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Peru Day 6 – Sillustani and Puno

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 by virginia

We had a super early morning flight out of Arequipa to Juliaca. Our flight was at 6:10 am and originally we were supposed to leave for the airport at 4:10 am but luckily our guide was able to get our boarding passes ahead of time, which bought us some extra time. We left for the airport around 5 am, which meant we still had to get up at 4 am to make sure we had everything packed and ready to go.

Needless to say we were pretty exhausted when we got to the airport but we saw a lot of people from our Colca Canyon tour group there so we had a good time chatting with everyone. We were the only ones headed to Puno, while everyone else was off to Cusco. Our hotel had packed us breakfast boxes since we left before the buffet started but we only drank the peach juice and left the ham and cheese sandwiches and yogurt behind.

The flight itself was less than an hour, and we had barely fallen asleep before it was time to get off the plane. We collected our luggage and waited for our transfer from Juliaca to Puno, where we would be staying. And we waited. And waited. Apparently the tour company had forgotten about us. No one knew we were coming. Luckily we met a tour guide from a different company who called our tour company for us, and eventually after waiting for an hour, we were picked up by someone from our tour company who happened to be dropping off another client.

It was sort of a frustrating experience for us but we shook it off and continued on our tour. The drive from Juliaca to Puno included a stop at the Sillustani graves along the way. The site is a pre-Incan burial ground that was used by the Chollas, a group of Aymaras who were conquered by the Incas. The place was so sacred though that the Incans respected the tombs of the Chollas, since they were for royalty. Now the site includes both Incan and Chollan graves. The tombs are called “chullpas” and are tall, round towers. The opening faces the east, and inside the tombs they found mummies of royals who were buried in fetal position, along with their servants.

The tallest chullpa

Inside the chullpa

Other tombs at the site

While I’m not usually one to enjoy walking around tombs and grave sites, I really loved the area. It sounds sort of silly but I could see why the place appealed to the Collas and Incas. It’s situated on a lake, Lake Umayo to be exact, and it was really peaceful there. The grass was a yellowish color, the lake brilliant blue, and there was a soft breeze that billowed through, bringing fresh air and a sense of calm.

Lake Umayo

Cows grazing in a field nearby

A lake on the other side of the site, where there were flamingos

After leaving Sillustani, we stopped at the home of some local farmers. We felt a bit awkward just walking into their place but I guess they must have a deal with tour companies because they seemed perfectly at ease with us poking our heads into their bedrooms and taking stock of their outdoor kitchen. Their home was really pretty simple, just a courtyard with a few small shacks that served as the bedrooms. We also sampled some of their homemade cheese, which I only nibbled at because it probably hadn’t been pasteurized, plus the flavor was too milky for my taste, as well as some small boiled potatoes that we dipped into bowls of clay. The clay was muddy and sort of gross looking, but it actually tasted pretty good with the potatoes. It gave them a sort of salty, earthy flavor.

The entrance to the home. The two cows above the doorway symbolizes that they are farmers.

They had llamas and alpacas out front

They also had a guanaco, which was the only one we saw on our trip

The inner courtyard and the little houses that served as bedrooms

Homemade cheese

Assorted potatoes and root vegetables, plus clay for dipping

Pen of cuy, for special occasions

Afterward, we were taken to our hotel in Puno, which is the city on Lake Titicaca. Our hotel was very nice but it was pretty far from the main part of the city. After dropping off our bags and settling in a little, we took a cab to the Plaza de Armas, or the main square. There really wasn’t a whole lot to see or much going on in the town.

Statue at the center of the Plaza de Armas

We pretty much just wandered around town, looking for places to shop and walking through some local outdoor markets. We also found the main market in the center of town, a two story building where people sell fruits, vegetables, meats, and other foods. It was pretty interesting but not a place where we would buy stuff for ourselves.

The main street downtown with lots of shops and restaurants and is closed off to cars

The main agricultural market in the center of town

Local outdoor market selling everyday goods like clothing and household supplies

We skipped lunch but decided to stop for some ice cream. Josh got cappuccino gelato at a little place called Il Gelato Heladeria Cafe. It had good flavor but was kind of icy and not creamy enough. The gelato flavors they had didn’t appeal to me so I stopped at a place called Chepy’s, which had a long line. It was really cheap (a cone with two different flavors cost 1 sol) but the ice cream was gummy and artificial tasting. I picked grape and strawberry, and both tasted like bubblegum versions of the fruit. Meh.

My grape and strawberry ice cream cone

Before heading back to the hotel, we made sure to see the sights noted in our guidebook. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much. We saw the cathedral, a wooden balcony that is supposed to be famous, and some other supposedly famous building but I’m not sure why.

Cathedral

Famous balcony

Famous building

We also stopped at a cafe with a courtyard and had a beer to kill some time but we were pretty bored. Since there was nothing else to see and nothing left to do, we took a cab back to our hotel, which is right on Lake Titicaca.

View of Lake Titicaca from our hotel terrace

We ended up just relaxing the rest of the night and ate dinner at our hotel because we didn’t feel like taking a cab back into the city. We were pretty tired from our early morning flight, and to be honest, Puno just wasn’t that exciting. We were basically there because it was the jump off point for Lake Titicaca, and the rest of our time on the lake was much nicer. But more on that later.

Tags: Ice Cream, Lake Titicaca, Peru, Puno
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Zig Zag (Arequipa, Peru)

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 by virginia

After our early morning start to see the condors at Colca Canyon, we were pretty tired by the time we got back to Arequipa, a four hour drive away. Our experience with altitude had left us feeling a bit sluggish and took away our appetites so I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating anything complicated. While the Peruvian food we had eaten so far was tasty, some of it was really rich, and there were a lot of spices and herbs mixed into the sauces. I was in the mood for something plain and simple, and Zig Zag fit the bill.

One of the couples in our Colca Canyon tour group had eaten there before and recommended it to us. They said that we would probably need reservations but we decided to chance it, arriving at the restaurant at an early hour for dinner. The restaurant was empty but every table had a little “Reserved” sign on it. Uh oh. However, because we were there so early, they told us they could accommodate us if we finished before a certain time, when the reservations were to be honored. Since that gave us an hour and a half to eat, we had no issues. We settled down to eat and they brought us a small dish of cheese and olives to start. The cheese was crumbly and salty, like feta.

Cheese and olives

The menu featured all different kind of meats, most of which were sold by the gram and simply prepared. We picked out three dishes to share, including an appetizer of three different tartares – trout, tuna, and salmon. All three with simply prepared with a little bit of olive and citrus. Each was topped with a sundried tomato that was intensely flavorful. The plate was garnished with cornichon, hearts of palm, capers, peppers, and a tiny quail egg. The fish was super fresh, and nicely cut into small cubes. The portions of each tartare were ample, and we enjoyed every bite.

