After what was a long week here in Lima, a few friends of mine and I decided to get together for drinks last Saturday.  Zdenka and I arrived at Albazo's around 9:30PM, where I had told everyone earlier to meetup. 

Albazo's is this small little bar on Av. Berlin, located just around the corner from the Calle de Los Pizzas in Miraflores.  The thing I enjoy most about this bar is that it's usually never croweded which, makes it a great spot for gatherings with friends.  The place serves a wide array of alcoholic beverages at reasonable prices for being located in Miraflores.  I usually prefer to order my 1 liter bottle of Pilsen and at S/.11 it's a great deal.  The music at Albazo's pretty much says alot about the people who frequent their, nothing but good 90's and 80's music, for me this is a nice change in pace from all the latin music that I hear regularly (not that I don't like it either). 

for those of you who are interested here is the address: calle berlin 172, Miraflores

Sitting there waiting for my friends to show up we decided to have a few drinks and enjoy the loud drunken shouting of a group of guys who were rocking out to Los Heroes del Silencio.   Unfortunately for us the DJ (or who ever the hell was in charge of the music) decided to humor the group by playing a marathon of "Heroes", which only meant a continuous, almost never ending roar of off key singing.  I should also probably mention that Zdenka had been and continued to suffer from a tremendous migrane of epic proportions that not even 4 excedrins, 2 cups of mate de coca, and an almost empty bottle of beer could cure.  It would be an understatement to say she was in pain, yet being the trooper and awesome girlfriend she decided to stay inspite of my attempts to call it an early night.  When the music had finally switched gears and all the shouting had come to a lull, my friends came waltzing in one by one through the door.  Orgasms, Vodka/Tonics, Pilsen, and a side of french fries were ordered as we put our still sober heads together to come up with a game plan for the night. 



A decision was made and dancing was elected as the designated activity for the night.  Walking down the crowded Calle de Los Pizzas we found a club that was decent enough without being ridiculously packed.  The music was varied but wasn't any different from you hear at just about every other club (with the exception of electronica and techo...That GOD).  More beer was consumed as is custom as well as law in such places.  I did my fair share of dancing, though in all honesty I could have danced more.  Everyone appeared to be having a good time and the night was starting to wind down.  It was roughly around 2AM when Zdenka looked over at me and visually threw in the towel.  I said OK and we said our goodbyes to everyone and were quickly on our way home.  Thankfully I was sedated enough to not really care about sleeping on the couch but in all honesty I can sleep on just about any surface if the situation calls for it.

Ok, I had to post this when I read it the other day.  A black bear in Hayward, Wisconsin walked into a local grocery store, as freightened shoppers witnessed the bear head straight to the beer cooler. 


It looks like Hamm's Beer decided to take their promotional marketing to the next level and bring in the live talent instead.




Here is a link to the article posted on MSNBC 

*photo taken from MSNBC site

It's late and I am bored but thankfully the internet knows just how to get me into the mood (I know what some of your are thinking but that's not what I'm talking about, shame on you).

I was catching up on my daily reading when I came across this awesome commercial posted on The Portland Mercuries blog. Check it out and be amazed!

Of course it's a Guinness Commercial

Last Saturday I was hanging out with my girlfriend Zdenka at my place watching movies when we decided to go out and have some fun. We usually discuss what we want to do and plan out our night a little but not this time. I believe we spent roughly 30 minutes asking each other what each other wanted to do (you know the stupid back and forth that happens when two people have no idea what to do). Finally I said F-it (that's right I just censored myself, I Know I'm shocked too) and we decided to wing it, college-style.



I had the cab driver drop us off at Larco Mar in Miraflores. Once there we happened to walk by the Marriott Hotel's Majestic casino, surprisingly I was intrigued. Know the last time I can remember gambling was back in college when I was a student at the University of Portland, but that was just your average dorm room poker. In all honesty up until that night I had never actually played in a casino.

