LIMA

We flew from Santiago to Lima on 30th December to meet with our Bondi housemate Diego in time for New Year's Eve. He is home for the holidays from Australia to spend time with family and friends, so we thought we'd gatecrash.

In the airport we tried to buy his family a gift of an Easter Island head shaped bottle of Pisco (we just really liked the bottle). However we were told that we couldn't import Chilean Pisco into Peru. When we told Diego this he said Peruvians are very patriotic about their Pisco and would never drink Pisco from Chile as it's not proper stuff!

Lima is in the middle of a dessert, we didn't realise this until we descended through the misty clouds known as neblina and saw the bright orange dusty suburbs. Apparently any foliage here is alien and has been brought and planted from else where.

We caught a taxi to Diego's family home in the Surco neighbourhood, about a fifteen minute drive from the beach. After being introduced to the family we had a quick dinner and then we drove down to his family's beach house, 90 minutes south of Lima in an area called Asia. Here the beach stretches for 8km and has many different beach clubs. Residents own their house and the land, but pay a membership to use the facilities and to have private beach access. The house was amazing; modern, light, with an fantastic rooftop and could sleep many people.

We met Diego's brother Daniel and mother Ingrid. We'd been travelling all day so we thought we'd have a quiet early night but Diego and his bro had other plans for us. Starting with tequila, continuing with rum and ending in a club at another beach and dancing till the sun was up.

The beach house had a brilliant location a few rows back from the sea but with perfect views of the ocean and for sunset. It would have been five stars on trip-advisor without a doubt.

Our days followed a similar pattern, getting up late and having a huge three course breakfast. Dozing at the beach or on the rooftop, then coming back to the house for a massive lunch at 4pm. In the evenings we would see Diego's friends or extended family and talk to them in bad Spanish which got considerably worse as the beers and tequila flowed.

We ate all types of typical Peruvian food including:
Ceviche - fresh fish cooked only in citric juices served with red onion and chilli
Tamal - a paste made with corn, sometimes with chicken inside. Eaten for breakfast and lunch.
Chicharron de calamar - calamari with sauce
Choritos a la chalaca - mussels with salsa criolla
Seco con frejoles - beans with a green beef stew
Causa de atun - smash potato with chilli, tuna, avocado
Salchicha huachana with eggs - scrambled eggs and a chorizo type meat
Chicha - a non alcoholic drink made with purple corn, pineapple and cinnamon. (There is also an alcoholic version if you're interested)

There are many traditions in Peru to mark the New Year. One includes making an effigy of a man that you burn at to signify out with the old and in with the new (kind of like when we burn Guy Fawkes on bonfire night). Another is eating 12 grapes, one for each strike of the clock at midnight. Yellow is supposed to be the lucky colour and this explained all the yellow underwear we had seen for sale in Valparaiso. Also the symbolism of money and food for a prosperous new year which are given as gifts and kept all year. Our favourite was the tradition of running around a park with an empty suitcase to bring good luck when travelling in the year to come (although we didn't try this one!)

For New Year's Eve, the Alonso's were having a party at their place after dinner. The rest of the extended family turned up at 11.30pm and we told everyone that in England the party would be nearly over by that time! When the clock struck 12, everyone went round saying 'feliz año nuevo' and fireworks boomed up and down the beach. Then the dancing begun. Everyone danced together and we even learned a few moves. But when the Macarena came on I stole the dance floor!

The night after we went to a relatives house where we had a BBQ that of course started later than a respectable English bed time. By about 9 the BBQ was lit and we started eating at about 10. We had some amazing mushrooms and asparagus as well as chicken and steak. Delicious. The view from the beach house was amazing as it was on a hillside looking down with lots of beautiful twinkling lights. The house was set over three levels with white netting all around the stairs and balconies to stop the hyper three year olds not making it to four. One of the kids was delighted as he spent most of his time pretending he was spider man shooting imaginary web out of his wrists which I had to dodge fairly regularly.

We left the beach house on 2nd Jan, but before heading back to Lima, Diego had a day trip planned for us down to Paracas. Here we went on a boat trip to see a Nazca line on a hill called the Candelabra. It's the only one you can see without a plane.

From there we headed on to Ballestas Islands to see loads of wildlife. The islands just off the coast of Pisco (like the drink) are known as the Galapagos of Peru because of all the birds, sea lions and penguins. I was feeling rather sick as the boat was small and extremely rocky but luckily Will took some good pictures.