Trout, tuna, and salmon tartare

While we were eating our tartares, they also brought us some small rolls of bread with herbed butter. The bread was soft and chewy and the butter was flavorful. They were fine to nibble on.

Roll with herbed butter

For the main part of our meal, they brought us paper bibs to wear. Yes, bibs. Our waitress told us they were “necessary”, and when our food came, we saw why. We had ordered a grilled platter that came with four different kinds of meat. The meat was served on hot volcanic stones and were sizzling hot. The juice from the meat was literally sputtering when the platter arrived, so the bibs protected our clothes. In reality, we probably didn’t need bibs but it was all in good fun. We found them amusing and wore them proudly. What astonished me most, however, was the amount of food we were brought.

When we ordered the assorted meat platter (which I actually thought came from the appetizer section), we told the waitress we would be sharing it. When the platter came, there were actually two sets of stone, each with its own set of four meats. It also came with a huge bowl of french fries that could have easily fed four people. I couldn’t believe this was one order, and I worried that the waitress had misunderstood us and had placed two orders instead. Turns out that wasn’t the case. It really was an order for one, and boy, that was a lot of food. The meats were marked with toothpicks so we could identify what each one was, and it came with ostrich, alpaca, beef, and lamb.

Huge platter of meat - ostrich, alpaca, beef, lamb

The meats were already cooked to perfection so we quickly removed them from the stones to prevent them from overcooking. They were very simply prepared, just a little seasoning and grilled on the stones. After all the rich foods we had eaten on our trip, it was a welcomed change. The alpaca was tender and tasted similar to veal or pork. The beef had actual beef flavor, and the lamb was nicely gamey. The only meat we didn’t like was the ostrich, which was tough and bland. We dipped the meats into the various bowls of sauce that included an ajo sauce (garlicky), tartar sauce, herbed butter sauce, and a spicy rocoto (pepper) sauce.

The fries that came with the meats were heavenly. They were super crispy on the outside, potato-y on the inside, and not greasy at all. They were seasoned with salt and that was it. I ate handfuls, even without ketchup, and enjoyed every one of them. I am an avid french fry eater and even I couldn’t get through all of it. We left half the bowl behind, and let me tell you, I was really tempted to ask them to pack it up for us.

Awesome french fries

We had been worried that the meats wouldn’t be enough food so we got a small order of camarones, or crayfish, which are an Arequipan specialty. The camarones also came sizzling hot on a volcanic stone. We were too busy eating all the meat first, however, so they did get a bit overcooked sitting on the hot stone. They were still really tasty though, fresh and flavorful.

Camarones on the hot volcanic stone

The camarones came with a choice of a side dish so we opted for fried yuca. They turned out to be breaded yuca croquettes, with a crisp exterior and creamy interior. They were really good but a little starchy, and we were beyond full at this point.

Fried yuca

The veggie action in our meal came from a side dish of ratatouille. To be perfectly honest, we really didn’t eat it because we were too busy stuffing our faces full of meat and carbs.

Ratatouille

Josh and I had walked into the restaurant not feeling so hungry, and the amount of food we ended up ordering (by accident) was pretty hilarious. Our table was absolutely filled, and despite not having an appetite to begin with, we made a pretty good dent into everything.

So much food!

Overall we both absolutely loved Zig Zag. It was one of the best meals we had in all of Peru, even though it was one of simplest meals we had. The meats and camarones were all top notch and the presentation was pretty neat. The fried sides were all well prepared, and I couldn’t stop eating the french fries even after I was stuffed. The restaurant was empty when we arrived but by the time we left, it was packed and there was a line at the door. The vibe was upbeat but not stuffy, and it’s someplace that I wouldn’t have minded hanging out at the bar. Service was great and the prices were actually really reasonable. For all of our food, which included the trio of tartares, the assortment of meats, the camarones, all sides, plus a few Cusquena beers, the total was S/182 after tax and tip. That’s about US$67, which would be an absolute steal here in NYC. If you find yourself in Arequipa, run, don’t walk to Zig Zag! Reservations are definitely recommended.

Zig Zag Restaurant
Zela 210 – Cercado
Arequipa, Peru

Tags: Alpaca, Arequipa, Crayfish, Fries, Lamb, Ostrich, Peru, Steak, Tuna Tartare
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Peru Day 5 – Colca Canyon/Condor Cross

Monday, November 8th, 2010 by virginia

We had a super early start to this day, as we had to make sure we got to the Condor Cross in time. The view that greeted us when we walked out of our little bungalow was just stunning.

Gorgeous view of the sunrise over the river

We were supposed to get breakfast at the hotel at 5:30 am but Josh and I were running late as usual so we ended up missing it. Instead we grabbed a stack of pita bread to go and ate it on the bus. Not exactly filling, but they had to do.

Pita bread for breakfast

After we got on the bus, we headed back toward the town of Yanque to pick up the other people in our group from their respective hotels. Then we stopped in the center square of town where there is a beautiful white colonial style church. In the center of the square there is a large fountain where the children of the town dance for tourists before heading off to school. They wear brightly colored traditional clothing and perform the dance of love.

White colonial church

Local children doing the dance of love

After leaving the town, we made our way toward Colca Canyon and the Condor Cross. We pulled over at different points along the road, where the views of the valleys were just breathtaking. There are colorful agricultural terraces lining the valleys, most of which were built by the Incas and are still in use today.

We also saw the hanging tombs at Choquetico along the way. These pre-Inca tombs aren’t really hanging, but they’re buried in the face of the mountain, way up. Some of the tombs are marked in red, and it’s impressive that they were able to build these so high up on a steep mountain.

Can you see the holes in the mountain face? some of those are tombs.

One of the tombs ringed in red

More tombs

When we finally reached the Condor Cross, the portion of Colca Canyon where condors take flight by gliding on the early morning air streams, it was pretty crowded with lots of tourists. Everyone was perched on the rim of the canyon scanning the skies for any sign of a condor. Since nothing was really happening, we took the opportunity to look at the canyon itself, which was nothing like what I expected. I was picturing something like the Grand Canyon, but at this portion the walls of the canyon were pretty slanted, not steep. There was no layering of colors like the Grand Canyon, but they were pretty deep. It was majestic in its own way.