Seeing all those bright colorful lights drew me through the front doors (and past the hired muscle), like a fly to bright light. All the different sounds, lights, smells, and embellished carpeting seemed to heighten my senses. I was excited and nervous, I had been a long time since I had gambled and the fear of performance anxiety made my palms sweat. My fears are subsided as Zdenka takes my hand along with my S/.10 in coins, she's not afraid, she's been here before. She guides me too a slot machine and I ease into the drivers seat. I am instantly confused by all the buttons and on screen commands. The slot machine has an Asian theme with several recognizable (A.K.A. stereotypical) images. Zdenka explains how the game works and I do my best to pretend like I understand what she says. The first coin deposit is always the hardest but I reminded myself that I was here to have fun not invest in my future children's college fund (yeah right, like that's going to happen. That's what scholarships and student loans are for).

Anyways long story short, I started winning money (it's a good thing) and managed to walk away with a reasonable chunk of change (S/.90 to be exact, and that's from my initial S/.10). Knowing when to quit while I'm ahead (thanks Kenny Rogers) I decided to cash out. Feeling good about my win I asked myself: "self what does a person who has just won S/.90 do with that money?", the answer was simple "blow it on booze and food, duh".

So off walked Zdenka and I up Av. Larco where we passed a sports bar called "The Corner", and it was even on a corner too. I instantly like the idea of it being a sports bar and Zdenka was down for pretty much anything (A woman who will watch sports, drink beer all while in a rowdy bar full of drunk and obnoxiously loud males is a keeper in my book).

The Corner at first glance is a small sized bar with a warm interior full of sports paraphanilia and tons of flat screen tv's. The place a big bar and all the tables were high with comfortable stools. I found The Corner to be fairly comfortable with a fun atmosphere that made me reminisce about my college years and my Phi Delt brothers.




So we sit down in this packed bar full of mostly late 20's to late 30 year old's and I spot what looks like a hugh tube sitting at the table across from me. One of the guys moved his head and I realized that the tube was full of beer and it reminded my of a beer bong (aw..college what didn't you teach me). I was interested and I had to order it. On The Corner's menu I saw that it was called The Tower and it is basically a tall bong full of 3 Lt. of beer that is accompanied by an order of Taqueños w/guacamole. At S/.57 I was sold, so I ponied out some of my winnings and basked at the task ahead. I looked over at Zdenka who was at awe at the prospect that lied ahead and told her that the night was just beginning (it was 11pm).

While waiting on the Goliath of a beer I noticed that my sports viewing options were fairly narrow which disappointed me a little. The choices that night were a boxing match between some dude from Mexico V. some dude from the US (the guy from the US won, take that MeJico!), a soccer match, and ESPN highlights covering the weeks College Football Games. I chose to watch the ESPN highlights figuring I could catch up on all the football I was missing (Great to see UofOregon doing good but even better to see that the Washington Husky's beat the crap out of USC, their overrated even if they have talent).






Finally the Tower was brought to our table and the drinking was commenced. The taqueños were awesome by the way, a perfect snack to accompany a nice cold beer. Zdenka and I then dedicated the next 2 hours to chugging down an unidentified beer in the comfort of what eventually became an empty bar. The first 2 Lt were solid for the both of us both, as we both felt fine, except we weren't (as a veteran party animal and alcohol hobbyist, I should have seen the signs of my impending intoxication). The last remaining liter of beer proved to be the final nail in the coffin and before I new it I was frenching the Tower and milking it of it's sweet malty nectar. 30 minutes later our task was accomplished and in our inebriated state we said our goodbye's to our new friend The Corner, knowing that one day we would return.



The rest of the night turned out great and I wish I could comment on it because the details are still kind of fuzzy (all I can say is that the night continued to get better. I'll let you make your own conclusions). What I can say is that The Corner while not cheap is great place to hangout, drink, watch sports, and make an ass out of yourself. I will definately be going back there again.

NOTE: also they have a great food menu.

Here is another great review of The Corner by Ben JonJak

The Corner Sports Bar and Grill
Av. Larco 1207, Miraflores.
444-0220.

After a long day of work, on a Saturday no less, what is the best way to unwind? Three words: food, booze, and friends, I believe that sums up a great Saturday evening.

Last night I went to a Panchamanca party in Lince, where the food was abundant and succulent, the kind of perfection that is only achieved from hundreds of years of tradition. All my friends were there drinking and eating, and just having a good time. I'll admit that it wasn't your average college party, it was more of a laid back kind of party.

The beer was plentiful and at S/.5 who could complain. I did not get drunk...this time and was fairly proud and slightly disappointed in myself, those are the kinds of feelings that people with high expectations have.