After a super spicey Cerviche lunch we drove around the Paracas National Park to see the desert, a new experience for us both! Even though there was nothing for miles, the landscape was interesting in its vastness and subtle differences in colour and texture of the sand and rock. We felt like we were on Mars.

Back in Lima we spent our time exploring the different neighbourhoods. Lima is an incredible looking city as it is coastal but all the buildings are perched on cliffs, which are up to 80m in some parts, with only a main road down at sea level. Along the edge of the cliffs there are beautiful walks and parks to while away the sunny days, with views down on the surfers. The only downside is getting anywhere. From Diego's place the best way to the trendy neighbourhoods of Miraflores, Barranco and the old town was taxi. If you thought driving in London was bad try Lima with its five lane highways where white lines mean bugger-all and hesitating gets you killed.

Barranco Neighbourhood
Went to MATE gallery by Mario Testino, displaying some of his famous fashion photographs, the final photo shoot of Diana princess of Wales, as well as our favourites which were of traditional mountain people of Peru entitled High Fashion (get it?!). They looked incredible in their traditional dress and we couldn't wait to get up there to see the fabulous textiles and colours for ourselves.

From here we crossed the Bridge of Sighs and walked to get a view down to the sea for sunset.

Central historical area
We took a pretty naff walking tour of central historical Lima. We saw some good sights but the guide wasn't very enthusiastic, didn't give us much history and took us into many shops instead of sights. There were some good parts though, including the changing of the guard in front of the Presidential Palace. The over the top leg kicking reminded us of the border ceremony in Amritsar in India.

We also visited the Basilica Del Santisimo Rosario where there were skulls of dead saints on display. Apparently this is quite normal to cut of the head and keep the head separate from the body.

We had a great Pisco tasting session, my favourite being the passion fruit flavour yummmm. From here we stumbled upon a very old restaurant called Cordano. It had been open for 110 years, and was apparently popular with presidents back in the day. We also saw a photo of Mario Testino eating there so we knew we were in good company.

Next we visited the Catacombs of San Francisco Cathedral which were rather musty and not very pleasant, yet fascinating if you like seeing dusty old bones and skulls. In the late afternoon we jumped on a bus to the top of Cerro San Cristobal to see the cross and a great view of the city. It was astonishing how much Lima sprawls off into the distance.

To end our day we went to the Gran Hotel Bolivar known as the birthplace of the Pisco Sour, they were lethal. I wasn't too keen but I think Will got a taste for it. Back at Diego's, a party with his old friends was in full swing, we cracked open some beers and had the same conversation with each person we met as we only have enough vocabulary for a five minute chat.

Miraflores Neighbourhood
We visited Huaca Pucllana a 1500 year old site that pre dates the incas. It was incredible as it was literally smack bang in the middle of the city. It was built from hundreds of thousands of hand made bricks stacked on their ends. This is called the bookcase technique (we think) - quite obvious why! The whole technique looked very unstable to us as we all know what happens when you accidentally remove a bookend. However the guide explained that the small gaps between the bricks allowed for slight movements when there were earthquakes. After the earthquake in 1950, it proved how good the original builders were as the re-constructed areas fell and the original parts remained intact!! The site would have been platforms with wooden poles to hold roofs for shade but no walls. Each time a king died, a new platform was built on top of the old one, hence the pyramid-ish shape.

Armour park is the place for the lovers in Lima city. It was FULL of couples smooching and spending the afternoon together. It had a great view down on the surfers below and some beautiful mosaic walls. We walked north to the lighthouse and saw a bunch of people slack lining and yoga-ing..

Surfing
There are some great surf spots in Lima, all along the same stretch of coast. Some areas are better for learning and others have bigger waves. I decided to while away an hour or two drinking wine in La Rosa Náutica restaurant which had a prime surf watching spot on a pier, whilst Will caught a few waves. The restaurant was a very upmarket place and the food looked fabulous. Will had a great surf out the back of the learners area where there were some good waves. 

Later on we went to the Larcomar Mall, with great views out to sea, of the paragliders and a few good shops and restaurants.

Parque de la Reserva
On our final night we visited the water park in Parque de la Reserva with Ingrid and Diego's cousin. It was AMAZING!! Lots of artistically lit fountains and water installations, culminating in a brilliant light/projection show on huge fountains. Kids were running in and out of the fountains and we wished we were seven years old again! It was super creative what could be achieved with jets of water and a few light bulbs!

Diego's family have been so generous, welcoming us into their home and sharing their time with us. Special thank you to Ingrid for her patience, trying to help us improve our Spanish. It helped tremendously! We hope to see them again some day, maybe in England or Australia!!