The cross that marks Condor Cross

People waiting to see the condors

Canyon walls

We waited for what seemed like hours but was probably only about 40 minutes, and no condors in sight. Not even a hint. I was feeling pretty dejected at this point and I was starting to get upset that we went out of our way to go to Colca Canyon just to see condors, and we had wasted our time. Then all of a sudden, I saw something flying low in the canyon out of the corner of my eye. The crowd all around us began making noises of excitement, and we realized that a group of condors had arrived.

Condor flying around the Condor Cross

The birds were absolutely magnificent, soaring high above us and the circling down so that they were just overhead. Their wingspans were ginormous, and they glided so gracefully. There were about six of them, one black and white adult and a few brown juveniles. They didn’t seem to have any sort of agenda; they just circled around us, making pass after pass. We watched them fly around for about 20 minutes before we had to continue on our way.

After leaving the Condor Cross, we drove a short ways and took a walk along the canyon rim. The views were pretty, but still didn’t have the same impact on me as the Grand Canyon. We did get to see a condor fly past us though, which was pretty cool since Condor Cross seemed sort of staged (even though it’s not), and this was “out in the wild” (sort of).

After our short stroll, we got back on the bus and drove to the start of the canyon, where we saw more agricultural terraces. We also got to try cactus fruit, which was super sour. It’s usually blended with ice and other ingredients to make a drink so eating it plain was a bit overwhelming and mouthpuckering.

Near the start of the Colca Canyon

Terraces up close

Cactus fruit

We drove through a few small little towns, stopping to check out yet another white colonial church.

White colonial church

Church innards

It turned out that our route back to Arequipa was the same way we took getting to Colca. We drove back through Chivay and stopped for lunch at the same restaurant, Zacarias. I was kind of upset by that, since we were eating at the same place two days in a row, but luckily the buffet had different offerings. They had cuy! It was deep fried and cut into little unidentifiable pieces, which made them easier to eat. We also had some more alpaca, and my favorites from the previous day, beets and vegetable fritters.

Spinach soup

Beets, vegetable fritters, chicken with rice, vegetable casserole, french fries, fried cuy, alpaca, stuffed zucchini

After lunch we had a little bit of time to kill so we walked around the main square in Chivay, which featured, yes, you guessed it, another white colonial church.

Yet another white colonial church

Afterward, we got back on the bus for the four hour drive back to Arequipa. I was worried that we would feel altitude sickness again when we reached the highest point on the road, at over 4,900 meters, but luckily, we slept through most of the ride and didn’t feel anything. When we got back to Arequipa, we went for a walk before dinner, checking out the Plaza de Armas and the cathedral at night.

Cathedral in Arequipa

For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Zig Zag, which was recommended to us by a couple who was in our Colca Canyon tour group. The food was fantastic, and it was one of the best meals we had during our entire vacation. With regard to Colca Canyon, the sights were beautiful and the condors were amazing, so if you have the time to spare, you should definitely check it out. However, it’s not on my list of places you HAVE to visit in Peru. Regardless, we had a good time there and it definitely helped us acclimate to the altitude, which made the rest of our trip seem like a breeze.

Tags: Colca, Peru
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Restaurant Los Condores – Colca Lodge, Peru

Thursday, November 4th, 2010 by virginia

Josh and I were feeling pretty relaxed and cozy after our soak in the hot springs so we debated whether we should go straight to bed or grab a late dinner. We had an early start to the next day and we wanted the rest but we figured that we would need energy as well so we decided to head up to the main building for dinner. Since the hotel is in such a remote location, the hotel restaurant was our only option.

When we got to the restaurant, we had a choice between the buffet or ordering a la carte. The altitude had sapped our appetites so we decided to go a la carte since neither of us could stomach facing a buffet. After placing our orders, we munched on the pita-like bread that they brought us. It had a sweet,wheaty flavor to it and had a nice chewy texture.

Pita bread

We decided to split an appetizer to start, opting for a dish called the trout trilogy, which was trout served three ways. The trout came from the river so we figured it would be something fresh and local. It was, but to our surprise, the trout flesh was pink like salmon, not like the trout I’ve seen here in the U.S. The trout preparations included smoked trout, fried in quinoa croquettes, and fried with amaranth.

Trout trilogy

The appetizer platter was huge, and everything on it was really tasty. I was a bit wary when I saw the croquette covered in cheese but it was fabulous – perfectly fried, crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside. The cheese added a little saltiness and a little tang, and I liberally dipped these in the ramekin of salsa for some spice.

Trout and quinoa croquettes

Fresh salsa

We didn’t know what amaranth was when we ordered the trilogy, but it turned out to be little white seeds similar to sesame seeds. The strips of trout were coated in the seeds and then fried, which gave them a nice crunch. We dipped these into the sweet and citrusy sauce that came with the platter.

Fried trout strips with amaranth

Sweet citrus dipping sauce

The smoked trout was Josh’s least favorite dish of the bunch, but then again, he’s not a fan of smoked fish in general. I mean, he doesn’t like lox! Who doesn’t like lox? The trout had a subtle smoke flavor and wasn’t overly salty, which I liked. It was a tad dry though, so I remedied that by pouring the salsa over it. That resulted in a nice smoky, sweet, spicy combination.

Smoked trout

For our entree, we had even more trout. Hey, it was the local specialty! We split an order of trout covered in a mascarpone cream sauce with capers and chopped onions. The trout was well cooked, with a crisp exterior and tender on the inside. The cream sauce wasn’t overly rich, and while the onions seemed like a weird addition at first, they helped brighten up the whole dish. We had our choice of side dish so we opted for gnocchi with pesto sauce, which was surprisingly light in texture. The pesto sauce packed in good basil flavor, and it was a good choice overall.

Trout with mascarpone, capers, and chopped onions

For our second entree, we wanted something lighter so we chose a vegetarian dish that sounded interesting. It was called quinoa tabbouleh and was served with peas, carrots, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, figs, mango, and avocado in a sweet and sour sauce made with honey and lemon juice. Traditional tabbouleh, which is made with tons of parsley and mint mixed with bulgur, lemon juice, and olive oil, is one of Josh’s favorite dishes. He loves the bright herb flavor and the freshness and brightness of the dish. Unfortunately, this version was nothing like the original. While quinoa is similar to bulgur, this tabbouleh had no herbs and the fruit was an odd addition. The quinoa itself was really bland, while the sweet and sour sauce clashed with the fruit and vegetables. We were pretty disappointed with this dish and left most of it behind.

Quinoa tabbouleh

I was kind of bummed when I found out how far away our hotel was from town because I didn’t want to eat at the hotel restaurant. In our experience, hotel food is usually overpriced and not always as good as local restaurants. What we didn’t know was that dinner was included in our stay. No one from the tour company told us that so I don’t know if dinner is included with everyone’s stay, or if we paid extra for it, and what the spending limit was.

