A k a day in Lima Peru (Day THIRTYONE)

And so we have it. Thirty-one days of walking and some cycling and 173.78 km behind us, all to raise funds for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) in memory of Robert Rowan.

The organising team have done a tremendous job keeping everyone motivated and organising a few competitions along the way. We can look forward to our medals in due course. I would love to actually get them here in Peru but the postal service can be dodgy and so I think we will elect to collect them from our other "home" the next time we are back. The are very eco friendly with Rab's memorial logo and some Rowan berries with a honeycomb containing our achievement level.

Ours will be inscribed as Queen Bee because we elected for the highest level of challenge. We don't mess about you know. Aim for the top.

Nothing of any excitement or note happened on today's walk which was the same as the very first one except that we did it in the opposite direction, as if to bring the whole thing back to where it started. I would like to thank all of you who have followed along our journey and hope that I have managed to give you a flavour of the little corner of Lima where we live. Things are slowly improving here in terms of COVID so I hope that we will be able to explore a bit further afield soon. I might even add a few more entries to the blog if the mood takes me. Who knows what the future holds but one thing is for sure, we must all make the very best of what we have been given and live our lives to the fullest because there are many who never got that chance. Take care, be nice to each other.

There is nothing else to add except our final strava.

Lima over, and for the time being, out.

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 30)

The penultimate day of the challenge and the penultimate blog post. I am not sure about you but I feel that it has absolutely flown in. I can't quite believe that we have done a full month tomorrow. So for our last Sunday stroll we decided to take advantage of the closed off roadways around out area an do the big one. Out San Borja Norte and back via San Borja Sur. It measured 9.8 km almost twice our daily requirement.

As a bit of a tribute to Rab and to Brentford who finally achieved promotion yesterday after many near misses we donned a cap especially embroidered with Rab's Memorial logo.

Our plan today was to tackle the big one and do the full loop. It was such a pleasure with most of the roads closed off to allow Sunday lockdown activities to take place more safely. Families were out walking, biking and running. It was lovely to see and we wondered if it should always be like this on a Sunday.

I mentioned before about every country having branches of the Lions Club and today we found a monument thing to the Rotary Club

The inscription underneath says "Dar de si, antes de pensar de si" which translated means give yourself before thinking of yourself.

As I said before only essential vehicles are permitted to go out, no private cars so the roads were really quiet. Well quiet of cars. They were chock-a-block with cyclists and pedestrians although this picture was taken at the extreme end of our walk and there are only a couple of bikes at that moment.

As we walked on and re-joined the far end of San Borja Sur we met the Hedge family who were out for their usual Sunday stroll with their dog Privet. In fact you can see them there every day. I could see that he was really excited by my cap and Mr Hedge asked if he could try it on. I indulged his craving as I always feel that we should engage with the locals as much as possible.

Although this was my longest walk of the challenge it was actually not Sheila's longest. Yesterday she did over 11km with Nicola so she has done 20k this weekend alone. Big shout out to her for that.

Penultimate day means penultimate Strava bringing our total to a tad over 168 km.

I wish I could say that I have something really exciting planned for tomorrow's blog but I don't want you all getting too excited. At this very moment I am devoid of plans, exciting or otherwise. See you all tomorrow for the chapter 31.

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 29)

 Today was one of the few times where Sheila and I did our 5k separately. Sheila and Nicola headed of to Jockey Plaza to try to get get a change made to Nicola's phone and I headed off to the fruit market to get our supplies. It was a lonely old 5.9km for me today. Nobody to talk to except myself but I did get it all my own way.

I felt sure that the saffron finches would be back because they enjoyed their little feast yesterday and sure enough this morning they were back to get some more.

I am hoping in time to offer other food and maybe attract some other species. Does anyone know where I can by a fly hatchery to try to attract the vermillion flycatcher 😂. That would be cool if a little cruel to the flies!!

On a completely different note, last year, at the height of the pandemic I was really wanting to start playing my guitar and singing through the internet in zoom sessions and Facebook live but I didn't have the right equipment to connect. I saw the equipment advertised on Mercadona Libre and I decided to buy it. Mercadona Libre is a kind or Amazon service where you can buy practically anything. It was a local music store and he assured me that he had the stuff. I ordered it and paid for it S/600. Only after I had paid did he decide to tell me that he couldn't deliver until after the lockdown. This was of course somewhat of a blow since that is why I needed it. I cancelled the order and hoped that the money would be refunded. To be fair the guy said he would no problem but I never saw the money back in my bank account.

The yesterday I decided that we could use an ethernet connection to try to make our Amazon firestick a little less laggy. Sometimes it stalls a little. The only place I could see the genuine article available here was ... you guessed it .... Mercadona Libre. I thought ok bite the bullet and try again. Imagine my amazement when I clicked buy this item and proceeded to the payment where I was offered the option of paying using the S/600 soles in my Mercadona Libre account. Reeeesult. My money has been lying there waiting for me to spend it for months. Now what else do we need. I can feel a small shoppping spree coming on.

OK only two more days to go. Y'all take care now, missin' ya already.

