After Katrina and I’s adventures in southern Peru we’ve set
a goal: to get to know Lima better.
Now, I know it sounds ridiculous that we haven’t explored
Lima much, but allow me to explain: there are 43 districts that make up Lima.
Six of them are in Callao, which is where we live. The other 37 are further
away. So this week, we loaded up El Comandante (Wilfredo’s car) and visited
three other districts: Barranco, Pachacamac and Santa Rosa.
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| In Barranco with Rocio & Karen |
First stop: Barranco. Barranco is said to be the most
romantic and bohemian area in Lima and indeed, it does have some little
treasures. I especially liked an outdoor piano we found, bathed in bright
yellow paint with a sign reading, “I’m yours, play me.” There are a few big churches,
flowers and parks, and a beautiful walkway on the cliffs over the Pacific
Ocean.
Our main appeal for going to Barranco was to see the Bridge
of Sighs. Tradition says if you can cross the bridge without breathing, a wish will
come true. The trick ONLY works for the very first time you cross the bridge.
We didn’t know this trick, so naturally, we breathed a lot on the bridge, and
thus sighed our wishes away. Rats.
After checking out the bridge (which in all honesty, isn’t
quite what it used to be—it’s just a normal short, wooden walking bridge now),
we went to get some Peruvian BBQ or “Parrilladas.” Peruvian BBQ doesn’t lay on
the BBQ sauce like in the States, but instead focuses on a nice smokey flavor,
some “aji” or chili pepper sauce, and a variety of meat. Like seriously, a
variety: we ate everything from hot dog to chicken to cow heart, stomach and
intestine.
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| Cow intestine anyone? What about cow heart? |
Next stop: Pachacamac and the pre-Incan and Incan ruins
there. I have to say, touring in Arequipa, Puno, Cusco and Iquitos have made
Katrina and I wickedly spoiled, because we’ve become accustomed to having an
informed guide and a small group. Seriously, when we toured the ruins of Sillustani
in Puno, Katrina and I had our own private guide. So, wandering around
Pachacamac guide-less, we felt a little naked; however, while the ruins are no
Machu Picchu, they’re still interesting. The Incas love their sun temples, and El
Templo del Sol in Pachacamac overlooks the Pacific ocean and is breathtaking.
Other than that, honestly, the ruins of Pachacamac are a
work in progress. Only recently did the government make moves to restore and
protect the ruins, and tourism there is pretty new. You can’t get too close to
the ruins, there aren’t very many informative signs or guides available, and
nearly everything is undergoing intense restoration. Seeing the workers
rebuilding things takes some of the wonder and mystery out of the site. For
now, Pachacamac was a worthwhile visit and interesting; in 20 years, I think it
will be a must-see and dare I say, fascinating. “Poco a poco” the ruins will
get there.
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| The Incan Sun Temple at Pachacamac. |
Our final adventure for the week was to the beaches in Santa
Rosa. We’ve actually been to Santa Rosa before for Dia de la Playa, but it was
nice to go there this time for fun rather than business. We played a little
volleyball, snacked, gossiped and got to enjoy the Pacific Ocean, probably for
the last time before we leave Peru (it’s fall here and winter is coming.) We
frolicked about in the waves for more than an hour, and perhaps my favorite part
of the experience was all the “pejerry” or kingfish. We showed up just when the
fish we’re moving towards the shore and Katrina and I shrieked and jumped about
as dozens of little fish slammed into us, leaped out of the water towards us
and slapped their tails against our legs. I have seriously never been in water so
full of fish. Watching each other shriek and jump about was probably my
highlight of the day.
Friday it was back to business as we prepared our Holy Week
and Easter celebrations. We kicked things off Friday in Monte Sion with a movie
called El Perdon. I had assumed it
would be a very Passion of the Christ like,
since Friday is the day of the crucifixion, so I was mildly horrified when I
saw that we had about 30 attendees, all under the age of 12. Luckily the movie
was nothing of the sort; still nothing the children were overly interested in,
but with far less gore.
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| Little Melissa on the beach in Santa Rosa. |
Saturday in Monte Sion we kicked things off by decorating
Easter eggs. Let me pause here to explain that American-Easter isn’t a thing in
Peru; they don’t decorate eggs or understand why Americans represent a man
being brutally murdered by a giant rabbit that inexplicably brings chocolate
eggs. Regardless, some of our host family thought it would be cute to
incorporate a little of American culture into the church festivities, so we boiled
eggs, then decorated them with colored pencils, since there is no food coloring
to be found here.
After that, we jumped into a really nice service, with an
assortment of short testimonies, crucifixion clips, and a short sermon by
Jhonny. While attendance has been lack-luster in Monte Sion as of late, people
came out in force for the holiday; Hermana Maruja’s entire family came, a few
other regulars, and excitingly had attendance by a few 17 and 18 year old’s
lately—a group I would love for us to reach out to.
After church, we began our 20 hour fast to celebrate Easter
(an odd number of hours, I know. It was the first time we’ve tried fasting in
Peru, so I guess we’re starting with baby steps.) The idea stemmed from Jhonny,
who was probably the most vocal complainer about being hungry and repeatedly
asked questions like, “You can eat fruit while you’re fasting, right? No? What
about candy?”
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| Elias with his Easter egg. |
My favorite part of fasting was that it gave us all an
excuse to have a big family lunch when it was over. The family flocked to
Prudencio’s house where we cooked up chicken, beef, potatoes and corn to
celebrate the end of fasting. I love the family dynamic here and how everyone genuinely
enjoys being around each other. The afternoon rounded out with a few games of volleyball
and the typical doting over Paolo, the only grandchild in the family.
We rounded out the week with another church service, this
time in Filideflia, where Marlene preached and Betzabe presided. We ended the
service by celebrating Betzabe’s big news: she’s pregnant! The baby wasn’t in
the plans, but the family sees it as a blessing and seriously has been 100%
supportive. Betzabe and her boyfriend Joseph shared some words, including
testimonies that both of them had been told at some point that they had
problems with fertility; thus, the coming baby is a miracle in itself.
As for this week, it’s flying. We head out to Huanuco
TOMORROW. Katrina and I are frantically washing clothes, packing suitcases and
settling all of our Lima-affairs before we leave. This time around we’ll be in
Huanuco for just one month, so we have to make every moment count.
So—next time you hear from me, I’ll be a Huanuco internet café,
likely with three children I don’t know crowded behind my computer, watching my
every move. Until then!
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