This was annoying to me because if the buffet had been included in our package, and we had already paid for it, then obviously we would have gone with that. If I had paid extra to eat a la carte without knowing, that would have made me furious. Luckily that wasn’t the case, but maybe we would have ordered differently if we knew that we could spend X amount of soles, considering that the cost would have already been factored in our tour rate. Either way it wasn’t the hotel’s fault, it was an issue I had with the tour company, and we tipped the server on what our dinner would have cost based on the menu prices.

So, back to the food. I was pretty pleased with our appetizer platter and with the trout entree. It was a lot of trout, but everything was prepared differently and had different flavors so I wasn’t overwhelmed or bored by the trout. The tabbouleh dish was pretty bad though, and definitely not something I would eat again. The restaurant had a nice, relaxed atmosphere, and service was attentive. It’s probably a place that is only frequented by hotel guests, but there were prices on the menu so I guess you could walk in if you were in that neck of the woods. As far as hotel food goes, this was really good, though prices seemed pretty high. We did enjoy our meal overall, and it was a nice way to finish our day.

Restaurant Los Condores
Colca Lodge
Fundo Puye S/N – Yanque. Caylloma – Valle del Colca
Av. Luis Gonzales 622
Peru

Tags: Colca, Peru, Seafood
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El Balcon de Don Zacarias Restaurant – Chivay, Peru

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 by virginia

During our drive from Arequipa to the Colca Valley, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant called El Balcon de Don Zacarias in the town of Chivay. Lunch was included as part of our tour package but that wasn’t the case for everyone in our group, and Josh and I were pretty disappointed not to be able to explore restaurants in the town by ourselves. In our experience, tour package restaurants for the most part have served us pretty lousy, bland food that is designed for tourists. See most of my China posts for reference.

Nevertheless, since we had apparently already paid for lunch as part of our package, we grudgingly trudged up the stairs and into the restaurant. We were further disappointed to see that it was a buffet, and the few patrons in the restaurant were all clearly tourists. Josh and I took a quick stroll around the buffet to see what the offerings were, and I was pleased to see that the food did look pretty interesting, as we didn’t recognize any dishes. Everything looked homemade and kind of rustic, no fussy presentations or decorations in sight, so I was hoping that we would be eating authentic Peruvian dishes, not a watered down version of Peruvian food for tourists. With everything arranged in pyrex dishes on a long table, it looked sort of like a potluck, rather than a restaurant buffet.

Some dishes on the buffet table

Josh and I both started out with some soup – squash for him and chicken soup for me. The squash soup wasn’t like the pureed butternut variety we typically eat here. Instead there were cubes of different kinds of squash mixed in a creamy yellow soup that was surprisingly light and not too rich. The chicken soup I had was plain but soothing, with a clean chicken flavor. There were thin strands of noodles inside but they were long and kind of hard to spoon up so I mostly just drank the broth.

Squash soup

Chicken soup

I started out with a “feeler” plate, taking a little bit of most things so that I could try as much as possible. Half of the buffet contained raw salad items, however, which I avoided because I wasn’t sure how they washed their vegetables. I did eat things that were peeled though, like beets and tomatoes without skin. Maybe I’m just being paranoid but even though we’re adventurous eaters, we do take some precautions to try and avoid getting sick.

Beets, salsa, beef, bread, pork, quinoa, llama, alpaca, chicken, vegetable fritters, french fries in the middle

The meats were all in stew-like sauces, so it was hard to distinguish between them. It was the first time that we tried llama and alpaca though. The llama was very strange, since they have to dry the meat before cooking it. The result was very tough and gristly, almost like eating cartilage. Flavor-wise, however, it was fantastically gamey. I loved the taste but couldn’t get past the texture. The alpaca was inoffensive, with a texture similar to veal or pork, and tasted mostly like the sauce it was cooked in. The beets were fabulous, just plain roasted but super sweet and intensely “beety” in flavor. I took seconds of that, as well as the vegetable fritters which were a mix of corn and squash and were also sweet and fresh-tasting.

For dessert, there was fruit in a sweet, white syrup, a flan-like custard, and a passion fruit flavored pudding. Nothing super exciting, but not bad either.

Papaya and pineapple in syrup, flan, passion fruit pudding

The food at Zacarias really wasn’t upscale or gourmet, but I actually liked it much more than I thought I would. Yes, I’m sure it’s still designed for tourists, but the food seemed genuine and there weren’t any cop-out dishes (ie., plain chicken or beef, American food, etc.). The only dish we knew was french fries, but they were made from flavorful, starchy Peruvian potatoes, not the McDonalds variety. I don’t know if you need to be part of a tour group to eat at this restaurant or if you can just walk in, but if you find yourself in Chivay for whatever reason, it’s worth checking out. The restaurant and the facilities are clean, and the buffet was a nice way to try lots of different dishes. I still like to think they were authentic homestyle Peruvian dishes, though I don’t know the names and won’t be able to order them elsewhere. Regardless, the food was tasty and we left with our bellies very full.

El Balcon de Don Zacarias Restaurant
Av. 22 De Agosto, Valle Del Colca
Chivay, Peru

Tags: Alpaca, Beets, Buffet, Colca, Llama, Peru
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Peru Day 4 – Colca Valley

Monday, November 1st, 2010 by virginia

We had an early start to this day because we had a four hour drive from Arequipa to the Colca Valley. We woke up a bit later than we should have so we barely had enough time to bolt down a quick breakfast at the hotel buffet.

Omelet, chicken with red peppers, potato tortilla, tamale with chicken

Our tour company sub-contracted out our Colca Valley tour so we ended up being on a small bus with about 20 other people. It was the first time we were in a group for an extended period of time, since our city tours had either been private or with a group for just a few hours. It was nice to interact with others and we met a lot of nice people from different countries.

As we drove out of Arequipa, the landscape got much drier while the mountains and volcanoes in the distance got much clearer. Once we got into the Aguada Blanca National Reserve, however, we drove by multiple herds of alpacas, llamas, and vicunas grazing on little green bushes that manage to grow in the arid conditions. While all three types of animals are somewhat similar, we could see the differences between them. Vicunas look more delicate, with long, thin necks, and their brown fur is prized because of its softness. Alpacas and llamas look almost identical, but alpacas are slightly smaller and have fur on their faces, while llamas look more clean shaven.