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 28)

 Yesterday brought with it some issues with the blog and it would not process the uploaded images resulting in very late posting of the blog page. I just updated the link that said it might be delayed but I hope you managed to catch it. Today has been once again overcast. Has summer really gone this time?

We are nearing the end but I still have one or two things to share. The cycle way was pretty empty today as we made our way along a well worn route by now. It will be a very different story on Sunday which will be only one week before the elections. We can only watch from a distance and hope that it doesn't turn out as bad as is forecast when the result is announced.

As I have previously reported we have found a small green area where we never fail to see a lot of birds and today I managed to capture some footage of the stunning vermillion flycatcher doing what it does best - catching flies. You will notice that the bird waits for me to tell it to go and then obeys my command. Pretty impressive training I think.

We have also managed to make a new breakthrough on my balcony bird feed station. Up top now it has only been black birds that have been seen greedily munching their way through my crackers and digestives but today I was treated to a visit my Mr and Mrs Saffron Finch. I am sure that they, like the blackbirds, will tell their pals and it won't be long before we have pictures for you.

I managed to take a picture of probably the biggest thing on our whole walk from a different perspective today. The Pentagonito is a pretty impressive building. I wish I could get some photos of the inner area. It looks really smart through the railings but I don't want to just go up and take pictures in case I end up seeing much more of the inside than I had bargained for.

Our house is pretty much straight in the direction this photo is pointing. Three more days, three more blog posts. Some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over ... but it isn't quite yet.

Today's 5k puts us over the magical 150 km which means we have officially completed the challenge because you can catch up missed km on a different day etc. But we are determined to do our 5k every day so it is heads down for the final countdown.

Hasta luego mis amigos

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 27)

The weather today in Lima has remained overcast and so the temperature has struggled to climb. It has felt decidedly chilly although this of course is not by Scotland standards. I certainly didn't stop this young lady from donning her finery to get her pictures taken. You can see in the background on the left the topiary couple that I posted a picture of some days ago.

We did a slight detour today again because I remembered having spotted a monster cactus that I felt was worthy of a mention. I wonder how long it has been there. It is a pretty impressive plant standing nearly three storeys high.

Under a 1939 Law all Peruvian homes and businesses are required to fly the Peruvian National Flag from July 27 to July 30 to celebrate Independence Day on July 28th. Many local authorities extend that the the entire month of July and some even longer. I note that some people are flying their flag already although that could be related to the final election that is coming up in just over a week. There is much concern that Peru is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the two candidates that have made it through to the run off.

The photos are finally being processed but it is bed time here and the middle of the night for most of you. I will continue tomorrow.

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 26)

The days are ticking by and the end of the challenge is in sight. Before we started this challenge we used to do regular exercises in the apartment and had a little routine so we are now planning to mix the two things. In apartment exercise on the days where time is more restricted and a big walk on the days where time is a little less pressing. This is a good time to remember why we are doing this in memory of Robert Rowan and to raise funds for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) an organisation providing screening and support to young people affected by cardiac issues. Robert (Rab) was a technical director with Brentford Football Club and the husband of Sheila's cousin's daughter Suzanne. Brentford are known as the Bees and this is Rab's logo designed for the occasion. I hope it is clear enough for you to read the significance of all of the bits of the design.

I think it is a great logo incorporating everything that Rab stood for.

Our walk today revisited the area where we saw lots of little birds a few days ago. Once again we were not disappointed to the point that saffron finches, blue grey tanagers and vermillion flycatchers are a bit like sparrows and blackbirds in Scotland. There are hundreds of them. The sun shone as we took a lovely late afternoon stroll down the wooded area. We saw quite a large group (is it a flock) of swallows and the landed on a wire. I managed to get a picture of them resting

and the tennis players at the Lions Club were out in force today. Activities like this seem to be starting up again. We saw the children at the local football club back in their training sessions too.

I am fairly pleased that we are getting to the end because I have pretty much exhausted the photo opportunities in this area. I know that I have a few avid readers though so I might post some less regular missives, especially after travel is less restricted. I am really keen to see a bit more of Peru and I will definitely share it with you.

We are just waiting right now for the Rappi man who is bringing the tea tonight from Chicken Mediterraneo.

OK I am back. The Rappi man came with some delicious chicken and some chips with salad and the freshest ripest avocado and some chucky yucca chips. Mmmmmm tasty. So in between the last paragraph and this I have eaten my tea and done up the dishes.

Today's 5.29km brings us over 140 km total. Our initial target was 31 days of 5k a day so 155 km. We look set to beat that handsomely. As always it just remains to add the strava and say good night. Take care.

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 25)

 Today sees day 25 come and go. Another 5k added to the tally which incidentally now stands at 136.46 km. Not bad for a couple of oldies even if I say so myself. Searching for things for this blog has made us much more attentive to our environment and has made us see things we had never noticed before. I recommend it. Take a close look at your environment. There is much more there that you realise. Lots of wildlife even in the middle of a city.

