Lima, Peru
All the ceviche. It’s safe to say that we have covered the ceviche front in the two days that we have been in Peru. Mission accomplished. Lima is at the forefront of the food scene in Peru (it’s known as the "Gastronomical Capital of the Americas") and we were adamant about trying all we could in two days time. We could have easily stayed longer, but managed to cover a lot of ground. 19 miles to be exact. Yep, you read that correctly. Russ and I spent two days on foot trekking around Lima in search of all the ceviche and pisco sours we could get our hands on. Was it worth the near marathon to find these culinary delights? Absolutely. Case in point below.
That mellow beach pace. All the walking allowed us to take in the sights of Lima. One part Southern California, one part colonial charm, Lima has a little bit of everything to offer. You can find modern restaurants, coffee shops, and even breweries all tucked alongside old churches, adorable town squares, and cobblestone streets. Not to mention the fact that the entire city skirts the rolling coastline of the Pacific. The views are incredible, to say the least. The people are friendly, laid back, and move at a slow, mellow beach pace. There is no rush here.
140 million bottles of water. I didn’t expect to report on sustainability practices happening in Lima, but I did notice two things that I’d like to share. Let’s get the negative out of the way: bottled water. Plastic water bottles are everywhere. Unfortunately, it is not safe to drink tap water here in Peru. Russ and I always travel with our reusable water bottles, but unless we want to be sick as dogs, we have been opting for the bottled water. We calculated that each of us, on average, drink about 5 bottles per day. With tourism being the third largest industry and roughly 4 million people expected to visit Peru this year on an average of 7 days per trip, that roughly equates to 140 million bottles of water. Yikes. That plastic must go somewhere. Inevitably, it sometimes ends up in that beautiful Pacific water I just mentioned above. You can do your part though, even if it is on a small scale. Use reusable bottles whenever you can. Once you get in the habit, it’s really simple AND will save you money. Bonus!
Salud to Lima. Ok, so on to the positive. The portion sizes in Lima were perfect. Never once did we leave anything behind on our plates. And never once did we leave the table feeling hungry. All of the food we had was fresh, preservative-free, with simple ingredients and big flavors. It seems like such a simple concept, to serve normal size portions that leave you satiated and eliminate food waste. We could all take a lesson from Lima (and probably all of Peru, I will report back on this) in portion control. Salud a Lima!
Next up is Lake Titicaca. I can’t wait to share our experiences here as we go from the sea to high up in the Andes Mountains. Stay tuned!