Desert-like

Herd of vicunas

Volcano and a pair of vicunas

We stopped at a rest area midway through the drive to make a pit stop. We also had the opportunity to purchase either coca tea or chachacoma tea, which are good for altitude sickness. Since we were heading up into the mountains, and because we had brought coca leaves with us already, we decided to try out chachacama tea. It had a very floral and herbaceous flavor to it, and reminded me of juniper. We were relatively high up at this point, altitude wise, but Josh and I weren’t feeling any of the effects yet. The tea was tasty but we weren’t sure if it really had any healing properties to it.

Chachacoma tea

Native woman at the rest area with her alpaca who was giving Josh the hairy eyeball for taking her picture (he did give her a few soles for it afterward)

After we got back on the bus, we really started to climb higher into the mountains so our tour guide told us it was time to bust out the coca leaves. Josh and I purchased a package at the beginning of the bus ride, when we stopped at a convenience store to stock up on water and drinks. The package of coca leaves only cost us a few soles, and there was plenty to share with the people around us. To chew the leaves, we wrapped a small stack of about 5 leaves around a piece of thick black resin that is made from burning quinoa. The resin substance helps with the flavor of the coca, and activates its healing properties. We tucked the little packet of coca and resin in our cheeks and chewed softly. The coca is supposed to make your mouth slightly numb, and counteract the effects of altitude. While Josh and I experienced just a slight numbness, we really didn’t feel much from the coca. It got a bit uncomfortable after a while, and the taste wasn’t wonderful, so we spit it out after about half an hour. It wasn’t something either of us really enjoyed, and we never did chew more coca after that, though we continued to drink coca tea.

Package of coca leaves for chewing

We passed some more herds of animals, and our bus pulled over to the side of the road so that we could get out and take some pictures. When I climbed down the stairs of the bus, I almost pitched forward and fell. I thought maybe the coca leaves had affected me more than I originally thought, but I realized later that it was because the altitude had made me slightly lightheaded. It wasn’t too bad at this point, I was just more careful when we moved around.

Pretty scenery

Llama taking a drink

After we got back on the bus, we climbed even higher into the mountains. I was really feeling dizzy at this point, and at our next stop, we finally understood why. We had reached the highest point on our trip, which was over 4,900 meters above sea level. That’s over 16,000 feet! When we got off the bus here, Josh and I were REALLY feeling the effects of the altitude. It was a struggle to walk, and it felt like our feet were in lead boots. Our balance was off, and our heads were foggy. It was like our bodies were moving in slow motion, and there was nothing we could do to correct it. We quickly snapped a few pictures (we had really great views of the volcanoes here) and promptly returned to the bus.

Rock commemorating the altitude where we were

Stacks of stones that people leave behind to indicate they were there

Nice view

We really weren’t feeling well at this point, so we recharged our batteries by drinking some sweet orange Fanta soda (my favorite drink in foreign countries) and nibbling on some Lay’s potato chips. The sugar and the food helped settle our stomachs a bit, since we both had started feeling nauseous, but the headache and dizziness persisted. Fortunately it was all downhill from there, and by the time we reached Chivay, a small town along the way where we stopped for lunch, we were feeling much better.

Town of Chivay below

After lunch, which was a buffet at a local restaurant called Zacarias, we were dropped off at our respective hotels. Most of the people in our group were staying at various hotels in the town of Yanque. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous after seeing a few of the hotels people were getting dropped off at, and I grew more and more apprehensive as we moved away from the center of town. Most of the places seemed pretty rustic, and I was not happy to be so far away from everything. We were the last stop, along with a handful of other people, and we seemed to go a long way out of town, up some mountains and around some narrow bends. All of a sudden, we saw some beautiful grounds down in the valley below us, and our tour guide announced that it was the Colca Lodge, where we were staying. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, as the buildings were beautiful, the grounds well kept, and we had hot spring pools at our disposable, plus spa facilities.

After we checked in, we were taken to our room, which was actually a little bungalow attached to a long row of bungalows that faced the river. Our view was breathtaking, and we could hear the water running downstream. It was incredibly soothing, and while Josh ran to the main building to send a few emails, I sat on the little terrace in front of our bungalow and just took in the scene.

Row of bungalows

Picture perfect view out the window of our bungalow

After Josh got back, we took a little hike along the river, on the side opposite the hotel. There was a small bridge that we walked across, then we hiked through some tall grass and down onto the rocky riverbed.

Crossing the river

View of the river and the spa buildings

View of the river and the surrounding valley

When we grew tired of hiking, we went to check out the spa facilities. It was quite nice, with lots of massage rooms that had views of the river, as well as private jacuzzi tubs that also overlooked the river. Prices were pretty steep though, even for NYC, so we decided to pass. Instead, we went back to our room, changed into our bathing suits, and went to the hot spring pools. There were 4 or 5 small pools altogether, and we decided to join a group of Belgians who seemed to be having a good time. The water was warm, not super hot, and we just sat in the pool for a few hours until the sun went down. The air outside cooled significantly so we kept warm by sitting near the source of the springs, which was really hot. We ended up having the pool to ourselves when the Belgians left, so we just sat there looking up at the stars. We thought we saw the Southern Cross, but it turns out you can’t see it now from Peru. Too bad. It was an absolutely gorgeous setting though, and we felt calm and relaxed.

Watching the sunset from the hot spring pool

After sunset

Moon shot

When our fingers and toes got way too wrinkled, we headed back to our room and showered before going to dinner. Since we were basically in the middle of nowhere, we had to eat at the hotel restaurant. Apparently dinner was included in our stay, though no one told us beforehand. We weren’t hungry, probably due to the altitude, but we were feeling great after the relaxing soak in the hot springs. Although it was a long morning, with the four hour drive from Arequipa to the Colca Valley and our first bout of altitude sickness, our day ended on a very positive note. It turned out to be the only down time that we would have until the very end of our trip, and we definitely enjoyed every minute of it.

Tags: Colca, Peru
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Wayrana (Arequipa, Peru)

Thursday, October 21st, 2010 by virginia

Wayrana was another restaurant that our guide recommended, and it was in our guidebook as well so we decided to give it a shot. We were a bit worried when we walked in and the only people eating in the restaurant was a large group of tourists, but the menu posted outside had looked promising, plus they offered the dishes that we had been hoping to try while we were in Arequipa.

We started out with a large bottle of Arequipena, which was not so different from Cusquena but we just liked that they also had a beer named after their city. Like most of the beer we had in Peru, it was pretty light and inoffensive.

Arequipena beer

There was one dish that our guide told us we had to try for lunch, chupe de camarones, but we couldn’t find it on the menu at Chi Cha. Looking back, I now realize we were idiots and looked under the wrong section of the menu. The dish is a soup, so we were looking under the appetizer/soup section, but it was actually under the huge section titled “Camarones.” Oh well. Even though our guide said that it was a dish that should be eaten for lunch because it’s a very heavy soup, we decided to take the chance and have it for dinner. Since neither of us were really very hungry, we decided to split an order of the chupe to start, and then split an entree to finish.

