Memos for Mimi: Family Reunion

It’s a pretty rare occurrence for the Lynn clan to find themselves in the same place at once; more often than not, it happens in a foreign country. My family has the habit of using the nomadic lifestyle of my sister and I as an excuse for family vacations. As such, Momma Lynn, Papa Lynn, Marissa, and Mimi made the trip down south to visit baby Ne. This group comprises a significant percentage of my readers; as such, this next post will mainly consist of photos with, what I hope, is witty commentary.

My folks arrived Thursday night; through some crazy coincidence my family was on the same flight as Erin's boyfriend (guess if you are traveling from an unspecified destination in New England to Lima you don't have that many options). After a pollo a la brasa oferta at the local Don Belisario and an adventure among seas of lovers in Jamaica (the small forest of palm trees behind el Comedor Central at Catolica) with a box of Gato, Erin and I headed to the airport in Callao to recoger our respective gringadas.

On Friday while Adrienne and I were busy making the next great discoveries in archaeology, my family explored the Huaca. Then they got the first taste of comida criolla (the cuisine of Lima)-a heady experience for all. I repeat: the best thing to do in Lima is eat, eat, and eat some more. In comida criolla, like Lima, "hay de todo"; the culinary influences range from Europe to Asia and the taste buds are never disappointed. That evening we went to Panchita with Claudia (a Peruvian friend of my sister's from school) and her family. The night was a veritable culinary explosion that began with the proclamation: "in Peru we have 3,000 different varieties of potatoes" and didn't falter once. Our families got on like a house on fire; a fact only lubricated by enormous pisco sours.

The spread at Panchita: causa (potatoes layered with seafood, avocado, etc), anticuchos (grilled beef hearts in special sauce), papa rellena (little fried balls of potato joy stuffed with ground beef, egg, and other delicious stuff), tamale (masa -corn meal dough- and chicken served with salsa criolla -purple onions in lime juice-), ají de gallina (chicken in ají cream sauce), potato bread, pisco sours, cremas on cremas on cremas, and so much more.

On Saturday we embarked on the now familiar Centro de Lima tour: las Catacumas, la Catedral, chifa in Salon Capon in el Barrio Chino, Parque de la Exposición, and Polvos. The highlight of the day was seeing a llama on leash in el Barrio Chino, and watching my family try to navigate Lima's grungy and chaotic heart. That night my sister and I hung out with some friends. Photo credit to Beto for this awesome picture of "las gemelas".

In Lima, Sundays are for the family and God. This Sunday was no exception; my host family took the whole clan to the la Once Ave for lunch. A truly excellent cevichería tucked away in Surco with outdoor dining, live music, and incredible food.

The grupasso: Raúl, Pochy, Wendy, Elen, Diego, Alonso, Alvaro, Marissa, and I.

My brothers and I.

Causas de los cuatro luces.

My host family and I in the garden at our house.

Monday the honey moon was over; I had to head back to Católica for my second to last week of classes. However, the family made the best of their time in el Museo de Oro in Surco and explored Barranco. I did have time to join them for empanadas at a local hole in the wall and a boat of sushi at Wasabi.

View of Lima from the Malecon. Don't let this picture fool you; its rarely this sunny in Lima.

On Wednesday morning my parents and sister headed to Cusco to go trekking while my grandmother embarked on our tour of Ica. Here are some photos from the trek; the mountains bring tears to my eyes. Its long past time that I returned to some semblance of wilderness.

On Tuesday afternoon everyone reunited in Lima-just in time for some casual salsa dancing. Sargento Pimientos has free live music every Tuesday night. During the weekends Sargentos is really just a grungy dive that plays 90's rock music for college students, but on Tuesday nights its filled with a dedicated crowd of regulars who light up the dance floor with their well practiced moves. I almost lost one of my favorite earrings in our taxi, but through a weird chain of coincidences they came back to me.