On our first day sightseeing in Miraflores and Barranca, my wife and I took the modern bridge over the highway from Barranca to Miraflores. This is a relatively new link between the two areas, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to move freely between them.
There was an eerie calm the first morning, but that was because we arrived in Peru before breakfast and went for a walk.
During the COVID pandemic, I remember the government rushing to protect the UK population. Hospitals were created in exhibition centres, and single-use ventilator kits and PPE were acquired in large numbers.
The daily deaths shocked the nation. We were told to stay at home, despite Boris having the controversial parties.
But in Lima and the rest of Peru, the government was slow to respond. Doctors stepped up to help the sick and elderly, and what you see here are the names and faces of over 600 doctors who lost their lives due to COVID.
Peru suffered roughly double the number of deaths per million of their population compared to the UK.
On our second day, after we had visited the market, we were taken to lunch at a lovely restaurant overlooking the sea, where surfers took to their boards and showed their skills at navigating the waves.
We had a demonstration putting together a Peruvian Causa dish and a demo making a Pisco Sour.
In the UK and elsewhere in the Western world, the presentation of food helps us savour the flavour as we pick our way through our culinary delights.
So imagine the scene: we sat at a table as the chef brought out his prepped vegetables and other ingredients to put together a dish for us.
He first carefully placed various items in the dish and finished off the presentation with edible flowers, but then did this! He covered it all up!
Finally, in the Southern hemisphere, you may or may not know that the water goes down the plug hole anti-clockwise, unlike in the UK or Northern Hemisphere.
Their toilets flush, and they have running water, but if you use toilet paper, you can’t flush it away; you have to place it in a covered bucket or bin.
I can’t remember ever seeing a scooter like this one that we came across as we walked back to the hotel.
Just a few differences we experienced.