Chupe de camarones

Chupe de camarones is basically crayfish chowder. The soup is rich and creamy, made with lots of milk and cheese. It has a thick, velvety texture, and at times seemed more like a stew than a soup. There were lots of whole camarones, or crayfish, in the soup, as well as rice, corn, potatoes, and a poached egg. To make it even richer, the whole dish was topped with shredded cheese. Unfortunately I think there was some Andean mint mixed in there as well, which put me off a bit, but I pushed through because I really did enjoy the richness and the texture. The portion you see in the picture above is just half of a serving because when we told our waiter we were splitting, the kitchen thoughtfully plated our portions separately, which made things much easier.

Whole camarone (I enjoyed sucking out the heads!)

The kitchen also split our entree for us, which may not have been the best thing considering our entree was cuy, or guinea pig. My initial impression of the cuy can be found here. But basically, they cut that sucker in half from head to toe, giving us an inside look of the cuy’s innards, including its bony little rib cage and the contents of its little skull. The cuy was prepared Arequipan style, which meant that it was deep fried. That rendered the skin super crispy and tasty, but the meat was minimal and it was tough for me to really dig in and gnaw at the little bones. Seeing the head on the plate really did throw me off, but I think I would have really liked the dish if the cuy had been cut into little unidentifiable pieces.

Cuy in all its glory

Overall I was pretty impressed with the food at Wayrana, and service was definitely top notch. Even though I was initially turned off by the fact that the only people eating in the restaurant were tourists, my opinion definitely changed when I tasted the food. The chupe de camarones was really delicious, and the fact that I could eat it even with the Andean mint mixed in it is a testament to just how tasty the dish was. There were a lot of ingredients in there but everything worked together harmoniously. The cuy was also well prepared. It was basically just deep fried, but it was well seasoned and not greasy at all. I know most people are probably grossed out by the thought of eating guinea pig, but it really is similar to eating rabbit or quail. It’s definitely something worth trying, and hey, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it again. But at least give it a shot!

Wayrana
Calle Santa Catalina, 200, Int. B, Cercado
Arequipa, Peru

Tags: Arequipa, Crayfish, Cuy, Peru, Seafood, Soup
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Chi Cha (Arequipa, Peru)

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 by virginia

Before our city tour of Arequipa, we had time to get lunch. Our guide recommended Chi Cha, a restaurant owned by Gaston Acurio, who is supposedly the best chef in Peru. He owns many different restaurants throughout the country, but this was the only one we tried so we can’t really judge his culinary prowess.

The restaurant was very large and was divided into two rooms, a bright outer room that was more casual looking and a more formal dining room inside. There were no tables for two open, so they seated us at a large round table that could fit eight people, which made us feel a bit weird but at least we had plenty of space. Our meal started off with a basket of mixed breads, including two slices of loaf bread that tasted like corn bread, two breadsticks, and three different flavors of mini baguettes.

Assorted breads

While the bread itself was a little dry, I really liked slathering them with the accompanying soft creamy butter that was mixed with Peruvian chilis. The flavor of the chilis really came through in the butter, and it was an interesting twist on something that’s usually just an afterthought.

Butter mixed with Peruvian chilis

For our lunch, we decided to share a few dishes that we were told were specialties of Arequipa. We knew we had to try rocoto relleno, which is a spicy pepper stuffed with chopped beef and onions and served with potatoes and cheese. The pepper wasn’t super spicy, but it did have a kick to it. The filling reminded me of chili con carne, though the spices were different. There was a potato and cheese gratin on the plate next to the stuffed pepper, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the cheese flavor. I just don’t like cheese in general, and this particular kind tasted very milky to me. Josh didn’t mind it though. I did like the stuffed pepper by itself.

Rocoto relleno

Another dish that I was eager to try was antichuchos de corazon, or grilled brochettes of beef heart. The beef hearts were served with potatoes, corn, and various dipping sauces, including a garlicky sauce and a spicy rocoto sauce. Josh was not as eager to try this dish, and even less so when our request that they cook the hearts to medium turned out more like medium rare. I loved the flavor of the beef heart though, which was nice and smokey from the grill and surprisingly very beefy in taste. Josh couldn’t get past the texture, which was a little chewy and bouncy, but I thought it was pretty tender considering that it was beef heart. I ended up polishing off most of the dish.

Antichuchos de corazon (grilled beef heart brochettes)

Our last dish was ocopa, which is sliced boiled potatoes covered in a thick, creamy yellow sauce that tastes strongly of Andean mint. The sauce is traditionally made with milk and cheese, and is super rich. This version had pieces of fried cheese on top that were nice and salty, as well as pieces of hard boiled egg and olives. It was an interesting combination of flavors and textures, but unfortunately, I took an instant dislike to Andean mint. I don’t know why exactly, since I like regular spearmint and peppermint, but I had a strong aversion to the Andean kind. Whenever I tasted it in any dish during the rest of our trip, I would immediately recoil in disgust and stop eating right away. It made no sense to me, but I really just didn’t like it. Josh, on the other hand, did enjoy the mint, as well as the ocopa. I guess we don’t always have similar tastes!

Ocopa

When they brought our check, they also brought us two marshmallows to finish our meal on a sweet note. I forget what flavor these were, but they were sweet, light, and airy.

Marshmallows

Overall we thought the food at Chi Cha was pretty good. While I just didn’t like the flavor of the ocopa or the potato and cheese gratin with the rocoto relleno, it was just a personal taste, not an issue with the preparation. Josh liked the dishes that I didn’t enjoy, and I absolutely loved the beef hearts while he couldn’t take the texture. We both thought the service was very efficient. In fact, our dishes arrived so quickly that we wondered if they had everything already lined up to go in the kitchen sitting under heat lamps. I don’t think that was the case though, because everything was sizzling hot and not overcooked or dried out. Our three dishes, plus a few beers, came out to S/82, or about US$30. Not bad. It’s definitely a place that I would recommend for some local Arequipan cuisine in a nice atmosphere.

Chi Cha
Santa Catalina, 210 Int. 105
Arequipa, Peru

Tags: Arequipa, BBQ, Cheese, Peppers, Peru
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Peru Day 3 – Arequipa

Monday, October 18th, 2010 by virginia

On our third day in Peru, we had breakfast at our hotel in Lima before heading to the airport to catch our flight to Arequipa. Breakfast was pretty ordinary, just an omelet, potatoes, a roll, and some more salchichas.

