The Wonderful Foods of Lima, Peru

Peru literally has the pick of the crop when it comes to agriculture and Peruvian cuisine is not only influenced by its own indigenous cultures but also by the cuisines brought in by immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The food is a fusion of cultural techniques and traditions with locally available ingredients. 

Before heading to Peru a quick Google search will show that everyone has food on their minds as page after page comes up with '10 things you have to eat in Peru' or 'Don't miss out on these foods in Peru'. Using these as my guides we ate our ways around the country through Cusco and Lima.

One of these said searches brought Canta Rana restaurant to my attention. The decor looked fun and the food looked good. Located at Genova 101, in Barranco District we arrived to an empty restaurant. Normally I would have misgivings about eating at a seemingly unpopular restaurant, (not always bad reasons to be empty as I had discovered in Vienna) but to be fair it was pretty early for supper and on a random weekday. 

I opted for the ceviche as I had yet to have any during my travels through Peru and Bolivia, which is just a crying shame. Our foodie tour guide told me that actually ceviche is something that Peruvians only really eat for breakfast as that is when the fish is freshest. Totally makes sense, but what can I say? I was a tourist on this one and it was delicious despite being my dinner instead of breakie.

Eimear ordered the Lomo Saltado which is a typical Peruvian dish consisting of marinated beef with stir fried veg, french fries and rice. It was also quite good. (Yes, I tried it! You go to a restaurant with me, you better be sure I'm having a bite of whatever you're having.)

My favourite food spot of Lima was La Lucha Sangucheria Criolla on Av. Sta. Cruz 847 in Miraflores, which I believe to be more or less fast food, but Peruvians are known for fresh ingredients  so even fast, it's quality. Place your order at the counter, pay, take a seat and wait for the food to be brought to you. While standing in line, trying to decipher the Spanish into food items we knew, a very kind, older gentleman overheard us and gave us a hand translating the menu. (I do love travel moments like that!) In the end I went with Pollo con Pina & queso (chicken with pineapple and cheese) with a side of fries and it was divine.

On another day, after a morning of admiring the grand architecture of the old town of Lima we getting hangry for some lunch and just wanted something cheap and cheerful. We found a small sandwich shop with the tiniest upstairs seating area and enjoyed ham and cheese sandwiches and of course an Inca Kola (It is the national drink of Peru after all). As we paid our bill at the counter on our way out, an interesting looking biscuit caught Eimear's eye. We have no clue what it was, but it was the perfect ending to a light lunch. 

Stepping into hole-in-the-wall food places while travelling helps you experience life like the locals. We dined with the regular lunch crowd, away from the tourists and those tourist trap restaurants. 

Of course we also partook in the tradition of libations while travelling. A few Peruvian beers here and a Pisco Sour or two (or three) there. There's some debate over the origin story of the Pisco Sour, but this lime, simple syrup and egg white cocktail has been in the Peruvian tumbler for over 100 years.

Eimear was the photographer of this photo of my cheekbones  

The Trad Pisco Sour on the left

We seemed to be doing pretty well on our own, finding great local digs to eat and even getting to try some cultural foods. But we wanted more.

Eimear and I decided to find a food tour. I don't remember what exactly lead us to want to do it, as neither one of us have ever done one before, but I love food and I love trying new food so really I'm just surprised it's taken me this long to do one.

We did a little online research over our hotel breakfast and booked in with Food Walking Tour Peru for a food tour of the Bohemian Barranco District. Our tour was to start in the early evening and turned out to just be the two of us with our guide. We met at the Plaza de Armas and went to our first stop, Juanito Bodega Bar. 

We were served a plate of Aji de gallina (delicious chicken curry) and told a story about the owner. On the wall is a wooden go kart with a photo of the owner at 12 years old riding in said kart. It's a family run restaurant and you can tell that it's more than just the food that people visit come to this place for.

The owner behind his bar

The next stop was Cevicheria Union. We had a seat on the breezy patio and snacked on Canchita (giant seasoned, un-popped popcorn snack) and I'm addicted to these things. I've never seen the kernels quite so big!

The soup came out which was a Chilcano de Pescado, a fish broth soup that is known as a local hangover cure. Our guide suggested adding aji (chili) hot sauce to the bowl. The options came in 3 colours; red is from the coast, green the south, yellow from the jungle.

We were next taken to the Puente de los Suspiros (Lima's Bridge of Sighs), a wooden bridge which spans the Bajada de Baños. And as all good, small, wooden bridges do there is of course a legend to go along with it. Crossing the bridge for the first time you are granted one wish, but only if you are able to hold your breath while crossing the 30 meter length. 

