Art in Callao

Last Friday we took a trip to Callao, Lima's port city, where a portion of its old downtown has been being cleaned up and restored bit by bit.  One of the features is an old building, which I am told, was at one time the central post office.  It has an grand hall which crosses from one side of the block to the other, with marble floors and busts of philosophers and artists lining the walls. Above, a beautifully-preserved stained glass ceiling allows in plenty of soft natural light.

The numerous side rooms on the first floor have been turned into spaces for artists to display their work, most of it with an ironic sense of humour or touching on social themes and issues such as environmental degradation, youth culture (basically, hip hop), and so on.

 

 

 

La Mar Cebicheria

 

My plane landed shortly after 4 in the morning, which was a great time as I was able to pretty much breeze through immigration --which can sometimes take a long time, depending on the number of flights arriving in a given hour.  Then, I could get myself settled into the apartment, grab some breakfast --coffee and pan con chicharron, of course-- at a local cafe, get some grocery shopping done, and obtain a local SIM card, and still have a full day ahead of me in which to enjoy being back.

I then headed for lunch to La Mar cebicheria in Miraflores.  Over the last couple of trips this has become a first-day-back ritual for me, with the taste of cebiche serving as a sort of I-really-am-in-Peru marker.

 

  

 

 Naturally, I started with a pisco sour.

 

And, then, since they had urchin available, I went for a Callao-style mixed seafood cebiche with urchin roe.

 

And finished with a pescado a lo macho - fried fish filet topped with a spicy seafood sauce.

Thus fueled, I then continued with my errands for the day.

I'm Back in Lima

 

I'm back in Lima. I've been here for a bit over a week, busy hosting guests, attending family functions, and dealing with a plumbing emergency at the apartment.

That's all done now, and I have some quiet time to get to blogging and other tasks, so here goes: ...

Update

 I have gone through the sidebar at right, removed dead and broken links, and updated the lists a bit. Enjoy exploring them!

For best enjoyment, watch full-screen and use headphones.

No trip this year

I didn't update this blog during last year's trip, as I was more focused on working on Beer511.com.

This year, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused air travel in and out of Peru to be suspended, we will staying home in California.

Stay safe, and be well, everybody!