My month in Lima was one of my best months on RY (see This Must Be The Place). It was also my most adventurous month. I did a lot in Peru and several things for the first time. It was more than having a full calendar, it was that I had a month filled with new and enjoyable experiences.
My first new experience is all about taste. Lima is known for its food and is home to some of the highest ranking restaurants in the world. A foodie paradise. I abhor the word foodie. It makes my skin crawl, but since I already put in on the table, let’s just say I am the opposite of a foodie. I eat to keep from being hungry and I value my dining company as much as I do the food.
So I was surprised to find myself saying yes to my first tasting menu. The yes came after my initial internal no. I didn’t want to spend the money because it felt like a waste. I have simple taste and I’m not a very adventurous eater. Yet I had friends in town and I wanted to spend time with them.
I can be a total miser when it comes to spending money. So sometimes I need to call mom for a quick reality check. Those calls usually end with her encouraging me to spend the damn money already. This time her encouragement was about the company. She reminded me that above all it’s about the shared experience and that they came all this way to see me so I could say yes to the dinner invite in return.
Seldom wrong, and right again mom. It was unlike any meal I’ve ever had! We did the tasting menu and wine pairing at Astrid y Gastón. Many would credit the head chef and owner Gastón Acurio for introducing fine dining to Lima. As my Lima Spanish teacher taught me, Gastón got his start about 15 years ago with a TV show where he would showcase local cuisine through the lesser known treasures of Lima. And with each episode he brought lines around the block to hole in the wall establishments. From there he opened Astrid y Gastón, his first of many restaurants.
Now I know why people use the word experience after dining. It was more than a meal. It was fifteen courses served over four hours, with a companionate wine or liquor for each course. There was even a theatrical element to the presentation of the food with each course coming on a unique serving dish: one presentation more stunning than the next. Some of the dishes were melt in my mouth amazing, others were simply new flavors or textures, but I am proud of myself for trying them all.
My tastebuds got the ride of their life that night. Later that month I found myself taking the literal ride of my life as we went dune bashing in UFO territory outside Lima. I should preface this next story by letting you in on a not-so-secret secret: speed scares me. Speed demon I am not. I am the kid who found that rollerblading down the driveway was too much acceleration for my taste.
So how did I find myself on four wheels in the middle of the desert? Well it was one part birthday, one part YOLO (another word I abhor), and one part why not? I went with a group of my Ohana for our friend Rockow’s birthday. I wanted to celebrate her and I wanted to push myself to do something that might make me uncomfortable because I had a sneaking suspicion it was going to be a helluva lot of fun.
And what do you know…it was a helluva lot of fun! I rode permanent shotgun to Kat, my badass driver. I was getting enough of a thrill in the passenger seat and I also knew I couldn’t handle the steep drop offs in the driver's seat (the dead giveaway being me closing my eyes during almost every single one). I find it best to have a driver behind the wheel with both eyes open.
Eyes open or closed, I loved every second! The speed, the unpredictability of driving on sand (where every turn feels like you just might tip over), the drops, and speaking of drops, the 80s baby in me loved the fact that every time I dropped the visor on my helmet, I had a Top Gun Maverick moment.
I am not dangerous but maybe I do have the need for speed after all. Or not. Either way it did confirm that I enjoy activities where you get dirty. We got out of those buggies looking like Mad Max extras and I liked it. As adults you don’t get many opportunities to revert to childhood, when you would measure the sign of a good time by how dirty you got your clothes.
I went from a high octane ride to a high leisure ride on two wheels. My favorite way to explore a new city is by bike. I signed up for a bike tour with Lima Bike Rental and Tours and got two of my Ohana, Taylor and Theresa, to join me.
So the three T’s lucked out with a beautiful day and a great guide named Ronny. Lima is the only South American capital city on the water and we made good use of the paths overlooking the water: cruising from one neighborhood to the next. I knew we were riding with a true professional when one of our stops was an ice cream parlor, well played Ronny. We made our way from Barranco back to Miraflores just in time to catch the sunset along the waterfront. Lima is known for its food, but if you ask me, Lima sunsets take the cake.
Speaking of taking the cake, this months adventure that takes the proverbial cake is hiking Machu Picchu. It was such a singular experience that it gets its very own blog post (see Movement).
I had my fair share of thrills this month. Yet the biggest of them all has nothing to do with speed or adrenaline. Lima is such a memorable month because the month was heavy on experience memories versus work memories. It is one of the few months I look back on and don’t think about work.
Make no mistake, I did the weekday grind. Yet I had more time off than ever before thanks to not one, but two holidays (Veterans Day and Thanksgiving). I also took time off to visit with my friends. The time I took off for our Machu Picchu trek then bled into the generous Thanksgiving holiday (my company gives the day before, of, and after), resulting in ten consecutive days off work.
It was glorious! This was the longest stretch of time I had off in any city - so it’s no wonder I think so fondly of my time in Lima. It was a luxury to get more than a Saturday and Sunday to explore and experience the city. And explore and experience I did: from new experiences to new places - getting outside Lima into the desert and to new cities like Cusco and Aguas Calientes was a gift.
I got to see more of Peru than any other country. It is a magical place. And when I say magical I’m not being one of those women who fancies herself a pixie and likes to be whimsical. I’m being literal as you know what. Peru is mysteriously enchanting. Peru put a spell on me. As the song of the same name goes “I’m yours right now.” Peru had me in the moment and that is a beautiful place to be.
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