An American in Lima

El Fotografo can’t kick this chest cold he’s been suffering from for three weeks. Not even the schlep to Santa Eulalia last weekend could knock it out of his system. So I decided to try a home remedy on him that I read about in Suite 101.

Now EF’s lying in bed swathed in poultices and blankets, just four feet away from me, and the room reeks of Indian food.

[Read more →]

Valley of Santa Eulalia, Peru, which has sun, big rocks and amazing avocado ice cream

There is no sun in Lima during the South American winter. No shifting light. No shadows. No way to tell 8 a.m. from 5 p.m.
Just a flat grey sky that stays put, like lint in the dryer basket.
I wrote about this yesterday [...]

[Read more →]

The sun disappears almost completely. The sky is the same dead grey color, from 8 in the morning to 6 at night.
A strange weather condition called garua invades the city. Garua is a damp, cold mist that hangs in the air like a cobweb and turns the sidewalks into slippery deathtraps.
It never truly rains, however, so the dirt and soot don’t wash away. Buildings, plants, cars, street signs – everything is covered in layers of dust (polvo) made moist by the garua.
Humidity levels climb during winter, intensifying the cold. As the months wear on, the chilly humidity creeps into the marrow of your bones, until you feel like an old carrot left in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator.

[Read more →]

It’s June 4, and that means winter here in Lima. Back in northern Florida, where we lived for six years, I’d be wearing short and turning on the AC this time of year. Strange to be pulling out the winter jackets and wool pants, but I have to: Lima esta frio! (Did I mention? None of [...]

[Read more →]