Salchichas, omelet, roll, butter, potatoes

The flight from Lima to Arequipa left at 10:20 and was only about an hour and 20 minutes. As soon as we got off the plane we could see the impressive volcanoes that border the city. After we were dropped off at our hotel, we had some time to kill before our city tour in the afternoon so we went out to get some lunch. The guide that brought us to our hotel made a few restaurant suggestions, as well as some recommendations on what to eat. We ended up at Chi Cha, which unfortunately turned out to be a chain restaurant, but the food was decent.

Our city tour started at the Santa Catalina convent, which is like a city built within the city. It housed cloistered nuns was closed to the public for 400 years, until 1970. The nuns that used to live there were mostly of wealthy Spanish descent, and they had servants and slaves. Their wealth was quite obvious because some of their rooms and furnishings are on display. There are cloistered nuns who live there now, but their current setup is very different. The walls inside the convent are really colorful, with bright oranges and blues everywhere. The streets are cobble stone and are named after Spanish cities. It really was an interesting place to visit.

Bright orange walls

Bright blue walls

Spanish style streets

Restored kitchen

Spanish style courtyard

Bright blue columns

After leaving the convent, we drove to the outskirts of the city to get a better view of the volcanoes and the beautifully lush, green valleys. The volcanoes are called Chachani, Pichu Pichu, and Misti.

View of the valley

Misti volcano in the background

Next we drove to the Yuanahara district of the city, which is famous for its buildings made from white volcanic rock (called sillar). There was a pretty church with intricate carvings in the front.

San Juan Bautista Church

We made our way back to the center of Arequipa and went to visit another church with beautiful carvings in the front, La Compania. The church is also made from white volcanic rock, and our guide pointed out images with hidden meanings woven throughout the carvings.

La Compania Church

Next we walked over to the main square in Arequipa, the Plaza de Armas. There are palm trees all around and a huge fountain in the middle, plus tons of pigeons everywhere. There were lots of people just hanging out in the square, and the mood was very festive.

Plaza de Armas

Arches all around the square that reminded me of Spain

The last stop on our city tour was the main cathedral. It’s an enormous structure with identical towers on each end. There was a gate surrounding the cathedral that had beautiful wrought iron work.

Cathedral facade

Intricate iron gate in the front

Inside the cathedral is a statue of the devil “in jail,” trapped underneath a pulpit. It is kind of a freaky looking statue, and I think it’s very rare to see any images of the devil in a Catholic church.

The devil in jail

After our city tour ended, we walked around the plaza for a while then went back to our hotel for a drink before dinner. Our hotel was quite beautiful, in a completely restored stone building. It looks like an old castle but the bartender showed us pictures of what it looked like before the restoration, and it really was quite a mess. The details they put into the construction are really pretty amazing.

The bar at our hotel that looked like a room in a medieval castle

We ended our night in Arequipa with an adventurous dinner at a restaurant called Wayrana that involved crayfish and cuy. It was our first taste of guinea pig on our trip, but not the last. More on that later!

Tags: Arequipa, Peru
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La Rosa Nautica (Lima, Peru)

Sunday, October 17th, 2010 by virginia

When we first expressed interest in going to Peru several years ago, we were told by a Peruvian travel agent that we absolutely had to go to a restaurant on pier in Lima called La Rosa Nautica. This was reaffirmed by my brother-in-law who attended a wedding at the restaurant and said it was really great. So when we finally arrived in Lima, we knew that we had to have dinner there.

We were pretty tired by the time dinner rolled around after walking around Lima all day, but we were looking forward to this meal after hearing so many great things. Our experience kind of got off to a bad start though when we were ripped off by a taxi going to the restaurant. We ended up being charged US$8, when an earlier taxi ride from a greater distance cost us only 7 soles, or about US$2.60. It kind of put me in a bad mood but I vowed to put the incident behind me, because we had been looking forward to this meal.

We arrived at the restaurant, which is at the end of a long pier that extends out into the Pacific Ocean. I’m a bit terrified of water during daytime, but at nighttime, the waves crashing in the dark all around us really spooked me. When we got inside the restaurant, however, I immediately relaxed and took in the beautiful atmosphere. The space is circular, though the restaurant is divided into multiple rooms. Around the perimeter is large floor-to-ceiling windows, which would probably give a great view during the day, but since it was dark, we didn’t see much. We did get a table right next to one of the windows though, and when we looked down, we could see the waves rolling into the pier, which was freaky for me but still pretty cool.

We asked our hotel concierge to make us a reservation, which scored us yet another free Pisco Sour welcome drink. It was similar to the one we had at Alfresco, refreshing and boozy.

Pisco Sour

There was table side bread service and we each got two rolls, a baguette-like roll, and a heartier wheat roll. Both were served warm and had nice outer crusts and good flavor.

Warm bread

At this point, Josh and I were looking through our menus and trying to decide what to order. As I was going through my menu, I was confused because nothing had prices next to it. I flipped around wondering if this was a prix fixe menu, with one price at the end, but there was nothing. I looked over at Josh and asked him how we were supposed to know what everything cost, and he looked back at me confused. Turns out his menu had prices, and mine did not.

This is a practice that I’ve read about but have never witnessed for myself. Apparently I was given the “woman’s” menu, one that did not list prices, while Josh had been given the “man’s” menu that included prices. Even though Josh found it amusing, I was actually quite insulted and outraged. I understand the “theory” behind this practice, that if a man and a woman were out on a date, the man would most likely be paying and would want the woman to order whatever she wanted without worrying about what everything cost. However, I think this is a very antiquated train of thought as nowadays, many people choose to “go dutch” on dates, and who is a restaurant to assume that a man is always the one to pay?

If a man was in fact trying to impress a woman, then he should be able to call up a restaurant and ask them to give her a menu without prices, with the understanding that he was paying for the meal. But that should be able to work vice versa as well. Likewise, if I were hosting a dinner and didn’t want my guests to feel awkward about how much I was spending, I could call up the restaurant request menus without prices for everyone. But for this restaurant to arbitrarily decide that just because I was a woman dining with a man that I wouldn’t need to know the prices, that is just presumptuous and completely sexist.

I was fuming at this point, and Josh didn’t help by laughing it off and refusing to share his menu with me. He said he wanted me to enjoy myself, but it was hard to order blindly without knowing if the dish I was ordering cost an arm and a leg. This was a very expensive restaurant to begin with, the most expensive restaurant we went to our entire trip, and I didn’t want to end up spending US$100 on one dish, especially considering I wasn’t very hungry that night. Josh claims that if I did manage to choose the most expensive item on the menu he would have told me so. I guess I didn’t order something outrageously expensive because our bill was pricey but still relatively reasonable in the end. I just wish that they would do away with this extremely chauvinistic practice.