Not much else to say so here are some pictures of me being goofy:

So it's Friday and I have been busy working like a mule on steroids (I have no idea how to picture that). Unfortunately this keeps me from dedicating more of my free time to this wonderful blog, and don't even get me started about my Twitter responsibilities that I have neglected (besides nobody wants to know what color my lucky underpants are...their blue). I found this video on one of my favorite Portland blog sites, personally I found it hilarious but I have come to realize that my sense of humor tends to disgust others, so....yeah!

CAUTION THE FOLLOWING VIDEO MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR SOME VIEWERS. VIEWER DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED (my lawyer advised me to add that) CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK...NO SERIOUSLY I WARNED YOU, (GRANDMA THIS MEANS YOU, IN FACT YOU SHOULD PROBABLY JUST KEEP READING AND IGNORE THE VIDEO ALL TOGETHER, TRUST ME. HONESTLY THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WHERE YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THIS WARNING BECAUSE YOU WILL STILL LOVE ME IF YOU DO.) OK....<**DEEP BREATH**> here is the link

As much as I love to work I can always find comfort in the weekend, a time dedicated to accomplishing as little as possible with no worries towards my future or reflections of my ever fading youth (I know I'm sooooo old). It's a special time to unwind with a nice beer (which in Lima is slim pickin's), Zdenka and friends by my side, and some good food (well there's a fourth thing but we won't go there).

Where does one go in Lima when they need quick and excellent printing services? Why central Lima of course, and that is exactly where I spent my afternoon today. In search of a printing shop that could put together the sexy brochure I completed at a reasonable and economic price.

In downtown Lima there is a place near the Plaza de Armas where you will find several small and medium sized printing shops as well as a number of stores that sell paper and paper products (I hear Dunder-Mifflin even opened an office there recently). To be exact the majority of these printing shops are located on the Av. Ica-Ucayali near the Old Theatre and about one block up from Av. Emancipacion.

These printing shops are awesome they can put together just about anything at fairly reasonable prices, although it always helps to shop around for the best price. Aside from having the brochure made (1000 brochures for S/.250 < $100) I am also having some business cards made.

After spending an hour at the printing shop coordinating the development of my business cards I decided to kill time by walking around Lima and I came across this awesome church (awesome in the sense of its magnificent architecture), I don't really remember the name of the church but who can there are like 100 or more in Lima (NOTE: GROSS EXAGGERATION).

Anyways, I go inside the church guided only by curiosity and boredom and am amazed at how peaceful it was inside. I know what your thinking, a church peaceful and quite DUH. I don't know maybe it's all the noise and congestion of the big city that makes the interior of a church seem so tranquil and relaxing (weird, I KNOW). I decided I was brave enough to take a few interior snapshots, besides the place was like a geriatrics ward. Here are some of the shots I took.

Last weekend I had the fortune to have a surprise (well kind of...) birthday party thrown in my honor.  Normally in the past I have celebrated my B-day with family, which would consist of us going out to dinner followed by me going to a bar with a few friends where my night would usually end (fairly boring I KNOW).  Who would be so bold to break me from my mundane tradition?  The culprit was none other than my girlfriend Zdenka, she single-handedly orchestrated the festivity (with support from other friends).

Since my birthday (August 31 for those who didn't know) fell this year on a Monday, Zdenka decided that it would only be appropriate to plan the party for Saturday night (to better accomodate the inevitable next day hangover). 

So Saturday arrived and I had made plans with Zdenka to go dancing with our friends Evelyn and Lorenzo in Barranco at Rustica (a rather decent place with a fairly large dance floor).  I arrived at Zdenka's house at around 8pm and ended up waiting nearly two hours for Zdenka to get ready (she was stalling).  On our way to Barranco, Zdenka was constantly texting and talking on her phone to people who she assured me had to do with work (she was talking to the invites).  When we got to Rustica Evelyn and Lorenzo were already inside and had snagged a table, which seated 10 or more (I found that rather odd at the time).  We order a few 1 liter size beers that come in these huge mugs, at which point I started to suspect that something was up.  Then Zdenka's phone rang and before I knew it she was gone, a few minutes later she returned followed by a horde of my friends and family (at this point it all finally came together). 

