on June 17 we were lucky enough to get a personal tour of downtown Lima from Susy, Yoya and Luis, friends of a friend. there's nothing like getting picked up and driven through crowded streets and escorted into amazingly old buildings of architectural grandure. and they speak really good English matched against our toddler Spanish. but that's not all. we were wisked away to their home for a delicious Peruvian meal including chicha morada (purple corn drink), maiz blanco (corn-nut sized kernel corn), papas ala huancaina with ocopa sauce (potatoes with sauce) and rice. I know there was some kind of meat for Jim but of course I didn't notice that.
After lunch we drove through Barranco which is an artsy little town. we stumbled into a taller de madera (woodworker) who was carving boxes and restoring old wood furniture. after a brief walk, and some spontaneous dancing (not Jim, of course), we headed back to the boat.
grandma just happened to be passing by and couldn't resist the music, nor could Luis
la biblioteca
view in Barranco
artist's loft in Barranco
mask made of gold from the museo in Banco Central de Reserva del Peru
inside la catedral
the choir in la catedral - made of cedar
exposed exterior of a really old building adjacent to the parking lot
