The Magical Water Tour: Lima Shines

Lights, water and action. Ok so maybe that is not the way you heard it before, but it is definitely the way you should visualize it.

 It is the way you will see the water show here at Parque la Reserva near central Lima. The park is called the Circuito Magico de Agau or Magical Water Tour.

The park entry costs 4 soles and it is worth the trip. I admit I was hesitant but after hearing several stories about the park I decided to check it out.

The park really consists of two locations connected by an underground tunnel. My pictures of the tunnel did not turn out so great. However, the tunnel itself is really interesting as it is a museum to water and the patch you follow is an illustration of the river Rimac which flows through western Peru.

If you visit the park in the winter (northern summer) remember to bundle up. It gets cold here.

Take your camera and enjoy the show!

Mistura Part 2: More From Peru's Food Festival

The most important culinary event in Peru continues to make headlines and thrill those of us (like me) who love Peruvian food. This is my second blog post about Mistura 2011. It is just that good that it deserves another post. I even got to take a pic with  a hot coke model. 

Old fashioned snow cones are also up for sale here. The vendors use old technology to make one of the best snow cones you will ever taste. They have coconut, tamarind, passion fruit, and many other tropical delights.

Going from cold to a warm drink (which you need in this cold climate) I will share my favorite warm drink.. It was a boiled tea with the types of fruit cooking in the tea water. 

The event continues until September 18, 2011. Entry costs 20 Soles but tickets are sold out. Remember to buy tickets from a “legitimate-looking scalper” and just make you do not pay more than 10 soles above the regular entry price. I asked one of the local police officers to look at my tickets before I purchased them to make sure they were ok. He was nice enough to do so.You have to buy tickets for food products which generally run between 2-12 soles. For reference, a dollar is worth about 2.75 soles at the current exchange rate.

¡Buen provecho!

Mistura 2011: The best cuisine in Peru

Mistura 2011. This is the place to be if you like food…Peruvian food to be exact. This annual food festival takes the best restaurants and chefs from the around country to exhibit, compete and sell their cuisine.

Peru is a country that is gaining prominence for its cuisine. Peruvian restaurants around the world are opening up to introduce Peruvian food to the world.

Some of the more famous (and to some people more tasty) dishes are the famous anticuchos (cow hearts on a skewer) and grilled chicken hearts.

I personally prefer the tiraditos or raw fish with various sauces. This is much like the better known ceviche (or cebiche) but with a slightly different taste.

Stands line the area at the “Parque de la Exposición" in downtown Lima. I strongly recommend you visit Mistura if you are in Lima. The event is from Septmeber 9-18, 2011. 

Entry costs 20 Soles but they are sold out. You can still buy from a scalper just make sure they are legitimate tickets and do not pay more than 10 soles above the regular entry price. You have to buy tickets for food products which generally run between 2-12 soles. For reference, a dollar is worth about 2.75 soles at the current exchange rate.

 If you can’t go to Mistura, I still hope you can seek out some tasty Peruvian food to try for yourself.

Home Shopping: Peruvian Style

Today I attended a home show in Plaza San Miguel here in Lima. I am trying to decide if I want to eventually buy an apartment here. The expo was held in a nice shopping center in the working class neighborhood of San Miguel.

It was pretty much what I expected from a home show anywhere but with a little more shtick. Sexy girls in tight pants and costumed animal critters passed out brochures and balloons to folks as they talked to vendors.

There were even some demos set up to give you a feeling that you were in the apartment.

There were (mostly) apartments with some condos and stand-alone housing in neighborhoods from all around Lima. Most of the sellers seemed to focus on apartments in the $50,000-$100,000 dollar price range, that is to say lower middle class to middle class range for the most part.

What might surprise many people is that most pre-sells are much cheaper but you must purchase very far in advance. For example, most apartments now in pre-sell will not be move-in ready until the September-December 2012 time period. Something else interesting to note is that in Peru if you buy an apartment or rent an unfurnished one you will generally not have any appliances not even a stove. Everything comes separately.

I don’t know if I will ever purchase property but looking for a home in a new country is always an experience.

Magdalena del Mar: Quiet District on the Sea

Its name is officially Magdalena del Mar, but folks just call it Magdalena. You don’t hear much about the small and quiet seaside district of Magdalena in western Lima. It is overshadowed by the wealthy San Isidro to the south and the chaotic and often-cited dangerous Callao to the north.

This district is known as a working-class neighborhood where kids play in the park and families gather along the seawall. When I ask about what type of neighborhood it is people often say it hasn’t been a place they recommended in the past but new construction is changing that attitude. There are nice and even relatively high-end apartment buildings going up along the seawall here.

According to the district’s website listed below the Spanish began building a church here in 1535 and the area officially became incorporated into the city of Lima in 1920.

http://munimagdalena.gob.pe/

I personally think Magdalena is a pretty district with a really nice location on the sea. I am glad I got to know it.

Getting To Know Barranco: Ocean, Hipsters & Colonial Buildings

Barranco is one of the most picturesque and interesting neighhboods in Lima. It is nice and safe but chic and grungy at the same time. Barranco is located between the neighborhoods of Chorrillos to the south and Miraflores in the north.

The district of Barranco dates back to the 1800s but there was settlement here along the coast as early as the 1500s. Barranco is at the same time historic and gentrified and young and vibrant.

I always think that Barranco reminds me of the East Village in New York City or East Berlin. The people here in Lima say Barranco is very bohemian. If you come here looking for a place to live know that bohemian does not mean cheap. Barranco is known to be a semi-pricey place to live in Lima.

Some of the more famous sites include the puente de suspiros (bridge of sighs), bajada de los baños, and the main plaza with the church.

Many of the streets have are lined with graffiti and the streets are filled with kids riding skateborads. The attitude here is young and hip. Have a coffee and enjoy. This is the place to watch the sea, enjoy the hipsters and chill out.

A good Spanish-language resource for Barranco is the following: http://www.barranco.net 

Earthquake in Peru: My first sismo en Lima

Today the ground moved, literally when an earthquake struck Peru (sismo). It happened just before 1pm Peruvian time (1pm CST). 

Courtesy usgs.gov

The earth moved once while I was at my desk talking to one of the administrative assistants. She asked, ¨Was that an earthquake?¨ I responded, ¨I think it is¨ and at that time another tremor struck. We could feel the ground shaking beneath our feet and chairs and the desks and furniture in the office moved.

We all followed quickly and efficiently the predetermined evacuation route. Luckily for me, (not for them) Peruvians are used to tremors and quakes. I have experienced a couple of earthquakes in Costa Rica but this was my first one while living in Peru. We all evacuated to the main plaza on campus (USIL) where you see the large ¨S¨that stands for zona segura or safe zone.

We in Lima were quite distance away from the epicenter of the quake in Pucallpa which is located along the Peru/Brazil border. But we still felt the tremors. The phone lines were overwhelmed for a few minutes. The best way to send and receive information was via facebook and twitter. Social media proved to be invaluable to both find out and convey information. 

The experience was a shock but a good learning experience for what to expect the next time we experience a quake here in Peru.