My camera and I present Name: Alan Estrada Dream: Travel the World Bhutan Canada Dubai Morocco Vietnam Mexico India United States This country has jungle, mountains, desert, ocean, a history of thousands of years, and a spectacular gastronomy which makes anybody want to become a historian, archaeologist, or chef, Welcome to Peru! Peru Presented by Dockers Five things you should know about Peru: 1. Most nationalities do not requiere a visa to visit Peru, nevertheless, I recommend you to visit Peru's embassy webpage in your country, to check if you need a visa, or not, to enter the country, and how long can you stay without a visa. 2. Peru has three official languages, Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara. The last one is believed to be one of the oldest languages in the world. 3. Peru's currency is called is called Sol, $1 US dollar equals almost $3 Soles (data from 2014. Currently in 2017, $1 USD=$3.25 Soles) You can exchange main world currencies in airports, hotels, and currency exchange offices, I recommend to use these last ones because they offer a better exchange rate. 4. Generally speaking it's simple to divide Peru's history, The Pre Inca era, the Inca era, and the Colonial era. although the correct name for the Inca era is 'Tawantinsuyu', which refers to the culture of the four cardinal points, and its flag is a rainbow, which often gets mistaken for the gay flag. 5. Peru is a country that can be visited year round, although peak season is from June to August, which is the dry season, when it rains the least, yet it's the coldest, and it's ideal for trekking, and doing trails such as the Inca trail. I asked several locals, and they all agreed that May is the best month to visit because there aren't many tourists, and the weather is nice. I'm at the Mexico city airport, about to board my flight to Lima, I chose an Aeromexico flight which flies at night referred to as 'red eye', because when you arrive your eyes are red. I like these flights because you fly at night so you can sleep in the airplane and you save a lot of time. What I mean is, tomorrow I'll be landing in Lima at dawn, and that thrills me. I've arrived to Lima, Travelers! I'm going to be staying at two different hotels in this city, so that you can see different lodging options, I'm starting at the '1900 Hostel', which is in this incredible building, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel himself. You can either rent a bed, or a small individual room, which is what I booked, so as you can see, some hostels also offer rooms, but way cheaper than hotels. Breakfast is included, and it's located right across the Lima Art Museum, theres' another park over here, and a few other interesting museums, and it's very close to downtown. They haven't given me my room since I arrived very early, so I'll leap to through time to show you my room. This is my private room, I share a bathroom, it doesn't have a TV, or anything special. Mattress test! Travelers, you already know that when I visit a city for the first time, I like todo it with a local guide, so that he can introduce, explain, and help me with all the info both historical as well as cultural. Therefore I want to introduce to you, a woman whom I've been talking to for the last five to ten minutes, and we clicked, so I'm sure you're going to love her. Say hi Margarita! Hello everyone, yes, I'll be showing you the city. I am a 'Limeña', I was born in Lima, because there's a lot of people who come from the provinces, but I am originally from here. Lima is, after Cairo, the second largest capital in the world located on a desert. It was founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535, even though the area was already inhabited long before. The remains of these early civilizations can be seen in the 'Huacas' ceremonial sites built of adobe which are open to the public. This is the main Huaca Pucllana, Huacas may be visited, although only in guided visits which are about an hour and a half long. In case you're interested, here's the link so that you can check their tour schedules and the different languages. (huacapucllanamiraflores.pe) I don't have time to do it, but you can take some pictures around here, Margarita already showed me around, and we saved the $12 soles entrance fee, and the time. We went from the old, which are the Huacas, to the modern, which is this neighborhood, San Isidro, which is the best area, right Margarita? Now we have other more exclusive and modern areas, on the East side of Lima, Yet this was a good area, yes, this was the traditional residential area for the high class people. This is the 'Olivar de San Isidro' a very beautiful park, full of old Olive trees, which people really take care of, because they give the park a great personality. There are many birds, there's hummingbirds, and several other native species. Birdwatchers come here to observe the typical birds from this area. Many wealthy families, sons and daughters of European immigrants, who came here during the second half of the 19th century, built their homes here based on European styles according to their family origins. This place is beautiful. Margarita takes me to the English Bar, in the luxurious 'Country Club Lima Hotel', where the prestigious Bar manager, Roberto Melendez, prepares for me a famous 'Pisco sour'. This English Bar was inaugurated on February 8th, 1927. I have ben working here since '98, my father was a former barman at the Mauri