Lima!

I am finally in Peru!  (OK, this entry was written earlier, but I am finally getting to posting it now.)  Before going to Cuzco to start my research, I will be staying in Lima for a couple of days getting used to Spanish and meeting with friends and others here AND watching a couple of movies in a local movie theater.  Included in the next couple of days is a trip to Chavin de Huantar, a ceremonial site dating back to the first millennia BCE, and Huaraz, home of the nearby Mt. Huascaran, the tallest and probably one of the most beautiful mountains in Peru.

The official logo of the Dallas Restaurant
in San Borja, Lima.

In Lima, I spend most of my time in Miraflores, one of many (43) districts in Lima and one of the safest.  Everything here is very far apart - Miraflores is like its own city with its own mayor and central square.  Imagine coordinating 40-some people from different political parties and you can see why it is so difficult for Lima as a whole to agree on policies and actions.  The city has also definitely been influenced by Western culture; chains such as Starbucks, Pinkberry and the ever ubiquitous McDonalds are here along with a plethora of bookstores, Western music, and English speakers.  (There is even a restaurant in a local part of Lima called "Dallas," and it serves ribs, steak, and other American influenced types of meat.  It is funny to see what other people think about American food.)

Cerviche!

Of course, Lima is one of the centers of Peruvian gastronomy.  I have already had lomo saltado (beef, potatoes, tomatoes, onions and rice in a sweet brown sauce) and am planning on having cerviche (raw fish bathed in lemon sauce) before very long.




Off to the Archaeology Museum and then an evening with Captain America at Larcomar!  Post about Chavin/Huaraz/Cusco coming soon...

A blurry picture of Larcomar - an incredibly touristy (but safe) shopping mall overlooking the ocean.  The big deal?  It has a movie theater!