26th April- Top cheffing!
We both love food. Graeme is already a great cook, but the chance to learn skills in a new cuisine had us both excited.
We were picked up by Yurak, who took us to a big market. He was really friendly and talked about his love of food, saying he was a chef and has lived in various places, he loves Peruvian cooking the most, as the produce is so good. The market didn't disappoint. The fresh herbs, vegatables and fruit looked & smelled fantastic, although I hurried past the meat & seafood as much as possible. Although I did spot some razor clams trying to escape down the side of the fish counter….There was also a plastic tub filled with Witchety grubs, wriggling around. Yurak explained they are eaten as they are or lightly fried. I'll pass on that, thanks & leave it for Ant & Decs celebs in the jungle. They are not my idea of a meal at all!
Yurak showed us an array of fruits and vegetables, explaining which area of the country they are grown and in some cases, what they were & what family they belonged to, as we hadn't seen quite a lot of them before. We hadn't realised, we would get to try a lot of them later.
Yurak then took us to a big tower block, & in the lift right to the top. This was when we realised that Yurak, is in fact the owner of the company, and we were about to cook in the very nice kitchen on his roof terrace! We were handed over to Jose, our chef/ tutor for today. We then sampled about 40 different fruits, again with information about where they are grown and what they are used for ( juices, deserts, sauces, in main dishes etc). We then got started on making Pisco Sour cocktails, which were devine, before then making (& Eating) a four course lunch. We had Causa de pollo, ceviche, lomo saltado & picarones with a sauce that tasted like liquid Christmas! We had such a good time, instead of taking the lift back to our hotel from Jose, we took him beer tasting, trying 10 different varieties of locally brewed beer, before settling on our favourites. Jose is a great lad, and his other job is as a maths teacher, giving extra tuition to help young people get into further education. Living in Lima, he plans to go to Rome next year with his girlfriend, who is studying to be an architect & will do her master's degree there. He is keen to travel, and see Europe, so we gave him what tips we could and exchanged details in case he gets to Newcastle or even to Bulgaria. Graeme has promised to cook him a curry if he does, as there are no Indian restaurants at all in Lima!
We headed back to our hotel & freshened up, before heading back out to explore the coast. I already knew I was struggling with my ME/ CFS at this point, as had numb eyebrows. This is always a sure sign that I have done too much, but as it was our last full day in Peru, I was determined to not miss out. We found Paddington Bear, ( after all he is a Peruvian Spectacle d Bear) & wandered through the stunning Bicentennial Parque, celebrating 200 years of independence of Peru (1822-2022). Although still new, the park has stunning planting, from various countries around the globe, that will continue to grow and cover more ground. The area was desert, so there's an intricate irrigation system to support the plants. The entire park runs along the 12 lane motorway of Lima- but it totally distracts from the busy traffic. There's a heady aroma of honeysuckle in the air, and I am sure all of the plants help to filter dangerous emissions from the exhaust fumes below. It is a fantastic idea. It made me wonder about our own local council back home, who appear intent on chopping trees down and spending their budgets on unnecessary road works and fancy paving. There is another way- and Limas locality planning have proved it. After that we walked to the bridge of sighs to make a wish. It is also known as the bridge of lovers, and there were a few courting couples sat along the seating area. Of course we got completely lost, and double backed on ourselves a few times. It felt like an eternity to get back beside our hotel & I was in full ME melt down by the time we did. We stopped regularly, Greame tucking into a fantastic burger, washed down with a beer, while I ate loaded fries at a burger joint called Juicy Lucy. The food was great. The rest was even better. We continued on our journey again. Graeme apologising for getting us lost earlier- he knew I was really struggling & in a fair bit of pain. Once at the hotel, he ran me a bubble bath, helping me to get in before disappearing. When he came back, he surprised me, as had a booked the hotel spa for the next morning, so I could have a proper chillout before we catch our onward flights to Cuba. What a little gem he is.
Night night,
Caroline.
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