Well, I’ve blogged about the motorcycle races in Lima (pronounced Lye-ma), Ohio. So now I’ll blog a bit about Lima, Peru. After many years in his career as a pro dirt track racer, builder of performance specialty racing motors, shop owner, mechanic, and sponsor of up-and-coming riders, my son morphed into a new and surprisingly different career — owner of pizzerias in Lima (pronounced Lee-ma), Peru. So instead of conversations about lap times, track conditions, and who’s going fast, we now talk about recipes!! When pigs fly, you say? Well, watch out for Porky up there!
Over the past eighteen years, I have been fortunate to have travelled to Peru three times, spending time in three different areas in the country — Miraflores, a touristy area on the Pacific a bit south of downtown Lima; Villa Maria, a suburb of greater Lima that reminded me at first glance of a town in the old wild west; and Paracas, a seaside resort four hours south of Lima. First of all, let me tell you that the people everywhere are great, the food is fresh, and the traffic is insane. Next I will say that most folks in the U.S. have little if any concept of what poverty can look like. I have learned that ajis amarillos (yellow chilies) should be a stable in everyone’s diet. And…never in my life have I seen so many people expending so much time and energy accomplishing so little!
A few vignettes to share! During the first trip I had the opportunity to visit an archaeological museum in Lima to learn about some of the history. When we got to the display on agriculture, I had an “aha!” moment when I recognized the shape of a lima bean. I tried to explain to my companions that at home we called these vegetables lima (lye-ma) beans but that I now saw that they were actually Lima (lee-ma) beans. But they kept insisting I was wrong because the vegetable in question was different from a “bean”. Obviously, plays on words do not translate well. I was focused on “lima”; they could not get past “bean”. But…all in good fun! Also on the first trip, I learned that pizza is important enough that in Miraflores near Park Kennedy there is an entire street named Pizza Alley featuring wall-to-wall pizzerias. In addition, I learned that in downtown Lima, shopping seems to be organized by particular streets for particular products. There was the blue jeans street, the shoe street, the formal attire street, etc. Interesting!!
The second trip showed me that Chinese food is a favorite there as well as pizza. (I would have expected more Peruvian food, but…hey….) We visited a place called Wong’s which was actually rather like a superstore with all kinds of shopping possibilities as well as a Chinese buffet at which you would pay for your meal by the pound, as your plate was weighed when you got through the line. I also learned that a person who fears heights should not embark on a journey to the top of Mount Cristobal in downtown Peru as the trip involves an overcrowded, unbalanced bus travelling up the side of a mountain with switchbacks with a wall of rock on one side of the one and a half lane road and a sheer drop-off, largely with zero guard rail, on the other side. Let’s just say that the panic attack far exceeded the terror I felt when the storm dropped two oak trees on our house while I was in it.
The Paracas trip provided the opportunity to take a motorboat about 20 miles out into the Pacific to visit islands largely comprised of bird guano (poop, specifically) which are inhabited by sea lions, red and silver crabs, Humboldt penguins, and a gazillion birds (gulls, cormorants, Peruvian boobies, etc.) Fascinating! We also visited museums that displayed elongated skulls found in the area over the years. (I have seen reports that there have been DNA tests completed on the skulls and that the DNA is mostly human…but partly from some life form not known to planet Earth.) Hmmmm…….
More Peruvian stories to come in the future. Above are just a few highlights. And the best times there were with family and friends. Love you all!