 I have already previously written about different beaches located near Lima: Asia, Punta Hermosa, Chilca, Pulpos, Pucusana...This weekend I went to San Antonio beach, located at the km79 on Panamericana Sur. It is a private beach that belongs to Lima's Regata's Club: the access is only for members and their guests. Apart from the beach, the location has a few swimming pools, restaurants, sport facilities, water park for kids, gym...I had been there many times before, but usually just for a day. This time we were there to celebrate a birthday and we stayed two nights (the club offers different kind of housing options and there is even a camping area).
It's already autumn here, so the weather was unpredictable: on Saturday, it was sunny until lunch time and we could take advantage of the beach and the pool...
But then, the afternoon looked like this: We did not let the changing weather conditions to ruin the party!
It's the off-season now, so San Antonio's restaurants were mostly closed. The birthday lunch was therefore a picnic style BBQ with homemade fish ceviche as a starter... ...lots of meat from the grill: lomo, chorizos... ...and salads, including an exotic combination of potato and peach (not bad!)... I had made this cake with bananas, Brazil nuts and rhum, with Nigella Lawson's recipe (I left out raisins and frosting with chocolate chips was my own addition. It's called Forgiving Banana Cake, because it forgives you for modifying the recipe!): Sunday was mostly cloudy, but it did not matter. It was nice to walk at the beach and watch the (big!) waves -and we even saw some dolphins!
Alessandra Petersen LIF Week 13 photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
For those who have already got an overdose of fashion in my blog: I promise, this is the last post of this year's Lima fashion week! Next week there are going to be fresh topics, including a new Entrepreneuring Expats interview.
But now, ending this week with these photos from Young Designers show at LIF Week 13. Above you can see the collection of Alessandra Petersen...
And here below, men's wear from the collection of Yirko Sivirich:
Yirko Sivirich at LIF Week 13, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Yirko Sivirich at LIF Week 13, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
The jacket here above is super stylish...but what else do I see? Is the good old "birckenstock with socks" -style fashionable now? Having worked many years in the academia, my eyes are so used to this combination, but now it's on the catwalk!
Yirko Sivirich at LIF Week 13, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Itala Testino, LIF Week 13, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Above and below, summerly and feminine dresses of Itala Testino.
Itala Testino, LIF Week 13, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Wishing you a nice weekend!
I'm back with more Lima Fashion Week 2013 -this time I present Claudia Jiménez show!
I was very curious about this one, as it was one of the names I recognized having seen her designs in some Peruvian magazines. This year's collection is called Fleur de Femme, with many sophisticated details: pearls, sparkling materials, ballerina dresses, black lace bolero type jackets...the color scheme varied from metallic tones to soft pink, including black and white. Even the make up was sparkling, and I particularly liked the models' breaded hairstyles. The accessories came from a brand called Black Velvet.
Claudia Jiménez at LIF Week, Photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Claudia Jiménez at LIF Week, Photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Claudia Jiménez at LIF Week, Photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Claudia Jiménez at LIF Week, Photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Claudia Jiménez at LIF Week, Photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Claudia Jiménez at LIF Week, Photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Claudia Jiménez at LIF Week, Photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Peruvian designer Ani Alvarez Calderón brought on stage very sophisticated and dramatic looks.
Dresses were mainly black, white and red outfits with some subtle ethnic details -apparently the collection was inspired by the region of Puno, region known for its Fiesta de la Candelaria -festival. In addition, some models were wearing intriguing veils and turbans, which gave a mystic touch to the collection.
Here are some of the best looks from the show:
Ani Alvarez Caldéron, LIF week, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Ani Alvarez Caldéron, LIF week, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Ani Alvarez Caldéron, LIF week, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Ani Alvarez Caldéron, LIF week, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
Ani Alvarez Caldéron, LIF week, photo ©Juan Martin Cabrejos
In a city of 10 million people like Lima, the traffic is certainly an issue. The public transport is developing, for example with the recent metro project, but still the main form of transport is cars. Lima is a city made for cars, the taxis dominate the urban scenery.
There are taxis of all kinds: unofficial and official, old and brand new cars, symphatetic traxi drivers and potentially dangerous ones. The first thing you have to learn in this city is how to negotiate the taxi price -few of them use meters, so always discuss the price before getting in. And if you want to be on the safe side, use only official taxis the ones that have a licence number (or companies like Taxi Satelital). A taxi sign alone does not mean anything -those can be purchased anywhere.