We ended up starting off with an appetizer platter to share, since it gave us the ability to try four different dishes. We chose from a list of 12 hot and cold appetizers, and went with a few of the dishes that my brother-in-law’s friend (the one who got married at this restaurant) recommended. We picked the ceviche, the cold octopus, parmesan scallops, and seafood wontons. It was a huge platter of food, all nicely arranged on large shells on top of a mountain of curly parsley.

Mixed appetizer platter

The ceviche was the traditional style with lime, and also had a yellow chili pepper sauce that added a little kick. The ceviche was topped with large kernels of corn and sweet potato, something we found to be standard in Peru. The corn kernels were super big but were chewy and not very flavorful. The sweet potato actually enhanced the flavor of the seafood, which we thought was very fascinating.

Ceviche limenito

The seafood wontons were nicely fried and crispy but there wasn’t very much filling in them. They didn’t taste like seafood at all so Josh was disappointed with the flavor, but I kind of enjoyed the crunchiness after all the other “soft” food we had been eating. They came with a tamarind sauce for dipping that was slightly sweet and tangy.

Fried wontons

The cold octopus with vinaigrette and olive oil was one of the dishes that came highly recommended to us. The vinaigrette was like a creamy olive sauce that enrobed the tender pieces of octopus. There was definitely a strong olive flavor but it didn’t overpower the seafood, which I liked.

Octopus in a creamy olive sauce

Our fourth appetizer was parmesan scallops, which was a scallop still in its shell covered in a parmesan cream sauce and broiled so that the top was brown and crusty. It was an interesting combination, more Italian tasting in flavor, and went against the theory that you shouldn’t mix seafood and cheese. We also squeezed some lime on top for a little zip. It was a very rich dish but tasty nonetheless.

Parmesan scallops

Josh and I were kind of switching back and forth between the different appetizers but we finished the scallops pretty quickly since there were only four pieces. We were working on the ceviche and the octopus when I noticed a movement on the plate out of the corner of my eye. In the empty shell that had previously held the scallops, a green worm-like bug was making its way across the shell. It was a really weird looking thing, super skinny and narrow, but very long. It had multiple legs on its front end and back end, but none in the middle. I watched in horror, but to my credit, I didn’t yelp when I saw what it was. Josh quickly called over a waiter, who promptly removed the shell but my appetite was slightly ruined. It wasn’t that it was a huge bug or anything, but just the fact that it had been on the plate the whole time, probably hidden in the forest of curly parsley, is a little disturbing. Who knows what else was lurking in there?

Little green visitor

We didn’t make a big deal about the bug, since we had already eaten most of the appetizer, and the waiter was apologetic when he took it away. A manager came over to us immediately and apologized again, offering us free dessert to make up for it. It was a very nice gesture, and one that we appreciated.

Moving on to our entrees, I ordered the Rosa Nautica Seafood Rice, which was seafood and shrimp stewed with chili peppers, beans, bell peppers, and cilantro, served on top of a bed of rice. The seafood was cooked properly, not tough or chewy, and the rice was very flavorful. It was a solid, simple dish, not spectacular, but well prepared.

Rosa Nautica seafood rice

Josh, ironically, did order the most expensive thing on the menu, the Rosa Nautica seabass, which was cooked in a pernod sauce and served with scallops and crayfish (camarones) on a bed of yellow Peruvian potatoes. The whole thing was topped with a piece of puff pastry that the waiter cut open for Josh. It was an interesting presentation, but Josh thought the dish was super rich. The seafood was swimming in a thick, creamy sauce that was slightly overwhelming. The crayfish were tasty but nowhere near as good or as large as the crayfish we would have later on in the trip.

Rosa Nautica seabass

We were really full at this point so we decided just to split one dessert, even though they offered to comp dessert for the both of us to make up for the bug incident. We chose the chocolate souffle, which took an extra 20 minutes to make, so Josh enjoyed a cortado (espresso with steamed milk) while I finished up our bottle of malbec wine.

Cortado

The chocolate souffle was light and airy, though the grand marnier sauce that came with it was super thick. When they presented the souffle to us, they poked a hole in the middle and “poured” in the sauce, but it was so dense that they sort of had to scrape it into the souffle. I thought that was a bit strange, but both the souffle and the sauce tasted wonderful. The souffle had a nice sweet chocolate flavor, and the grand marnier sauce was rich and creamy. We enjoyed the dessert very much.

Chocolate souffle with grand marnier sauce

Overall we kind of had mixed feelings about our dinner at La Rosa Nautica. The restaurant is beautiful, and a great place to go for a romantic meal. I was displeased though by the sexist menu policy, and I thought our waiter was a bit pushy when we were ordering our wine. They were supposedly out of stock on our first choice, a reasonably priced malbec, and the waiter kept trying to get Josh to order a different wine that was twice as expensive. Josh stood firm though and picked out another malbec that was still reasonable, but I found the up selling to be kind of annoying. The restaurant did handle our bug issue properly though by apologizing immediately and offering us something on the house to make up for it.

Food-wise, everything was well prepared and pretty tasty, but nothing really stood out in particular. It was just solid, classic Peruvian cuisine, though we could tell the seafood they used was super fresh and the ingredients were top notch. Cost wise, however, this was by far the most expensive meal we had on the entire trip. Dinner, including wine, cover charge, and tip (minus the free dessert), cost S/330, or about US$122. Definitely cheap by New York standards, but extremely pricey for Peru. It was a nice experience though, as we had a great time chatting throughout dinner and enjoying the atmosphere. If someone is looking for an upscale splurge meal in Lima, this place definitely fits the bill.

Dinner coincidentally ended on the same down note that it started on though, as we were ripped off once again by a taxi going back to our hotel. Since the restaurant is on a pier that is kind of on a desolated stretch of the highway, with nothing else around it, we had to take a cab that was furnished by the restaurant. There was no negotiating on the rate, so we had to pay S/20 to get back to our hotel, or US$7.40. Definitely New York prices, if not more, since our hotel really wasn’t that far away. Oh well, I guess it’s part of the deal when dining at the restaurant. Regardless, it was a lovely evening for us, and we left with mostly positive feelings about the restaurant. Now if only they’d do away with that stupid misogynistic menu policy…

La Rosa Nautica
Espigón 4 Circuito de Playas – Miraflores
Lima, Peru

Tags: Ceviche, Lima, Peru, Seafood
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