Notes on the restaurants in Lima

Amigos:

The next is a "copy" of someone else's post (that I can't recall to mention, sorry for that!) but it reflects just what I wanted to tell you:

Lima, the city where I live, is well known because its great cuisine. You can find delicious food for every taste and at reasonable prices. You just have to choose what kind of food are you in the mood for. Here is some general information about the restaurants in Lima, I hope it'd be helpful.

Tips: they are not included in the bill. We usually tip 10%. If you are paying cash, just leave it cash, but if you are paying with a credit card, just add this amount and do the math before signing the voucher(Note of JSR: but please, check what is done with your credit card in the meantime, for example: if anyone is trying to "clone" it if when they carry it with them to the cashier).

Security: something that can surprise you is finding chains under your table or in the chairs. They are used to lock your purse or bags. Some years ago, Lima wasn't very safe and this was the way to protect your own things against robbers. Right now, it's not so unsafe, but just in case...(Note of JSR: I don`t agree, it is still unsafe!).

Hours of attention: depending on the kind of food they are open for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. Just the cebicherias (the seafood places) work only for lunch. We don't use to have seafood for dinner.

Left overs: if there are left overs you want to take with you, just say it is: "para llevar", so they will put it in a doggy bag.

To share: if you want to split a dish, just tell the waiter this is "para compartir", so he will bring 2 plates.

Buffets: they are becoming more popular and you can find chinese, peruvian, seafood buffets. Their prices usually don't include a beverage. The food can be cheap, but they will make money with the beverage

JSR

Is it safe to live in Perú?

Amigos:

After reading several of my posts, the question arises naturally: could anyone live safely in Perú? The answer is not a simple one: if you are native to this country it would be easier, safer, but nonetheless free of risks if you don't follow the "common sense" (the less common of the senses) rules; as anywhere, you have to know the town, the city or the metropoli where you live; but .... if your skin and the color and shape of your hair or eyes signals that you are a typical caucasian citizen (or japanese, malayan, indian, etc., etc.) and, worst than that, your spanish is more "spanglish" or "portugnol" (spanish-portuguese) and so on, then ... beware where you roam in the cities, specially the larger ones.

In my case, I am over 6 feet tall and, in spite of the light tanned color of my skin, there are some places outside of Lima (where I live) that many people tend to realize that I'm a foreigner (arab perhaps?); it may be because the typical peruvian is a little over 5 feet tall (when I played basketball in Iquitos, a nice city in the jungle of northeast of Perú, I was called "the giant player from Lima": they didn't know that if I stayed near Kobe Brian or "Magic" Johnson I would be seen as a dwarf!).

So, if you look, per say, as japanese, and talk "japagnol" (japanese and español or spanish) the "cream of the cream" of the criminals would spot you from miles away if you strand inadvertly over our streets. You'll be approached easily by hords of "gentle" people trying to sell you the skeleton of the "young Francisco Pizarro", who founded Lima in 1523 (he died at the age of 56, I think, in Spain), or offering themselves as tourist guides in a taxi in Lima, for some ridiculous 100 american dollars the hour, and the like.

If you plan to visit, make some businees or establish in my country, you'd better get the advise and help of someone who really knows the daily security problems here (such as ..... me!!!; that was too obvious, or not?).

Yes, it is safe to live here if you respect the rules, if you keep a low profile, if you don't wear innecesary jewelry or drive a impressive new car on the wrong places, or exhibit a dozen credit cardas when you pay your bill at the hotel or restaurant, etc.

Then you'll be able to enjoy the friendliness of peruvians, the beauty and gentleness of our girls, the unequal flavors of our incredible cuisine, visit safely many wonders we have here to show (as The Lost City of the Incas: Macchu Picchu, The incredible Amazon River, our part of the jungle, The largest Mud City of the World or Chan-Chan, The "out of this world" Nazca Lines, and so many others.

You have to know that President Bush recently signed the Free Trade between the USA and Perú, so the chances of making big business here are unequal!

Hoping you'll visit us soon,

JSR

Police corruption nowadays in Perú

My friends:

I'm sorry to say that, to some degree, or in some places of our country, our national police force is corrupted to such levels that it is hard to understand.

Today I read this news: a local businessman went yesterday morning to a near bank agency in Lima to retire a regular amount of cash he needed to buy wood for the furniture industry he runs; while he was on his way for the wood, 2 vehicles with 3 burglars inside intercepted him over a lonely corner; this guys shot three bullets to the air and grabbed the money inside the car; the businessman stayed put and only memorized the faces of the robbers; the burglars fled away as hell with his money leaving him alive and unhurt but terrorized.

After some minutes he needed to recover from the terrible experience he went to the local police station to make a formal complaint about it and, to his incredible surprise, guess what......

He recognized the police station chief, by the clothes he was still wearing (civilian clothes) as the head of the burglars who robbed him minutes earlier! Later he knew that a second officer from the same police station was involved in the case! Some fellow officers, after being informed by the businessman of the case, arrested inmediatly the suspected burglar and today, the bad officer recognized as being involved in such a crime and he is now in preventive prision to be soon judged.

Of course this case is one of many we read about (or see in local TV news) regularly but it is also true that most of the police officers are professionals that put their own life in risk to protect us against the organized crime in Perú; I've heard that in Mexico there is a popular saying that goes like this: "if you are robbed don't tell it outloud, the police could be near and can hear you!!"

JSR

Pirañas in Lima?

Amigos:

You all know about pirañas (or piranhas, in portugese); they are very agresive small fishes that live in the upper parts of the amazonian rivers and they act collectibly as when a young rat or bird (or whatever living creature) falls down to the water near them; they attack this prey in large numbers, so ferociously, that in a couple of minutes nothing rcognizable is left of it.

But, piranhas in Lima?

Yes, we call "piranhas" to large group of juvenile burglars (almost always they are around 13-17 ages old) that roam some well known places in the suburbs of Lima looking for any unawwere by-passer that looks as if he (or she) carries some valuables on ("valuables" can be even an almost new pair of keds, a wristwatch or some coins on the pockets.); inmediatly, and appearing from nowhere, perhaps a dozen "pirañas" jump over their current "customer" and while some of them just inmobilize him (or her),or knock him (her) down, the others pickpocket him (or her) until nothing of value is left; as soon as they appeard, they now dissapear in near passages, abandoned houses or the like, just as their "cousins" of the amazonian rivers do!

You can get an idea of both type of piranhas from the two next links in YouTube (Warning: the scenes from both videos may hurt some sensitive people):

http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=fxw1EFcm3vw http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=qeSjgqmsaGw

JSR