Vamos a Barranco

First I had my first ceviche out here today. It seems that during the lunchtime there are restaurants that open only for lunch called cebicherias and they serve many different kinds of ceviche/cebiche. At the restaurant I found myself in the predicament of not knowing what anything is so I was going to pick something somewhat arbitrarily, but I asked the waiter what I should get. When I told him that I didn't know Spanish he went and got an English menu, but at the same time he sort of decided for me what I should get. Locally the Peruvian ceviche is one made with languado (sole) so that was what he brought me. My lunch looked almost exactly like this. Starting on the left is sweet potato, the big pile is the sole marinated in lime juice/garlic/chili, my meal didn't have the chili slices on it, and then at the bottom is the corn. All of this sat in a puddle of marinade and then I garnished with fresh lime juice. My favorite part was the sweet potato b/c it was sweet and sour, which was cool. Overall it was quite refreshing. My next goal is to get the classic Peruvian experience with Inca Kola (the local soda that really gave Coke and Pepsi a run for their money in the late 80s and early 90s) and ceviche. The second thing about the dish that stuck out was the corn. The corn kernels were the biggest ones I have ever seen (as big as a lima bean). However, they kernels were not the least bit sweet. In the evening discussing this with the office staff I learned that one of them who had sweet corn did not like it at all and thought that this was much better.

Sidenote: I'm still mixing up my Gujarati and Spanish as the other night I was talking with my father in law and kept saying si si.

Last night we went out after work to a different neighborhood than any I have been to so far. Bear in mind that my Peruvian experience thus far has been entirely at night. That's why I have no photos, because nothing will come out at night. My daytime experience is limited to the 3 or 4 blocks around the office, but other then that I haven't seen anything during the day. Anyways we went to a district called Barranco, which reminded me very much of Europe as compared to the financial area and my neighborhood which reminds me of India. The most amazing part of this was all the little bars, cafes, and pubs squeezed next to each other in narrow walkways. We crossed this bridge and on the opposite side turned left at the yellow building. After turning left the path led to an outcropping of sorts that looked right out onto the water. There were tons of people out selling jewelry, paintings, spray paint stuff, etc. The bridge crosses over a canyon that is about 60 ft down so on our way back we walked down there and there were more restaurants and bars. As we walked down the canyon it opened up again to face the ocean. A few observations...as before these areas were overrun by couples (as a group of 5 people we were in the minority), each bar had two to three guys (or women) who would try to sell you on their restaurant, bar, pub, etc. As we walked along they would come out of nowhere with discount cards and who knows what to convince us to go to their establishment. Sometimes they weren't even near their establishment and they would show up, give the sales pitch, and by the time they finished we were walking by their place. We had dinner at a club that was playing loud music, but no one was dancing until 11pm. We had sangria and pizza and then walked on. Another observation at a restaurant they won't make change unless you pay your bill. Even if you have eaten have the check, but just want them to break one of the bills they will take it, try to make change, and return and say they can't. Then if you give the check and all the cash they'll return with the change you wanted. As we walked looking for somewhere else to go there were these guys in the street that you could pay 1 sole (50 cents) and you could use their cell phone to call anywhere. I was intrigued by this and asked someone if I could call internationally, but alas that is not the case this is a domestic only operation.

At the next bar they had live Peruvian music (though I think it's more from Lima than anywhere else). We had piscos and coca sours while listening to this woman sing like mad. The real highlight though for me was that one of the instruments being played was a cajon. I'm not sure if many of you know or not, but I love the cajon, not to be confused with cajones. I have only seen it played live once before this and it just fascinates me. I'm amazed by the variations in sound that it produces and how it can sound like a full drum kit. I really want to see one up close and look inside it, but haven't had the chance. We finished up there and decided to head home in different cabs. Three of us took one and then the others took another one I think. One of our coworkers was beaten by a cab driver at night after she went to get cash so one of the girls with us asked if she could be dropped off first and then the two of us remaining could get off at the same stop since we were staying a block or two apart. I got home and passed out.