Eimear forming her wish and preparing to hold her breath for the crossing

On the other side of the bridge is Javier, our next restaurant stop. As we walked to our seat I saw a poster for the infamous Anticucho (beef heart) and I hoped that's what we were there for. I'd been wanting to try this Peruvian street food, but hadn't been brave enough. Sure enough the smoking grilled beef hearts were brought out to us and they were oh so good. 
We mentioned to our guide that we were also interested in trying Picarones which are fried dough circles (like a fried doughnut) served with syrup. The dough is principally made up of squash and sweet potato. It's not sugary sweet, but it is a nice dessert.

Once we finished our food at Javier it was time for second dessert at a small food stand in Federico Villarreal Park. There sat these two beautiful woman who serve up warm cupfuls of Arroz con leche. I'm usually not a fan of rice pudding, but this one lovely.

Now it was time to wash down all our food with some liquids. First up was the Inca Kola from a corner store. People were gathered in the store socializing and drinking. You don't walk away with the glass bottles here in Peru. Drink up and pass the bottle back to the store clerk.

And to finish our 4 hour food tour off we stopped at another street stall, Obdulia Emolientera, that concoct various health drinks, for us they made the thick Peruvian health drink Emoliente that contains no less than 18 ingredients. I couldn't list them all and even a Google search doesn't list that many, but everyone does agree of the health benefits of this warming Peruvian drink.

Aloe Vera being scraped into the drink

Anyone else now hungry?

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Bowler Hats and Ballet Flats: Cholita Wrestling

"So I'm thinking while we're there we'll take the Teleferico, I really want to visit El Alto market, and go to a cholita wrestling match." That's how the conversation started when Eimear told me her itinerary for La Paz, Bolivia.

"Wrestling?" I've been friends with Eimear for 10 years now and this was the first I had ever heard about an interest in wrestling.

"Yeah! Cholita wrestling is where these bad-ass Bolivian women wrestle each other like WWE style." She explained.

"Uh, that sounds so weird and amazing! We're totally going!"

Despite any first impressions you might have, the fighting cholitas are helping to empower the mostly indigenous women who take part in this form of professional entertainment. Not only 'proving their worth' in a man's world, but enabling the female working class to earn their own money and gain independence. She tends to her family and everyday life during the week, but come Sunday evening she can be found in the ring in front of hundreds of spectators, preforming moves and story lines inspired by American WWE and Mexican lucha libre professional wrestling.

The word cholita used to be a derogatory term for the peasant Aymaran and mixed raced women, but over time they have made claim to the term and wear it now with pride. It reflects their strong, resilient nature, bold and confident attitude.

For me, part of the appeal was to watch the cholitas battle it out while in their traditional garb which consists of long braided hair, a bowler hat, la pollera; a colourful skirt cut just above the ankle (believed to be the most beautiful part of a Bolivian woman), les enaguas; layered, frilly petticoats to give volume to the skirt, la blusa; long or short sleeved blouse, la manta; llama or alpaca wool shall worn on the shoulders, and los calzados; flat, rounded toe shoes. The twirling and swirling skirts was mesmerizing. Surreal is the most appropriate word. I admired one performer's ballet flat while cheering the other one on as she climbed the ropes preparing to jump her opponent.

There's story behind the bowler hat worn by the cholitas, as you might expect. Back in the 1870s when the railways were being constructed by British engineers in Bolivia, a shipment of bowler hats were sent for them to wear. When the hats arrived it was discovered that many of them were too small to fit the men's heads. Rather than throw them away as wasted stock, some salesman got crafty and told the cholitas that these hats were the height of fashion for European women. The hats were also believed to help with a women's fertility. Today the hats, worn with pride, tell the marital status of a Bolivian woman; worn in the middle means married, to the side, she's single or widowed, and tilted to the back "it's complicated"!

Originally, it was just men in the ring, but about 12 years ago cholita wrestling moved into the mainstream. It was an opportunity for women in domestic abuse and similar situations to get out their frustration and gain confidence. Not until local wrestler and promoter thought to move the cholitas on to the main stage did they start with a money making enterprise. They recently started their own association.

While travelling the countryside from La Paz to Uyuni I did start to notice stores, restaurants, and even street vendors--everyone really, watching wrestling imported from Mexico and America. Bolivia loves wrestling!

The evening starts with male wrestling before moving on to the cholitas. It's a fun atmosphere with popcorn and drinks. The wrestlers of each match enter the arena with the pomp and circumstance appropriate for the circus about to be witnessed.

The story lines border melodrama and comedy, and even if you can't understand Spanish it is clear who the goodies and the baddies are.

The audience is encouraged to participate in the antics with boos and cheers and by throwing things at the wrestlers, in turn they are sprayed with water and Coke.