Hotel, where the Pisco sour was created. It was created on April 1st, 1916, in downtown Lima, at Morris Bar. The recipe is original from the Mauri Hotel, what I've done is to simply replicate the formula. The Pisco sour is an aperitif, it stimulates appetite. It's the only sour in the world with six elements, It has Pisco Puro Quebranta, lemon juice, which makes it sour, balanced with the sweetness of Jarabe de Goma, egg white, ice, which gives it the temperature, and Amargo de Angostura, six elements. We have the glass which has been previously chilled, then e'll ration 4 ounces of Pisco Puro Quebranta, what I want to highlight in this cocktail is the Pisco, especially it's quality. We balance it with an ounce of lemon juice, sugar or syrup, the egg white which will add body and texture, we will add the ice, and we mix, and mix, and we serve it, we add the sixth element, and this is Sir Pisco Sour from the English Bar t the Country Hotel. This is tradition, it's a good Pisco Sour. It meets it's characteristics and fulfills its role, and always prepared with fresh elements and a good Pisco. There can't be a better welcome to Peru, it's my first day in Lima, my first Pisco sour in Peru, prepared by Roberto's hands, he's the bar manager here at the English Bar. It's like, well, I don't have anything to compare it with, but let's say I'm doing great. Let's try it. Oh, it's delicious! Yes it has the right Pisco, the sourness. Yes, the only problem is that I can get really drunk with this. 20 minutes later... (Singing in Spanish) Okay, let's go. Look guys, I'm going to try to walk, like this, without falling over, yet I have to tell you that I'm really well served with that Pisco Sour, I'm drunk, Would you want me to tell you a joke, or sing, or dance, or something? Let's move on, I mean, if the Pisco Sour is an aperitif, well the next thing is to eat, right? Good afternoon! We're here, we're here! We now moved to the 'Runcu Hotel' in the Miraflores district, which is one of the pretties neighborhoods in Lima, because I'm going to learn to cook Peruvian food. Hello, Alan, it's a pleasure to meet you. Hello, I'm Gonzalo, my pleasure, how are you? To keep on with my feet two centimeters above ground, Gonzalo, the chef at the Runcu Hotel, begins the class with a tasting of pure Pisco, to be followed by a 'Chicano', another cocktail prepared with Pisco. Cheers! Oh Margarita, you had a head start, not cool. No, I touched it with my lips, but I haven't tasted it. What happened with the Peruvian hospitality? I think you booze without distinguishing people. Hey, this is good! I'm scared Margarita, I feel I'll go back to Mexico with 7 kg of overweight, and transformed into an alcoholic, and straight to rehab. No, you're not going back alive (joking). Time to cook We start with the Ceviche, we cut the fish diagonally, we chop the onions, and cut the lemons, we add salt to the fish, and then we squeeze the lemons to 70%, to add their juice, we add onions, cilantro, and a little bit of bell peppers, and bell pepper sauce. We serve it with boiled sweet potatoes and dried corn. It's time to taste it, I think I did a good job. I am a 'discriminations', 'discriminationist'? Seven. Class: $180 Soles We continue our class preparing the famous 'Causa' a type of mashed potato sandwich filled with tomatoes, olives, avocado, sauce, and decorated with grated boiled egg, and a fried shrimp. It's time to try the Causa, which, if I may say so, I did a good job, it looks very nice. I mean, this guy, what a great chef! Right? I have a problem with Peruvian food, it's addictive! Finally we prepared one of my favorite dishes, the famous 'Lomo Saltado'. When I told you guys I was coming to Peru, seven out of ten comments that you made had to do with food, mentioning the ceviche and the lomo saltado, Today in this cooking class, I've tried three of the most traditional Peruvian dishes, the Causa, the Ceviche, and now it's time to try the Lomo Saltado, which looks delicious! Excuse me. This is great! Really good. This fruit, which I've never seen before, called Lucuma, is the most traditional fruit in Peru. I have no idea of what it tastes like, but I'm going to try it. The texture is... it's flavor is hard to describe, and it's not so sweet. No, it's not so sweet, yet it's good. We mix it with sugar and chocolate, Lucuma ice cream is one of the favorite flavors in Peru. Honestly Gonzalo, I learned a lot, thank you very much! I don't know if I can cook as well as Gonzalo, but t's worth being introduced to the Peruvian food, which is so delicious and so varied, and nowadays so famous worldwide, and in Lima, Peru. Thank you Gonzalo, it's been a pleasure! Thank you, Alan. I'll leave here the info so that you can take this cooking class, (cafeteria@hotelruncu.com) where you will not only learn how to cook the food, but also you'll learn to appreciate it, and that's really important because every time you order something, you'll know if it's well prepared or not, it's like you'll be quality controllers. Of course, you'll now know where it comes from, right? Exactly! Next Chapter: That was Lima's original name. There are some catacombs which are full of skeletons. To see the Erotic Art Gallery. This is beef heart. This has remained original, and authentic. Visit our online store, and see the official merch of 'Alan X el Mundo'. We ship all around the planet. Subscribe to my channel, and browse through more than 250 videos around the planet.
