back on the juice

Much as we loved being high up in the mountains, it was good to get back to sea level again, if only because the headaches were becoming tiresome! We quickly settled into big city life again in Lima, this time staying in the Barranco district, which we soon twigged is the capital´s bohemian/alternative party hot spot. A lot of this partying seemed to go on in our hostel, but fortunately we were up for it again after several days of early nights and no drinking (if it wasn´t the malaria tablets, it was dodgy stomachs, or the altitude), so it was almost like a weekend back in London!

Having said that, it was undoubtedly friendlier (the Andean reserve we encountered in Huaraz definitely doesn't apply to Lima!), and we made a bunch of new friends, the majority of them gay (Barranco, and our hostel in particular seemed particularly gay-friendly by Latin American standards). A Brazilian guest knocked everyone up feijoada and caipirinhas on the Saturday, as a preamble to the hostel basically mutating into a house party, which the hostel's owners seemed only too happy to join...! This went on for a while, till the party for some reason got moved nearer our room (where Becka had retired for the night), at which point I had a gentle word.

We made our journey to the place which serves the "best ceviche in the world" before leaving Lima, despite the warnings about the neighbourhood - and glad to say, it didn't disappoint. In fact, it was so excellent that I don't think either of us will bother eating ceviche again on this trip, as it would inevitably suffer by comparison. Chef Wong ("El Chino Wong" as he is affectionately known locally) did all the prep in the corner of the dining room, in an extension to his own house, it seems. We spent most of the time watching him and his incredible knives in action, awestruck. The ceviche was sole and octopus, and the "main" (which basically is whatever he feels like cooking that day, and whatever the catch has been) was a superb sole and Chinese mushroom stir fry in black bean sauce. Becka was totally starstruck when he agreed to have this photo taken with us!

It's got to be said - not just at Chez Wong, but in general - that Lima has perhaps the best restaurants of any of the cities we've visited so far on our trip, and will probably end up the overall winner (maybe Cochabamba or Iquique will make a late stab for glory, but I doubt it somehow). The fact that one of the country's biggest celebrities is the portly chef Gastón Acurio probably says something about the importance and prestige placed on gastronomy in Peru. The other biggest name at the moment seems to be the actress Magaly Solier, the star of the film nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars (La Teta Asustada - a big deal here as it´s the first time Peru has ever had a film nominated), who we´ve taken to as she speaks Quechua AND did devil horns on the red carpet for all her metalhead buddies back home!

Having thoroughly enjoyed our time in Lima, we´ve now headed to Arequipa - the town itself is very pleasant and seems more well-to-do than other Peruvian cities we´ve seen, although that doesn't stop it being very noisy, or people hassling you to buy stuff on the street all the time. Still, it's Colca Canyon country, so we'll go and check that out tomorrow, and hopefully not get hassled by any condors. The sharper-eyed among you may have noticed I am currently rocking a beard. Becka is very keen on it, though I´ve told her to enjoy it while it lasts as it may not last much longer...