January 14 – Lima, Peru

January 14, 2017 – Lima, Peru
At 7:45am, I left the ship to start my tour entitled “Market to Table – A Taste of PeruvIan Cuisine”. We first went to the Minka Market. This is a full city block size market where stalls sell, fruits, vegetables, poultry,fish, meat, flowers and miscellaneous other things. The fruit and vegetable stalls look like works of art. We wandered through for 2 hours with our guide getting us samples to try of some juices, fried king fish, and plantain chips.
Our next stop was across town. We got to see many neighborhoods and oceanside parks. We got to our destination – Restaurante El Senorio de Sulco. First we had a cooking lesson from a chef. We learned to make Ceviche, a local appetizer called Causa (layers of mashed potatoes and chicken salad), and finally Lomo Saltado, a fusion dish of beef tenderloin, onions, and tomatoes in a soy, garlic sauce. After each dish was made we got a chance to sample it. At the end we were given recipes and a diploma. We then proceeded upstairs to the restaurant to eat lunch which consisted of the 3 dishes we had just learned to make plus dessert. We were all given a Pasco cocktail and a soda. Most of us tried Inca Cola which tasted like cream soda but was made from lemongrass.
Our final stop was a tavern for a glass of beer or wine. The guide brought out pork sandwiches that the locals eat when they go to a tavern. She said she was going to order one sandwich per person but decided to order 4 and have them cuts in fourths . Only 3 people ate their sandwich. We were still very full from lunch.
We returned to the ship at 4pm. It was a good excursion but too long on too few hours sleep.
I went to the ship’s doctor because even though my cold is in its final hours, my left ear has been bothering me starting before I left for the Galapagos. I am now taking Amoxicillin for the next week since it turns out I have an infection. Oh well.
Tonight is a Peruvian Folkloric Music and Dance Show. I’ll try to stay awake until 9:30pm to see it.

The black corn is boiled with cinnamon to make a drink.