Peru day 1

Well it was a late night but thankfully our first full day in Lima is here.  We had a really late wake-up which was good, but the breakfast selections were limited.  We managed to find something to eat but nothing to really write about or remember.  We have an afternoon tour today but thankfully it did not start until 2:00pm.  I booked the afternoon tour just in case we arrived late and well we did.  It was a leisurely morning of just hanging out and then our guide arrived.  Our guide was Jimmy and our driver was Jorge.  We were told to call him Cokie (coke-EE) which is a term used for drivers in Peru.  We also got local names.  Colin became 'Carlitos', and I remained Heidi (pronounced Hay-dee).  Our tour today was with Haku Tours and to the "Shanty Town" outside of Lima.

This is probably the poorest area to live and where the majority of the people in Lima call home.  Think a lot of people in a very small area . . . several generations living under the same roof.  These are the hard-working people that make very little money a month . . . very little.  As we drove up, I was amazed at the 'houses'.  I could not imagine living in these standards.  Our first stop was to a local market.

This is where most of residents shopped for basic items and foods.  We stopped at two fruit stands.  The two ladies were so friendly and let us taste some local fruits only grown in Peru.  Even Colin tasted some of the local fruits . . . .

 . . . he is tasting a granadilla.  The outside is like an orange but the inside has black seeds with pulp around.  Most people 'slurp' up the seeds but this kid took out one seed and tasted it and that was about it.  When he first saw it he said, "it looks like fish eyes."  Well, it does and I think in his mind all he could think about was eating fish eyes.  Hey at least he tried it.  The next fruit/pod we tried was called guamo . . .

. . . they called it the 'ice cream bean' because it taste like ice cream but has the texture of cotton candy.  You pop one of the sections in your mouth and spit out the big black seed.  It was pretty good, but I think saying it tasted like ice cream is a bit of a stretch.  Colin's favorite fruit was the Inca Berry.  Our guide told us they are similar to and golden berry in the US.  I liked them too since they were sweet, tart but yummy.  The ladies were so sweet and kind to Colin . . .

As we walked around  we saw such friendly people so happy and loving life. We were told that not many tourist or visitors to Peru especially Lima come to shanty town.   Our tour group was only six people plus our guide and driver.  When the local kids would see us they would all come and meet everyone.  They acted shy but would follow us from time to time. It was obvious that not many visit here and they all want to stop and talk and introduce themselves.  One of the stops we met a lady and she invited us inside her house to see her kitchen  . . .

It was amazing what they used to cook.  In past years there have been many health issues due to burning items that were hazardous in such a closed space.  Now they burn scrap pieces of wood left over from the local furniture but it still amazes me what they used as a kitchen.  I think Colin was really amazed at the living conditions.  We saw a lot of these and were hoping for a ride . . .

. . . but it was all walking.  The stairs to the top of the Shanty Town are really the only way to get to the area.  All the dogs would come out to see what was up too.  Speaking of dogs . . . they were everywhere. We were told they all had homes and when they got hungry, they returned home.  They were all so friendly and would follow along with us.  Colin was loving all of them.

Next stop was at another sweet lady's house.  She served us a special kind of beer.  I don't remember all the ingredients but it had quinoa and fruits and was fermented.  It was only 2% alcohol and was okay tasting.  I let Colin taste it and he sure did seem to enjoy it.  As we walked around I was just amazed . . .

. . . not going to lie but it really makes you feel guilty for what you do have in life.  I even felt terrible for taking photos of the places people lived.  In fact I only took 16 pictures the two hours we were there.  I know this is where these people picked to live, and the people we meet all seemed so happy and beyond words friendly; it still pulls at your heart.

I really enjoyed all the people we would meet.  All so happy and introduced themselves with a hug and/or kiss on the cheek.  The first time a young girl kissed Colin on the cheek was hilarious.  He is not used to that type of greeting and the look on Colin's face was so priceless.  As we left we gave the local leader who escorted us around town a bag of winter clothes for the kids.   I had read there was a need so we packed a suitcase of clothes.  After seeing the kids, I know they will be put to good use . . . wish we had brought more!

We made the drive back to the hotel in the crazy afternoon traffic.  We were both starving so walked half a block to Chili's.  I was fine letting Colin eat there, because I knew once we met our tour group later in the week we would be eating local Peru foods all week.  We took a quick stroll around the Miraflores area. grabbed a snack from the street vendor, and back to the hotel to relax.