Guinea Pig...a la Peruana

November 7, 2011

The Senior Missionaries have a Family Home Evening group and they invited us to go out with them.

Sometime during your stay in Peru you have to try the "cuy"...known to North Americans as

Guinea Pig.

The presentation could use some improvement.

Julie preferred her's without the head attached.

The flavor was really good but there was not a lot of meat on these little guys.

Another unique experience...and a good time.

The Peña

Nov 5, 2011

Some friends from Church put out a notice to everyone on the email list that they were planning a date night at a Peruvian buffet that included a peña, a floor show of typical Peruvian dances.  We were happy to join them.

The upscale shopping mall of Larcomar.  A park on top...

and 3 levels of shops underneath.

Plus a view of the coast.

The majority of the stores are foreign.  I bought shoes at the Florsheim store.  It's hard to remember that you are in a foreign country when you have Chili's, TGIF, Northface, Timberland, Radio Shack, Cookie Factory, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Hush Puppies, Nicole Lee, etc.

The arcade had games I'd never seen...but that is not saying much.

Julie and I think we will go back for a night of bowling.

The restaurant we went to was called "Lady Jane"

The buffet was all typical Peruvian foods so we got to eat great things including ceviche, lomo saltado, lucuma, chicha morada, arroz con leche and many others.  They served food for 2 1/2 hours, even after the peña was over.

The region and history of each dance was explained but my memory isn't good enough to repeat much of it.  Obviously, this dance showed the indigenous roots of Peru. 

Several of the dances reflected events of everyday life.  This dance was a campesino flirting with a girl carrying a jug of water on her head.

This was a cute "flirting" dance that turned in to a jealousy match.

There is a paper hankerchief pinned on to the rear-end of each dancer.  They also each have a candle.  The "pursuer" tries to light the kerchief on fire while the "pursued" dances and sways trying to avoid getting their kerchief lit.

These guys were from the area that raised llama for the wool. The dance they did developed over centuries, apparently by bored llama shearers. They danced with scissors in on hand and did all kinds of acrobatics, each taunting the others to out do their moves. It was a cross between Russian Cossacks and breakdancing.

A very fun evening!

the Rest of Downtown

8 October 2011

The Lima Cathedral at Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor) on the right.  The wooden balconies on the left are part of the Palace of the Archbishop.

Piura Passage.  The old post office is now used for other things.

The Order of Santo Domingo was designated by Francisco Pizarro in 1535.  Construction of the convent carried over into the 1600's.

There are still about 15 monks that carry out their lives on the upper level.

What once was the dining room is now the library with over 25,000 books dating back to the early 1600's.

This hymnbook is over 3 feet tall.  The pages are said to be made of lambs skin, thus the fine preservation in Lima's humid climate.  The notes and words had to be large...

so that the priests could see it as they sat in their choir seats 15 to 20 feet away.

The Iglesia de Santo Domingo is the burial place of Santa Rosa de Lima, patron saint for all of South America, the Philipines and the National Peruvian Police Force.

She had planned on being a nun but quickly decided she could do more good in helping others if she was out with the people.

She died in 1617 at the age of 31.

Her simple resting place.

I was surprised that there was no alter near her crypt.

I think the simpleness was indicitive of her sincerity and humility.  She was canonized in 1671.

The rear courtyard leading to the chapel of San Martin, another local that became a Saint.

Because he was of mixed color, Martin de Porras was not allowed to become a priest. Nevertheless, he was dedicated to the Dominican Order and served as barbar and doctor and slept under the stairs.  Because of his miraculous healings he was canonized 3 centuries later...

and the infirmary where he worked his entire life was converted into this chapel, now containing his crypt.

Stairs to the choir loft and rear of the chapel.

I love the accoustics in these old churches.

It is amazing how beautiful simplicity can be.

The strong Moorish influence of the 1600's is obvious.

The entire ceiling is made up of thousands of pieces of wood brought from Guatemala and assembled without nails or glue.  Surprisingly, it has survived many earthquakes without damage.

Around the corner from the convent is the Basilica of the Veracruz.

a "place of prayer and not of conversation".

Even though old ...

and abandoned...

Santa Claus still comes to your house.



Another Holiday...Another Trip Downtown

October 8, 2011

Julie and I had such an interesting time when we went downtown last holiday that we figured we would give it another go.

We ventured out from Plaza Mayor and went east.

Yes, we were actually there.  Julie reminds me that "we" are seldom in pictures.

It is interesting how varied the shops and business are.

This is an Internet Cafe...soft drinks but no coffee.

This diner "in the dark" did not seem to have much going on...

but the "almost on the sidewalk" cafe seemed to be doing well.

We braved a deep fried churro with creme filling.

The "kitchen" of this Chinese restaurant was right at the edge of the sidewalk.  Anyone could have stuck their hand in the pot and had a free sample.  Maybe that's where the "special" flavoring comes from.

People do whatever they can to eek out a living.

Some have rather limited offerings.

This entrepeneur had a bathroom scale, and for 7 cents you could check your weight.  Perhaps he was doing promotionals for Jenny Craig.

This guy seemed to have given up.  The cup fastened to his guitar was empty and I never saw him play.  Great gig if you can stay alive.

I think that this little girl realized she would never get ahead unless she did well in school and stuck with it.  When Julie and I came back by 10 minutes later she was still hard at work practicing the letter "A".

Another guy "gone to the dogs".

These must be the retired bunch.

One of the things that drew us towards the east was a better look at the hillside.  The top of San Cristobal hill offers a great view of all Lima on a reasonably clear day but it is an area "non-locals" should not go into.  Nice that my new camera has a 14x zoom.

There were also several churches we wanted to see but this one was closed until evening Mass.  We continued our wandering eastward in the hopes of seeing other historical churches.

These guys thought it was cool that a foreigner was interested in their game.  They offered to let me join in their card game but they would not tell me the rules.  Knowing that it was a betting game I decided not to accept their offer.

We kept walking further away from the town center, not realizing that this tiny carpenter's shop was the last sign of productivity in the neighborhood.

The sights were equally interesting...

but as we continued...

we noticed that...

the city was losing life.

There were fewer people about.

and we were now the attraction for them...

something seldom seen in their part of the city.

Then Julie and I both had the revelation that we were no longer in the safety of the holiday or tourist crowd.  We had ventured too far.

Luckily, we experienced no physical harm, just some heckling from a few exremely rude neighbors.  A quick taxi ride took up back to Plaza Mayor.