Even if it is quite unlikely that you get the same taxi twice, there are some generic types of drivers.
WARNING: This post contains some heavy stereotyping!!!
Here comes my listing: - The Clueless. He does not know any neighbourhood and excpects you to be his GPS. He may be ignorant about rates too, and ask for too much or too little. He is either new in town or new in business. Don't even bother to ask any restaurant recommendations, and make sure he does not ask you to pay for the extra tours he is making while trying to find the address.
- The Side Business Guy. This one perceives taxi driving as a way to recrute a client base for his other, often rather shady side businesses. Ask for a bar or a restaurant, and he will take you to his cousin's place where he gets a commission. You want gambling, women or drugs? He has the contacts. Some have even settled their own mobile cigarrette and sweets shop into their car.
- The Gadget Guy. He has all kinds of gadgets on top of his dashboard: teddy bears, Wunderbaum, photos of his chilldren, cd holder, some even have a television. You wonder how he sees anything behind all that stuff. Be careful because all that smartphone activity and DJ'ing may make him slightly distracted and possibly dangerous in the traffic.
- The Religious Guy. This is a subcategory of the Gadget Guy. He has built his personal altar on top of his dashboard, with objects such as icons, crucifix and relics, even some mystic objects bordering on witchcraft. He can be easily recognized by a bumper sticker that says "Jésus te ama". You will feel strangely safe in his car, like benefiting from his divine protection, and most likely his strong values will prevent him from cheating too much with the fares.
- The Coke Head. He is not really a taxi driver by profession, but occasionally when he snores, he feels like going out for a drive and find someone to talk to. Then he puts his taxi sign on and hits the road. He is not necessarily dangerous, but can be highly annoying. Stay away if possible.
- The Shady Guy. He has scars on his face, jail tattoos, his prices are suspiciously cheap and he is really insisting to get you into his car. He may smell like alcohol and hey, wait a minute...is that a gun poking out from his pocket? Run!!!
- The Perfect Guy. This one will have his fares attached to his window next to his taxi driver licence and copy of his ID, or he actually uses the taxi meter. He knows his way, can give you advice and may even have a real, working GPS. He handles you the newspaper of the day and has change for even a 100 soles note. This one is hardest to find, but once you find him, take his phone number and pass it to your friends, too! Particularly recommended for women who take taxi alone.
What do I have in common with the soon-to-be ex-Pope? Not much, generally speaking, but we both wear shoes made in Peru!
I recently heard from an anonymous but reliable source, that the (ex) Pope used to have his shoes made specially for him here in Peru, in Trujillo! I wonder if he ever had similar experiences than I had last year with my drunk made boots? Probably not -I could imagine that if you were honoured to make pontificial footwear, you would make sure to make an extra effort to stay sober until the job is done! There's only one Pope, after all. Whereas for the rest of us, the average consumers...Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi.
Anyways. This year I had better luck with my almost made on measure summer shoes. I went to a shop called El Closet de mi Hermana in Miraflores, and was checking out sandals. When I found a nice model from a Peruvian brand called Warmi, they told me I could customize the colour and even the material -it coud be leahter or suede. They showed me sample pieces of many colours to choose from and to combine as I wish.
I chose mint colour in leather, and I was told within 10 days I could get my shoes. That was not very convenient, as I was about to leave on holidays soon...But no problem, they kindly arranged that I could get them in a week. And after all, they were ready even earlier, and the colour was just perfect!
And for sure they are at least as comfortable as the Pope's episcopal sandals...  WARMI sandals
There is a new book out there,"Where the Chefs Eat: A Guide to Chefs' Favourite Restaurants", by Joe Warwick. The title is pretty self-explinatory: it reveals where the chefs working in high-end restaurants go to eat when they want to eat out. And they do not necessarily choose Michelin star places -in fact, many of them seem to prefer understated, local spots.Last Saturday's El Comercio newspaper revealed -in the spirit of this book -some recommendations from the well known Peruvian chefs. Some of the places mentioned have already been introduced in this blog, such as classic, night snack place in Barranco, Juanito, favorite of Pedro Miguel Schiaffino (has several restaurants in Lima: Malabar, Nikita, Amaz). Rafael Osterling (Rafael, Cafe del Mar) recommends El Pan de la Chola as a breakfast place - if you read my "Entrepreneuring Expats" interviews carefully, you many remember that designer Carolina Restrepo also recommended that place for bread (and she also likes Schiaffino's restaurant Amaz that serves Amazonian fusion plates).