We booked our tickets through a travel company which gave us transportation up to El Alto, and a drink ticket for the event. On the bus ride over one of the performers talked to us, telling her story and explaining the clothing and training the cholitas go through to prepare. She was 16 years old and has only been preforming for a year. A cholita must train for at least a year before they are allowed to fight publicly.

They train hard to learn the sometimes acrobatic moves and how to not hurt themselves during a fight.

It was odd being so entertained by people jumping on each other and bashing it out. We had worried that we would hate it and want to immediately leave, but these women know how to work a crowd and just like the word 'cholita' and the bowler hat, they have adopted lucha libre and made it uniquely theirs.

"It's either going to be good craic or cringe worthy." Eimear finished her thought. I'm glad it was the former.

If you find yourself in La Paz on a Sunday or Thursday, don't hesitate to get your ticket to the main event.

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Why You Need to Cross Bolivia Off Your Bucket List

South America is a popular destination for travelling, with Brazil and Argentina continually topping tourism rankings. If South America hasn't been on your radar, it should be. Something can be found for everyone as the continent boasts a diverse climate; from rain forest to glacier; an ancient history; unique gastronomy, and a culture influenced by its indigenous peoples, for a start.

I've written a few posts about my trip to Peru (with a few more to come), but in my opinion there are so many reasons why you should also cross Bolivia off your bucket list (or add it to your bucket list to cross off). It's kinda gotten a bad rap in the past, but really it's a great place, be it a bit rough around the edges.

They have the salt flats

If you don't know what salt flats are, I'll give you a moment to Google it, the short answer is it's a desert created by an evaporated pool of water over thousands of years. It's something incredible to behold.

We did the classic 3 day salt flats tour and I couldn't believe my eyes. After seeing pictures of it online, I knew I wanted to make my own trip to Salar de Uyuni, but it was so much more than what I was anticipating.

Landscapes Like these

The geography of Bolivia is unique to its other South American neighbours. It's a landlocked country (since 1883) and is more urban than rural in development. There are a chain of dormant volcanoes, part of the Andes, that make up the natural boarder with Chile. Ecoclimates vary so dramatically from the tropical east to polar climates of the west, effecting the make up and natural vegetation of the land.

Meaning; no matter where you go in this country, the wild, ruggedness will take your breath away.

Along with Llamas, there are flamingos

Pre Bolivia, the closest I'd come to seeing a flamingo was of the plastic variety on a manicured lawn. I was not expecting to see these easily identifiable birds in such a harsh climate.

The once believed to be extinct James' Flamingo is most commonly seen feasting on algae in the 'coloured' largos of Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve.

But really. Just look at that backdrop!

my lord! mouthwatering Jawitas

Pastry clouds of cheesy heaven. What more could be said about the Jawitas? Unless you've tried it, you don't even know.

Originating from a small town called Chulumani, people visiting would buy several of these pastries to bring home with them to share and eat later. But eating them freshly baked is so much better. Jawitas slowly made their way to La Paz, more specifically to El Alto, a suburb of La Paz, created by the mass movement of people coming from rural regions into the city and bringing bits of home with them.

Thursdays and Sundays at El Alto Market

Highly recommend experiencing El Alto Market for yourself. Also highly recommend you don't do it BY yourself. It is notoriously known as a pickpocketer's heaven (sometimes worse), and not a common tourist attraction. We went with Sky Walk Tour conveniently located in the lobby of our hostel and the tour guides definitely had our backs. Navigating our way there, telling us where was safe to take pictures, and even introducing us to the Jawitas (see above).

{Part} Home of Lake Titicaca

South America's largest lake, the world's highest navigable lake, and properly pronounced Lake Tee-tee-kaw-kaw (stiffle those giggles, they don't like that very much). This beautiful, deep lake straddles the Peru and Bolivia boarder. It's worth a gander.

They have The fish

Despite being landlocked, they have some excellent fish coming from Lake Titicaca. Don't be afraid to ask for the trout at one of the many lake side eateries. You won't be disappointed.

They have their own ancient ruins

Peru has Machu Picchu, Bolivia has Tiwanaku. This Pre-Columbian empire reached from Peru to Chile with western Bolivia as its centre.  There are many theories as to the particular make up of the empire, but whatever the political, religious, or economic authority they left behind some incredible ruins and sculptures in the city of Tiwanaku. No epic hiking required.

They love a celebration

We had heard about the Bolivian love for a celebration and saw remnants of party bunting and general parade merriment all over La Paz. On one of our last days in the city we were heading out to dinner and came across a fantastic parade. Much dancing, drinking, and music was going down.

I couldn't tell you what it was all about, but it was fun to watch.  Who doesn't love a parade?

And that, my friends, are just some of the reasons why you need to visit the ruggedly handsome, wildly beautiful, Bolivia.

Have you been to Bolivia? What do you think of my list? Anything you would add?

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