25-June-2011, Lima Peru, La Mente – Sonidos de Systemas
Wow, one of those furiously lucky nights out and about on my travels. Hanging at the Kokopelli in Lima and some people were off to see a live band. Now I can only think of one other thing that I can get more kicks from, I just love live music.
The band La Mente (translates to “The Mind”), a Peruvian dub set got me rollin’ and rockin’ my socks off. With 2 lead singers taking turns at throwing out suave political lyrics over superb dub beats. I was in heaven rollin’ into the early hours. I suppose they are a little like Salmonella Dub, only better. Of course I had no idea what they where harping on about, but the pure music and powerful stage performance took them straight to the top of my music charts.
All good things must come to an end, and as the lights came on it was time to head home. And as our group dispersed I came to become be dancing with a group of locals. We became friends.
Lima became a home away from home for me, I had decided to take time out of the backpacking circuit and chill. Everyday I would go to the awesome Cafe-Z just below Parque Kennedy and study for a number of hours and drink the best cortados in South America.
 The cafe is decked out super cool with old iron designer furniture, and is always playing great music. The yoghurt fruit cake is exceptional! |  And here is some of my family enjoying a few late night gins. Meet Sara, Andrea, Kay. |
A few days later we were off the one of the wonders of Lima. The fountain park. This place is great, and must be viewed at night.
The park is about 3 acres of colourful fountains with laser light shows and symphonic music.
 Look out, you don’t want to get wet |  Laser light show and symphony music make for a great time. |
Lima is a big city, and they Peruvians have become very proud of their food. This is understandable, it is simply excellent. They are incredibly creative and have influences from around the world. While I was in town the Mistura food festival was on YIPPEE.
 Oh yeah, fancy some food cooked by a monkey? |  Grilled meat by the ton! At Mistura you buy food tickets and join lines to get at the food. The line for this one was 2 days long |
 How about some potatoes. Peru has over 2000 types. It is also pertinent to the theory that descendants of Peru made it to New Zealand, as we have the same sweet potatoes that are only found in South America. |  And how about some delicious guinea pig? It’s a delicacy here. The Peruvian name is cuy and they are great eating. These ones have had exceptional treatment as they have nice hats to wear and have been deep fried |
Lima is also known as a pretty sad place for weather, and unfortunately I have to agree. It is constantly cloudy due to it’s location west of the Andes and the ocean mist that is always lingering (Although this lack of sunny days actually makes the place super ideal if you want to get some work done). Fortunately, just 40 minutes to the west you can escape to constant sunshine and instantly warmer weather. There are numerous weekend getaways out here that cater for the whole family. With games, lots of food, swimming pools, DJ’s and horse rides. Sara and I went to investigate Cieneguilla.
Oh yeah, sunny days with swimming pool and DJ booth in the center. Bring on the fun!!
 First things first and time for a Peruvian delicacy. Pachamama! It is a pot of meats, potatoes beans and corn all cooked in an earth oven just like a Hangi in NZ |  Sara, happy to show me the ropes on devouring the food, and the latest Peruvian stylee. |
 Ohhh baby |  nothing to do but chill!! |
I had a number of adventures in and around Lima, and my little family welcomed me to parties, clubs, birthdays and seaside resorts. I had a great time and was extremely sad to leave. Ahh Lima, my little home away from home, I hope to be back soon.
Laters.x.B.rad