Other places I picked from the article and would like to try soon are Korean restaurant Dos Hermanos, Tokio Ramen for ramen noodles and Nikko for a nikkei style (Peruvian-Japanese) ceviche, all recommeded by chef Hajime Kasuga (Hanzo).
I am FINALLY getting some international recognition for the hard work and selfless efforts I have been putting to this blog for quite a while. As you may have noticed, two quality badges have appeared at the right side bar: one from InterNations and from Expat Blogs. InterNations is a online and offline community "connecting global minds", and my blog is now featured as a recommended Expat Blog at their Peru section. I have not yet had time to explore more about their activities, as I have been very, very busy writing this blog (and a little bit my thesis, too, among other things). But perhaps I will soon - I already joined the network, and got 'twinkled' by some fellow global minds! As for the Expat Blogs, it is a website uniting expat bloggers around the world. They also have forums, contests (money, money!!!) and awards, and in addition they publish blogger interviews. I got interviewed, recently! I tried my best to give proper answers and not to troll too much. If you want to read my interview, click here.
The 'Entrepreneuring Expats' series in my blog will continue as soon as I will get new interviews done. Before that, I will also write more about the jungle adventures and reveal some scandalous secrets, so come back soon, dear reader!
Until next week...Have a nice weekend!
According to the Chinese horoscope, we are now entering the Year of the Snake. I can not tell you what that means to you, me, or the humankind, but I can instead tell you something about the Chinese New Year's celebrations in Lima's China Town (Barrio Chino).
Today, suddenly remembering that today is the big day, me and my chino ( 'chino' in Spanish means Chinese person, but in Peruvian slang it also translates into 'guy' or 'dude') jumped into a taxi and hit the downtown Lima, Capon street more specifically. Lima's China Town is not a large area, in fact it is just Calle Capon and a couple of blocks around it. The Chinese immigrants to Peru settled down here back in 1850s. You can find Peruvian Chinese restaurants known as chifas, stores, acupuncture clinics, horoscopes, pastry shops, herborists and whatnot. Today, despite the striking heat, the street was crowded as everybody was there for the parade.  Reporting from Calle Capon  Year of the Snake -China Town Lima People started to gather outside of Salon Capon dim sum restaurant, waiting and waiting...  photo © Juan Martin Cabrejos Until finally: firecrackers, smoke, clapping, whistling, noise, people pushing, drumming, police cars...The big dragon came out and everybody rushed forward to touch it, as this supposedly brings good luck for the forthcoming year.  photo © Juan Martin Cabrejos There is of course no point of visiting Barrio Chino without eating in one of the chifas around there. Today, due to the festivities, many places had long queues outside, but we finally found two seats in Chun Koc Sen. We ordered a few plates including shrimp and mushroom siu may (in the center), ha kao (on the left), min pao filled with chicken (the white 'ball' at the bottom) and fried pork (plus some steamed vegetables, but they arrived too late to make it to the picture).  Photo © Juan Martin Cabrejos The delicacy of the neighbourhood is a coconut bread, that is so popular that by the afternoon it had already ran out from many places. Finally we found a pastry shop that had one loaf left, to take home. I also popped into a small grocery store to buy some very healthy aloe vera juice (jugo de sábila) and pu-ehr tea.  Coconut bread from barrio chino The Chinese New Year coinsides with the traditional Peruvian carneval month. We had to quickly find a taxi to escape children throwing paint and water on by-passers! Oh yes, that is part of the tradition and it's fun, but I was wearing a white dress... FELIZ AÑO, CHINO! PS. Oh, and I have some news: I am starting a new series of posts, and there are going to be some interesting interviews coming up in this blog. Come back soon!
 Here are some more photos from the recent trip to Tarapoto and its nearby regions - I don't want my readers to think that the Peruvian jungle is only a one big Christmas theme park!In fact, Tarapoto is a city of 118 000 inhabitants. The airport is located near the city (15 minutes ride with a mototaxi), so if you are visiting Peruvian Selva Alta, the highland jungle, you are most likely to start your trip from here, or at least stop by. The center of Tarapoto is busy and noisy with its shops, salesmen, mototaxis, bars and restaurants. But if you want to escape the rhythms of Oppa Gangnam Style you can walk only few blocks away from the center and you will already find more peaceful quarters with local residents' houses and the typical jungle vegetation in their gardens and back yards.This photos were taken in San Roque de Cumbaza (about one hour ride from Tarapoto), from a hiking route from the river Cumbaza to an ecological mirador up in the mountains.
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