Welcome to another day in my life, this week I have been left in charge of my father's business while he is away on business. Now I haven't been left in charge of everything just some responsibilities along with the well being and security of his business, that's all.

Last week was a very interesting week indeed. I spent most of the week in the car with dad running around the entire city in a desperate attempt to accomplish several tasks before he left.

The city of Lima is huge which often makes running errands an all day experience. This isn't such a bad thing if you have a camera handy because there is always something going on in the city. I remember sitting in the car with my father and john (my godfather) in congested traffic on the Av. Alfonso Ugarte in North side of Lima. Traffic was barely moving and we were killing time by eating sugar cane, a snack that can be bought on the streets and is really good. After about 15 minutes of sitting and stuffing my face I noticed 3 cars down a man who had approached a dark sedan from the sidewalk. At first I did not think much of it since there are a lot of vendors and beggars that walk the streets going from car to car, but then he looked into the car and thats when it happened. The guy pulled his arm back like he was going to throw a punch, thats when I noticed that in his hand he had a rock the size of a softball. Within the blink of an eye the theif had the window of the sedan shattered into a million pieces and with the same speed and agility he dove into the car through the window. With legs sticking out it is unclear what went down inside the car since the windows were all tinted, what is clear is that when the thief pulled out of the car he appeared empty handed. My father who had been watching searched furiously for his gun which he had apparently forgotten. This seemed to irritate him as he was ready to deal with the thief on his own terms. The thief who ran past our car was clutching his other hand which was covered in blood. This time the thief walked away with nothing but a beating as it was now clear that the individual in the car must have beat the crap out of him. What was a 3 minute rush of adrenaline to witness such an act was now over and after a few minutes of scanning for other possible thieves all went back to normal. After all that has just happened I admit I feel kind of sad, not because what happened but because I had put my camera away just before the incident took place. :( Oddly enough this whole incident was followed by a lecture on vehicle safety and dangers of traveling in the city from my father...Fun!





The next few days were nothing but sunshine and smiles with the winter weather on a hiatus. Sunny weather always makes for colorful pictures. most of these above photos were taken in Chorrillos and Magdalena del Mar.

Below is a photo that depicts a scene of an activity that is all too common in Peru unfortunately. Often many times for what seems like no real reason at all, a police officer will pull you over, still think it's nothing...think again. Because the National Police don't have the kind of funding that police in the United States have, they are unfortunately underpaid. This in turn leads to the kind of corruption that is common place in a city like Lima. What you see below in the picture is nothing more than an attempt by two police to intimidate a civilian in an attempt to collect bribe money. Most people usually end up paying the "toll" so that they can go on with their lives, abeit a few soles poorer. Unfortunately my father having inherited the "badass" gene can't help but expose their intentions in the most verbal and aggressive manner. For him it's effective they usually aren't prepared to deal with an individual who doesn't give a damn about authority.



Some photos of downtown lima, the sky was fairly cloudy and ugly so I used black and white for my photos which I prefer when overall color is muted.




These photos were taken in a seafood restaurant in Breña. The below picture is of a dish that I consider a personal favorite. This is a variation of Causa de Pollo, with crab meat as a substitute for chicken. The yellow stuff is mashed yellow potato which is native to Peru and is rare (code for hard) to find in the States. The crab meat in the center is mixed with a little bit of homemade mayo and a mixture of diced greenbean, carrot, and sweet pea. The red salsa that is drizzled on top is made from garlic, lime juice, and rocoto. It is delicious.