MUNGO EATS Latin America

We have had a little more fun in Lima, since I last wrote.  On Boxing day (which does not exist here), Betty’s nephew, the ONE with the car, took us for a drive to see the ocean and beaches of Lima.  There were a few sandy areas, but a lot of the coast that we saw was covered in pebbles or cobbles.

We watched some surfers for a while as well.  Also, we watched a monk, or maybe a guy dressed up as a monk, dive off a rock  bridge into the ocean.

There is a restaurant ideally located behind the stone bridge that is aptly called, “The Jumping Friar”, or something to that effect.  The reason I don’t think it was an actual monk is that as soon as he finished jumping, he hoofed it up to the road to collect money from all the people who watched him jump.  Just another street performer?  Oh well, entertaining!

Yesterday Kevin and I  spent a somewhat frustrating day trying to accomplish two tasks, buy dog food, and get a propane adaptor.  Both tasks were largely unsuccessful. 

We have been pretty good at finding “good” dog food up until now.  Whenever we stumble onto a place that has the food that we are looking for, we usually buy a few bags, and up until now, we have managed to keep the hound on premium brands.  Yesterday, we had to sink to the level of buying Pedigree!!!  At least we didn’t stoop to Purina Dog Chow!!!  I know, I will admit that I am a dog food SNOB!!  I find it hard to feed my dog food that is coloured like a box of Smarties.  You know, it isn’t the spinach that is changing the food to a green coloured kibble!!  In any case, we finally relented and decided since our diet has been less than ideal as we travel, maybe the dog’s diet can also be less than ideal.    It’s only another 5 months after all.  Heck, most people spend  their entire teens eating less than ideal!  Kevin is looking forward to seeing if the poop will be multicoloured too.  Yippee!!

With regards to the propane adaptor, we equally struck out.  There has been propane available, all though the trip.  The real trick though is, can you find someone to sell it to you, and if you do, are the valves and fittings compatible?  At the beginning of the trip, getting propane was just a matter of finding a plant that would sell it to us.  In Peru, propane is sold at the gas stations (just like in Canada), making it readily available, but the fittings are not compatible.  We were trying to find an adaptor, that would allow us to fill our propane tanks at the gas stations.  We know where to find the fitting, we think we know what it is called, we even got a taxi to drive us to the right store, but, it was closed.  So we will end up there again on our way out of town on Monday morning, and hopefully get what we need. 

Last night, Betty and Maruja (Lucho’s mom), took us to a park, to look at the Christmas lights and fountains.  In Canada, you tromp around on snow looking at Christmas lights.  In Lima, you go to the water park!!  There were a number of fountains, all lit up with different coloured lights.  Many of the fountains “danced” to music, kind of like the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas.  Water would spray from different jets, in different directions, in time to the music, to create a show.  At times, various images were projected onto the water, like a movie.  It was pretty cool.  I did not have my camera with me unfortunately, so I did not get any pictures.  I am sorry.  The communication in this house is not always ideal.  Sometimes, I understand exactly what I am saying yes to, sometimes it is a total crap shoot.  Last night, I understood that we were going to a park, but I really had no idea why.  It was therefore a pleasant surprise!!!  It is fun though.  Betty and Maruja are a comical little pair.  Betty is always moving at about 5 million miles an hour, she crosses roads without a moments hesitation, just a little fireball.  Maruja, in many ways, is the total opposite.  She just slowly walks along at her own pace, checks and double checks before crossing the road, often pulling Betty out of danger (although, Betty has been crossing the roads of Lima fine, for her entire life!!), and often when Betty looks around for Maruja, she finds her sitting on a park bench, relaxing.  In many ways, Maruja has the right idea.  She just watches Betty buzz from place to place like a little bee, and once she has found the right direction to the hive, Maruja joins her.  Smart girl!! 

Today, we restocked the van.  We were out of pretty much everything.  It is amazing that you can fit all the contents of one very overflowing grocery cart into a little camper like that!! 

Tomorrow, we will be leaving Lima.  We will be heading north again to see some of the things that we missed in our rush to get here in time for Christmas.  Be forewarned, that we may be out of posting range for a few days.  I will do my best, as always.