A little Irish luck?

Two weeks ago I had my first visitor!! My friend Kaitlin came down to visit and experience Machu Picchu. All in all it went smoothly. Not having a cellphone to contact people makes it a little tricky. Good thing I had use of a landline and internet. I must apologize to my friend however, because this city is NO where like Madrid. Apart from the fact that I don´t know nearly so much about Lima, the city itself is huge and sprawling without a unified/easy/cheap method of transport, AND due to lack of funds and extraordinary tiredness due to working like a normal person I haven´t had time to explore as much as I coulda/shoulda. Good thing she was down for some relaxation with a few kicks thrown in.

On the plus side having a visitor gives you a good excuse to do things you don´t normally do. For instance, I got to hang out in Miraflores for a day or two and we wandered around. I think the central hub has too many people for me to actually ever want to live there. Also the shops aren´t too interesting and the restaurants less so. There are a fair amount of shops and restaurants, but most seemed to be overpriced and underwhelming. Despite this it was nice to be able to walk around and see new sights.

Another exciting adventure we had was to FINALLY make it into Barranco, the more indy/boho area of Lima which is next to Miraflores on the coast. We went to eat ceviche at this place called Canta Rana. It is a family owned restaurant and they have soccer paraphernalia everywhere and is kinda tavern like, but not dark....that doesn´t make sense. We ordered the traditional mixed ceviche that just has lime juice, and also tiradito which has different sauces. We also ordered the jalea that goes with it that is a plate of fried seafood and a plate of shrimp causa. Causa is like a lime flavored mashed yellow potatoes with some sort of meat/seafood on sandwiched in bteween. Sounds odd, but is really tasty. Barranco in itself is really pretty. A lot of the old colonial buildings are still standing and are relatively well kept. Instead of tearing down old buildings it seems that Barranco converts them into new offices or whatever. The colonial style is so beautiful but it is too bad that leaving it as it is is a constant reminder of the colonial rule that dominated Peru for centuries.

My second to last new adventure were shopping in the artisan markets with my friend to find her souvenirs. There are these markets close to Miraflores in Surquillo where you can buy all sorts of Peruvian items. You can buy silver and alpaca blankets and hats and shoes and textiles and paintings and sculptures and musical instruments and clothes to remind you of Peru. A lot of the stuff is pretty cool, but a lot of it is also very similar. A lot of stands that sell the same items at slightly different prices. I don´t know how the all turn a profit. Kinda reminds me of all the bars in Madrid. All basically the same, but somehow they all survive. We tried on some fun gigantic poodle-esque hats and tried to find the best/most interesting deal.

And last, but not least I got to experience some more nightlife in Lima. Their nightlife seems to be very concentrated to certain areas with a few random places in spread out areas. We turned to the main nightlife drag in Miraflores. I have had several people tell me that Lima has like 2 or 3 good clubs. They all seem to be in the Larcomar and it was pretty hopping in that area, but nothing like being in Sol around 2am. Drinks are mostly the same price all over with about 16-18 soles a pop for a mixed drink. I think the coolest part of the nightlife right in Miraflores is the proximity to the ocean. You can either go clubbing with an ocean backdrop or have cocktails with friends and a great ocean view.

And now you ask, what does all of this have to do with Irish luck. Well my friend is of Irish descent and she said that she would be good luck for Carlos in his job searching/interviewing process. And guess what? SHE WAS! Carlos was offered job with an American based company to work as a Business Development Manager. SO EXCITING!!!!!!!!! A little bit of luck, a lot of hard work, and a whole lot of patience (9months) have gone into this process but at long last he is employed with an American based international company that he is excited about, and not just because its a job. He is excited for the future possibilities of this job and the personal and professional challenge that it will provide him.

I realize this is kinda long, so thanks for those of you who hung in there to the end. Below I have posted the most recent pictures of my adventures.