Lima coast

Photographs of Lima taken from the district of Barranco.

MATE but no chess

MATE is the name of the cultural foundation recently opened by the Peruvian photographer Mario Testino in the district of Barranco in Lima. The centre will house works by Testino and other Peruvian artists. The current exhibition is called Todo o Nada and is composed of around 50 works by Testino that have appeared in different fashion magazines.

Monet´s favourite flower...in Lima

Claude Monet loved water lilies. He had them at his garden in Giverny and depicted them in hundreds of paintings, which today hang in museums all over the world. We found some water lilies in the botanical garden of Lima´s Agricultural University in the district of La Molina, a small garden outside the usual tourist itineraries. The university also has a small shopping area before entering, besides the main entrance, where you can buy plants, fruit, vegetables, local roots and herbs like maca.

Flamenco in a box in Lima

If you have seen a performance of flamenco, since 1977, you may have noticed that one of the instruments was literally a box. In that year, the renown guitarist Paco de Lucia, performed in Peru and noticed a box-like instrument called cajón. He was so captivated by the sound that he incorporated the cajón as one of his accompanying instruments. Since then, el cajón has been part of flamenco music and if you happen to be in Lima, the ICPNA is staging its annual flamenco festival running between the 10th and the 25th of January. The photographs below are from the performance entitled Sentidos given by the Cuéllar sisters, Diana and Jimena on the 18th.

Cebiche in the Panamericana Sur

For anyone travelling south of Lima, a stop at El Piloto is a must. This roadside restaurant offering traditional Peruvian food in big portions is an institution in Peru and with good reason. In a recent visit, two of us shared a very good tiradito (cebiche) and causa, which you can see below. The bill, including two beers and mineral water came to around 30 euros. Not cheap for local standards but reasonable considering quality and quantity.
Since the construction of the new motorway a couple of years ago, the restaurant is in the "old" Panamericana and you have to make a short detour in order to get to it, but it is worth it.
Panamericana Sur Km 138, San Vicente de Cañete (Tel. 91052552).
They also have a branch in Boulevard Asia and have recently opened in Pisco.

Tiradito

Causa

Dakar 2013 - Stage 1

Photographs and video of Dakar 2013 - Stage 1 - Pisco.

Dakar 2013 base camp in Pisco

First photographs of the Dakar 2013 base camp in Pisco (Peru). One day before the start of the race, we visit the Dakar 2013 base camp, which was still being prepared for the first stage of the race.