With the surprise out in the open the party began to take off.  The music was great, the beers plentiful, and the feeling that someone (who went through all the trouble of putting together a surprise party) truely loves you made the night wonderful and more than I could have asked for.  But wait it doesn't end there, oh no there is more to this than I have discussed yet. 

My favorite cake torta helada (cold cake) a cake covered in jello, was brought out by the work staff at Rustica and the entire bar began to sing happy birthday in tremendous unison. 



So there I was enjoying my party without a single problem and then the DJ comes on the speaker to announce that he "needs three brave men to come up on the bar and compete to see who has the best dance moves".  This is roughly when I noticed that I was being dragged across the dancefloor and to my horror towards the bar.  Before I could even argue or run away I found myself standing atop a bar with two other dudes facing a full bar of people (this is the kind of situation that most of us fear).  Out of the speakers can the bump and roar of (one of thousands of roughly identical) reggaeton songs.  Realizing that I had a pair and slightly buzzed on watered down beer I began to do what came natural to me and shaked my thang (and quite well if I might be sold bold). 



When the music came to a halt the DJ called out to the crowd for a judgement in an American Idol (God I know I just referenced that show) kind of way.  Now I am not pulling your chain nor am I painting this story in my favor but I was sure as hell shocked to find out that I had beaten my two other opponents (one of which I had suspected was gay for his persistent attempts at trying to grind up on me).  And just when you would think the public humilation would be brought to a halt, the DJ called out to any guy who thought he could out dance the Champ.  Out of the corner of the bar appeared this muscle head who hopped onto the bench (good God WHY!).  The music was turned on again and I was therefore subject to kicking ass with my awesome dance skills.  The verdict was then asked of the public who unanimously voted in my favor (SE QUEDA!), while the other dude was sent home (SE VA!). 



For having been such a good sport and being subject to such embarrasment I was reward with a free 1 liter beer (aw...the taste of victory...slightly watered down). 



The rest of the night was spent consuming medicore but still efficient libations and dancing to my favorite songs with an over inflated ego (long live the king!).  The rest of the details are kind of fuzzy but I am sure that I didn't do anything to idiotic (this time).

Let me start off by saying what a week it has been. For those of you how frequent this blog regularly you have probably been wondering why I haven't posted in a while. All I can say at the moment is that I am involved in a project that is still under development and has consumed a lot of my free time lately. I will do my best to keep the blog posts and their wonderful photos coming so as not to deprive you guys.

Lets go into detail as to what some of these photos are about shall we. This first photo was taken last Monday at the factory in Chorrillos. Apparently the local potheads (fumones) have been busy with their little green thumbs planting marijuana seeds in our gardens in front of our factory entrance. This isn't the first time they have done this mind you. The last time marijuana was found in our garden it was brought to our attention by the police who happened to just be pulling over drivers outside our property when they noticed the popular green shrub growing happily in our gardens. Luckily we weren't charged with any crime and believe it or not the classic line of "I swear it's not mine" actually worked this time around. So there you have it my first encounter with marijuana (Probably not a big deal to a lot of you guys in Portland). Oddly enough after this shot was taken the leaf went missing and was never found again.



Two things that I love about living in Peru is the vast abundance and availability of fresh fruit and veggies. The other is the large number of local markets that can be found in just about every district in Lima. I have two markets located on both corners of the street I live on in Chorrillos. The picture below is of these delicious and addictive little mini bananas. I forget what they are called in the States but here 2 kilos (roughly 30 of these little guys) costs me about 2 soles.


Wednesday I was in San Juan de Lurigancho when I can across this construction site where there was this road sign which was depicting men at work but I noticed something quite funny about this photo. What is your interpretation of this sign? Let me know what you think.



Speaking of markets earlier here is a photo that depicts a typical transaction at a produce stand near my home. I just love all the different types of fresh fruit that they sell.


Peruvian beers in my opinion are fairly decent, they have their distinct flavors. While I am still a hardcore fan of beers manufactured in Oregon (the city of Portland has more micro-breweries than any other city in the world) the beers that are produced here are still better than the PBR, BUDD Light, or Hamms that I used to drink back in my college days "SIGH". I will have to dedicate an article to the different kinds of beers made in Peru.

This photo of a can of Cusqueña cost me about S/. 2.50 which is only 50 cents less than a 1 liter bottle of Cristal or Pilsen (what a rip off). I didn't buy this by the way, I tend to be a little more economic with my money when it comes to beer.



