Friday, August 14, 2009

Peru Adventures #1: ¿El es un gay?








HOLA mis homies ;) Our adventures actually started prior to arriving to our destination. Sanmathi and I chilled all night with my roomies and friends as we savored our last hours together (as you can tell, we love each other). Our flight was at 6AM, but S and I didn´t leave for SFO until 455... the reason why we left so late will remain top secret. We sped down the 101 at 90-100mph and made it to SFO in 15 flat, but arrived at the wrong terminal, thus finding ourselves sprinting through SFO to the domestic Delta counter with our huge ass REI backpacks. Seriously like somethin from a movie, right? Fortunately, airport officials directed us to the line for "the slow moving mornin people". So we made it to our gate with 15 minutes to spare/wipe off our sweat.

Our Peru crew consists of four people - Uncle P aka Apollo, Vy Le aka Vida, Sanmathi aka Solita, and myself aka Sol. The only common link between the four of us is me. All these friends come from different walks of my life, but nevertheless, I think we have some great crew chemistry. Everyone is incrediby laid back, and down for anything... and really freaken hilarious in our own ways. We all have strong personalities, but in the right conbination so that we´re not clashing... THANK GOODNESS.

15 hours later...
We arrived in LIMA after a four-hour layover in the ATL!! Our taxi driver took a minute to locate our hostel, but alas, we made it in by 1AM Peru time. We PASSEED THE HELL OUT, and woke up refreshed. Our hostel is located in Miraflores, which is the place to be in Lima. The bustlin streets are lined with shops, bars, restaurants, and PERUVIANS! Surprisingly, the number of tourists is pretty low. Natives seemed to be intrigued by our diverse group, with curious eyes wondering where we are from. The most captivating thing about this city is the juxtoposition between the new and the old. The blocks are lined with a buildings with a variety of different architectures - Spanish, Colonial, Baroque, and super modern. Peruvians seem to be obsessed with glass facades. It´s the new black apparently...

Anyway, I don´t have much time to write about our amazing experiences we´ve had in just a day, but to make a long story short, we´ve already experienced delicious Peruvian cuisine, from all kinds of empanadas, adobo de pollo, and MUCHO postres. ALSO, we purchased a Peruvian wine for 50 soles ($17, which is pricey here) called Picasso from the Ica region of Peru. It was a Malbec reserva aged in oak for 12 months. The wine was fairly light to medium bodied with tannins on the softer side, and lucious with red cranberries, cherries, and blackberries. This wine was quite an elegant for a Malbec, while a fair amount of complexity. There is a substantial amount of minerality with a baking spice sweetness on the finish due to the barrel aging of the wine. The finish lingers a bit, but I would say this is a nice everyday wine... nothing really special about it. I would rate it an 86.

So we also discovered that there are many gay people in Lima, and that most people are okay with the "gays" (in Lima). Though it okay to show public display of affection if you are straight, it is a big no no for the gays. This is according to a street vendor named Patrice who I befriended on our journeys. Who knows... I´m going to have to keep inquiring the locals about this topic.

To be continued... MUST GO TO DINNER TO TRY SOME CEBICHE! BUT THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF SOME GOOD, CRAZY TIMES TO COME.

The menu (la carta):
Spicy chicken empanada (aji de gallinas)
Mushshroom and cheese emopanada (championes y queso)
Adobo de pollo con arroz
Flan and other selected desserts
Pilsen beer, Pisco Sour, and corn nuts
Shrimp risotto
Some type of fish fillet con arroz

... and each and every one of them were BOMB

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