A few Days of Planning

Now that we are here and situated, planning has become the task at hand. We've already become used to the fact that leaving the house for an extended period of time before about 4pm is a bad idea. It's pretty much always 80+ and sunny in Lima (except today - it's oddly foggy) and that equator sun cooks like Jack Dejohnette. So we've spent a lot of time planning, sitting on hold with the slowest customer service agents on earth, and watching Arrested Development in Spanish.

Groceries have been the name of the game, as we have been drinking too much beer to save much on eating out. Don't be concerned, the drinking is to keep down body temperature... yeah. Anyway... the grocery store. Honestly I wanted to write a post consisting only of a grocery list, but decided there is no need to brag. Maybe just a little bragging. We been eating cheap! Bread might as well be free here, and fresh veggies are about the same.  This leads to the obvious result of fresh guacamole with eggs, bread, and homemade hot sauce every day. Though my hot sauce recipe needs a lot of work.

Homemade queso fresco taquenos, guacamole, and hot sauce. And a Mango. 

Onward! To things other than food.

More tidbits about Lima
- Most houses and apartments are gated with some sort of doorman or security guard. Pretty cool
- The doorman spend much of their day talking to the thousands of city security (not police), street cleaners, and ice cream venders that roll by. It's interesting how many people are employed solely to keep Lima nice. Yes I am including ice cream venders in the group, even though I assume they are not employed by the city. Like I said - it's hot!
- Trash is picked up multiple times per day, so most people throw out only small amount at a time. Very convenient considering toilet paper can not go in the toilet.
- Lima's second ever artisanal beer fest was yesterday, which consisted of 11 breweries and maybe 100 people packed into what would be used as a broom closet at any beer fest in America. Many beers were good, some were bad, and all were Peruvian. A very good time at what appears to be the spores of an excellent beer scene
- Pisco is an interesting beverage. I expected aromatic vodka, what we got was more akin to tequila with white grape undertones. It is more or less a white brandy. Goes great with Peruvian citrus drink.

The cheap stuff

Santa Semana, the week leading up to Easter, is coming, so we are attempting to make our way to Arequipa for the festivities. Arequipa is a city about 13 hours southeast of Lima. We had plane tickets, then we didn't, then we did, now we don't, but might be getting them still! Never fly Avianca! Travel is the one thing that is not much cheaper here. Although those plane tickets were a REALLY good deal, I'm talking $45 per ticket, they seem to be an anomaly that lead us to customer service hotline hell. I'm about ready to buy a car, as our options are dwindling. If you want us to get a nice car, send your donations! Or your cars! While you are writing the checks, please excuse me so I can make some breakfast.