important that could ever exist.

Peruvians clearly know how to....

Enjoy the ride,
Damm