Barranco

   

 Thursday was Carter's first day at school. He is at the American school, Roosevelt, where classes are all taught in English. His teachers are Ms. Giuli & Ms. Jaqui (July and Jackie). They wear uniforms of sweatpants with polo shirts. Carter gets on a little bus to come home, and I wait for him out in front of the hotel. He and I both were ready for school to start...he finally has kid-time everyday and I am happy to be busy with work (though I do want to start a 4hr/day Spanish class and am not sure how to fit that around work).

Saturday went out to explore a bit of the Barranco neighborhood. It is along the cliffs, south of Miraflores. It is the bohemian quarter of Lima...with plenty of bars tucked along narrow streets. Each block seems to have at least a couple of colonial era buildings, some restored and impressive, but most sliding slowly to earth, losing masonry and plaster. Many are fenced off and uninhabited. The colonial buildings are a mix of stonework ornamented with wood trim, railings and finials. The central plaza of Barranco is picturesque, with a nice colonial church and civic building (the 'Biblioteca'). The area is not high-end artsy, buildings have graffiti and the people on the street are a mix of types.

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A walkway cuts down from the center of Barranco, through the palisades, and goes down to the beach. Over the walkway is a very old wooden bridge, the Bridge of Sighs (named for a colonial story of thwarted love). Carter took a picture of Jen and I there. We were pretty hungry and happy to come upon a funky railcar from the elegant era, converted into a café. Sided in wood, with stained glass windows and sconces, a musty smell and staffed by dudes who looked as if they owned skateboards. One played piano the whole time. I had my first Peruvian "causa"...an upper and lower layer of seasoned mashed potatoes, stuffed in between with savory items, often seafood. This one was more like a salad, stuffed with beets, avacado and asparagus. Accompanied by a Chilcano, a pisco drink with ginger-ale and lime, the meal hit the spot.


Afterwards, we ambled about a bit more, stumbled upon a store of Peruvian merchandise (I would call it souvenirs, except that it was really high quality stuff, as the busload of Japanese tourists would have agreed). We bought what is probably not our last piece of Peruvian weaving. The colors surprise me...it's not a set of colors I would think myself enjoying, but Jen and I were both really taken with it. Perhaps the fact that it is clearly hand tinted, designed and woven is what does it. I don't know.