Aww, transportation in Lima. You can judge the pros and cons of the transportation methods of this city all day long. For some of us without cars and low budgets our options are limited, sure a taxi is probably a safer bet, Probably, however if you travel around the city frequently in a single day then a taxi just isn't within your budget. Then there is the collectivo, which is what I call a carpool taxi in which the driver charges every passanger 3 soles each and has a route that he drives. These are great at getting to were you need to if your in a hurry and short on cash. The only downside is their limited routes. Then there is the private buses and combi's. Honesty I try to avoid the combi's as much as possible since they have death trap written all over them and the drivers tend to not give a damn about the saftey of their passengers, instead they tend to race other rival companies in an attempt to collect more passangers.


I can't remember if this picture was taken in Pueblo Libre or in Breña. I just love primary colors especially when they are as saturated as these. Can you imagine someone painting their house these colores in a neighborhood community in the States, the block captains would go nuts.


This monday I was at home with Zdenka and Shayla when the power went out in my neighborhood around 6pm. We lit some candles and busted out the Rummikube and had ourselves a great time. It's amazing what people do when technology is taken away from them.

The last photo was taken yesterday in Chorrillos at a mechanic shop. I was there waiting for the Toyota to get fixed when this mechanic came walking by from having worked on a car and with his oil covered hands wipped them off on the brick wall. I thought the end result was rather cool and so I stood there with tiny camera in hand and snapped this photo.

So Sunday was a fairly uneventful day given the fact that Saturday night I spent it drinking and dancing with my girlfriend and some friends of mine in Barranco & Lince. We partied in Rustica (not my favorite of places, but the drinks are reasonably priced) which was pretty fun until I was harrassed by one the security guards.

Try to picture this if you will. Here I was, this poor buzzed guy just minding my own business trying to take two full Chops (they are these huge 1L mugs filled with beer ofcourse) to our table when out of nowhere comes this huge dude in a suit and tie. He tries to pull me to one side and actually grabs me which, I was not a fan of by the way. I asked what the problem was and he asked me where I was going with my newly purchased beers? weird question when your inside a bar/club. I told him I was following some friends to our new table. He asked me where that was but unfortuantely for me I didn't know exactly where that was, so I told him "that I didn't know and that I was following my friends there".

By this time the guy was getting pretty impatient with me and just kept asking me over and over again where my table was, this really started to piss me off so I told him he should stop talking and try listening since he obviously didn't here me the first time. Finally after 5 minutes of ridiculous back and forth nonsense, my girlfriend shows and with two other guards and some wait staff. They all asked what the problem was and before you know it what was once an arguement between two became a huge orgy of a argument. I finally got fed up and handed the two chops to the idiot of a guard and told him to take them to the table. This must have really pissed him off because he looked like he wanted to beat the crap of me ( he probably could have too). Finally some manager type comes along and escorts us to our table and the whole thing was finally ended in a very anti-climatic way.

After a few hours we left that joint and headed to Voce which is a pretty swanky club in Lince on Av. Petit Thours. The place charges a S./20 cover which is fine I guess. The drinks are actually quite expensive for what you get. The same beer in Rustica costs S./7 more making it fairly uneconomic in comparison. The dance floor is fairly big but that doesn't really mean anything in Lima since by 12am - 2am the dance floors are usually so packed you can barely move. We hung out at Voce for a while and the headed out around 3am.

The next morning I woke around 11am, still in a bit of a fog from the night before. My father and I hungry headed out to Lurin a town located just south of Lima near the Pachacamac ruins. According to my father Lurin has some of the best chicarron in Lima, even though I find the chicarron in Chancay to be better. Along the way I happened to come across some horses that were grazing along the side of the road. There is a place right next to the Pantanos de villa which is located by Av. Huaylas right before it merges with the Panamericana Sur (south). There you can go horseback riding along the beach for a reasonable price (I can't remember how much exactly). I do remember it being a lot of fun the last time I did it with my friends and family.




The above picture was taken yesterday when I was driving down Av. Sucre in Magdalena del Mar yesterday when I drove by this huge church/monestary, not really sure which but I really grabbed my attention. I chose black and white because I thought it would make a more dramatic photo. The colors were to washed out which is why I chose to take the photo in B&W.