Today Lima... Tomorrow Cuzco

I should be sleeping right now since we have to wake up at 2:00 a.m. to make our 5:25 a.m. flight to Cuzco. Today was an eventful day as you can see by the images posted in the last entry. Perhaps the best part of the day though was the food. This morning we had several options at the hotel for breakfast. When it comes to fruit and juice, everything is fresh. This morning I had pineapple, mango, and papaya with extremely flavorful eggs and potatoes. With that I had fresh orange juice and pineapple juice. The pineapple juice was amazing (I'm hoping they will serve it with our 2:45 a.m. continental breakfast!). Because of our early flight tomorrow, we decided to complete a large tour this morning, followed by a late lunch/dinner and free evening. While I enjoyed everything Lima has to offer, it is too much like the cities in North America. I am looking forward to Cuzco. For lunch we went for rotisserie chicken. Our meal began with a salad composed of green beans, carrots, beets, and avacado. I believe we were served a beet juice with this. The salad was followed by a platter of rotisserie chicken and fried potatoes (french fries, but better). Along with this we were also given a small alcoholic drink similar to a whiskey sour. Dinner was by far my favorite so far though. I originally set out with two members of the tour group in search of a cafe, but it was not long before we realized we were extremely hungry. I had suggested sushi because the fish here has the potential to be extremely fresh. We were pleasantly surprised. After deciphering our way through the spanish sushi menu, we split two rolls which included platanos (banana). These were the best sushi rolls I have ever had. The fall roll consisted of a white fish with platanos while the other consisted of platanos, cream cheese, and salmon. The roll was lightly fried and had a wonderful sweet flavor from the platanos. I never would have imagined having banana in a sushi roll. I believe I will now be experimenting at home with the sushi kit I received from my cousin this Christmas. The prices here are interesting. It all depends on where you go. My hotel charges US$1.50 for a bottle of water, but earlier today I was able to get the same bottle of water for US$0.30. With dinner tonight, however, that same bottle of water was a little over US$1.00. You have to be very careful when making purchases. Most places accept US dollars and might even give you change back in the same currency, but not always. A meal can be as little as US$2.00 at one restaurant, but as much as US$30.00 less than a block away. I have yet to see any cuye on the menu.

I have had some questions thrown my way. One made me smile, "How tall are people here?" Well, that all depends. Now that you mention it, they are a little on the short side. However, I have been around the Kean group and many tourists. Overall, Peruvians on average are about 5 feet 6 inches, so we see eye to eye.

"How do they dress?" This one depends on where you go. So far in Lima, most people dress like we do in North America. I have seen people in jeans and t-shirts, business attire like suits (on women and men), and dress shirts with slacks. I have seen a few people in the indigenous attire. If you look at the images I posted, there is a photo I snapped of a woman on a park bench outside the San Francisco Monastery. I am assuming I will see more of this style in Cuzco. One thing that is definitely different is how bright everyone's clothing can be. Sometimes it appears almost neon. In the airport yesterday, women selling cell phones were wearing electric blue suits with neon green dress shirts. Some of the textiles have hot pink and neon green in them. It fits the area and especially the feeling the weather invokes.

"Is it as busy as New Jersey?" I'm sure it is, but there is something about this area that doesn't feel as busy to me. Again, it all depends on where you go. We have not experienced a traffic jam, but then again, there's an average of three lanes of traffic everywhere you go. Bus lanes help keep the traffic moving. You can see images of traffic in the images I posted to judge for yourself. One thing is for sure, I would never want to attempt driving here. There's no traffic laws!! One thing I would like to learn while I am here, why are there people either standing in the middle of traffic with a clip board taking notes or on the side of the road? I wish I had been able to take a picture of one of these people. They seem to be monitoring the traffic somehow.

I had mentioned that Lima was very clean which led to the questions, "Does the air smell cleaner too?" Yes it does. However, it is very humid. But it doesn't rain here!! It just drizzles. The air does smell clean to me, but some places have a musty or mildew smell because of the humidity and also probably because of the age of most of the buildings. Many buildings date back to the Spanish Conquest. The ocean is also right here which I am sure helps clean the air.

I hope to be able to post tomorrow. If not, think of me in Cuzco. The altitude in Cuzco is 11,600 feet. That was cruising altitude for the plane on the way into Lima, which is at 5,079 feet.