My friendly blackbird that has been visiting for it's daily feed has either told it's pals where to come or they have been following him because today there were at least four simultaneously. One had a very scrawny neck so I think I will recognise it if it comes back tomorrow. I need to remember to get some food out because they scoff the lot. They seem to be quite partial to Peruvian crackers.

Completely unrelated to ornithological matters we had reason to remove the memory card from the dashcam of our car (it is a bit tricky to remove). This gives me the opportunity to share with you a sample of Peruvian driving. You'll see that I am about to join the highway using the SAME SLIP ROAD as those leaving the highway are using. Now you might reasonably assume that anyone intending to leave at this junction is already in the right hand lane but watch them cut across from the outside lanes and then just exit at the very last moment. There's no rage just go with the flow. Expect the unexpected is the motto.

Sheila was at the dentist today and she is back with a long list of things needing attention too. If you were reading yesterday I feel that we can eliminate option (a) which you might remember was .... the dentist fancies me. It was always the least likely scenario. We have to hope that it's option (c) that is the real reason for the work. I paid S/450 (£83) for two fillings and a crown onto one of my big back teeth so it is hardly open wallet surgery. 

Sometimes of an evening I enjoy making some music and just as the sun was going down the other day I saw this photo opportunity. I have entitled it "finished for the day" although in reality I was actually only about to start.

A couple of archive pictures to finish. These were taken from our old apartment and they are just to show that some people in Peru DO consider health and safety. This was when they added 1 metre to the top of an already huge sign just to block my view of the racecourse.

If you consider that the sign extension once it was complete was upo to about the top of the guys hats then you can see in the left picture how much of the action was subsequently obscured by a needless piece of advertising. Anyway we don't live there now

Here is the strava for the day. Have a great day.

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 24)

 A bike run was needed today to fit the 5k into the schedule because I had a return visit to the dentist to have my crown fitted. After getting the panoramic x-ray she has decided that I have a load more work needing done. So there are a couple of possibilities. (a) she fancies me and wants to keep me in the chair or (b) she sees me as easy meat to fleece for a few bob or I suppose (c) that I actually do need this work done. I am going to get it done which means that (a) I fancy her or (b) I love chucking money away or I suppose (c) I really do need to get the work done. You can delete the (a) (b) (c)s as you think fit.

So it's back into the archive from yesterday. Our walk as you know took us through that green bit where the river flowed. Well it is the law that you are not allowed to cross the "irrigation canal". It says so on this sign.

We came across the residences of some elusive creatures which can only be seen on very special days. They are not often seen and we were unlucky on this occasion. They live here:

Wow, I almost forgot to mention the most amazing thing that happened this morning. All the Limans (what would you call a resident of Lima? A Liman, Limonian, who knows?) Anyway they were all of a tizz this morning because there was thunder and lightning in Lima. Apparently it is an every 10-15 YEARS occurrence and most of the students had no idea what it was. They thought it was an earthquake or the end of the world. Some of them were really quite shaken up and even the adults were pretty excited. Very little rain but real thunder and lightning. I tried to capture it on my iPad but as always it didn't happen while the record button was pressed.

I am a bit late with today's episode due to my action packed schedule and my dental rendezvous so I am going to cut it short today and leave you with the usual strava. What will tomorrow bring? I wonder?

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 23)

 Sunday number 4 in the challenge. Once again we are on exercise only and there are no cars allowed (except for some authorised vehicles). It is great and crossing the road is a pleasure. It is super busy around the Pentagonito today again with the usual array of walkers, joggers, cyclists etc. The dancercise and boxercise classes are in full swing.

On the way we saw a few nicely manicured trees like this one. It is actually outside the property on the verge but I guess it is owned and maintained by the property owner.

We took a slightly different route today and managed to find a green area that was (relatively) teeming with birds. We saw numerous oasis hummingbirds but those little rascals are camera shy and although we did see them settle on branches they were not close enough to photograph. I must go back there with my better camera and tripod to try to get pictures of them. We saw numerous vermillion flycatchers in action catching their tasty morsels in mid air.

Tropical kingbird

The chap or chapess sitting on this post is the Tropical kingbird which is also a flycatcher only much bigger than our vermillion variety. It is at least twice the size of the red one almost blackbird size. To complete the trio we also saw a brown flycatcher catching flies but I am not quite sure what species it is. I am still trying to identify it. We also saw the following but without images. A bananaquit which looks pretty much like a blue tit, a blue grey tanager, and a wren like bird which might indeed be what they call a house wren.

Other observations this morning included the Lions Club and the Roll man. Every day the bread man comes with rolls which are very popular. His three wheeled bike has seen a few more km than our walks methinks.

The Lions Club

The roll man!

The newly discovered area is also home to some allotments where a bit of local small scale horticulture is going on. We did find a couple of curious objects. Have a look at this object and see what you think it might be. It is made of glass and is full of rocks.

I suspect it is to collect water from the atmosphere but I am prepared to be declared ludicrously wrong. The second odd looking objects are those in the following picture. I am not sure if they contain water or maybe they are composters. They seem to have something growing on the outside.

You can see in this area that the river is actually uncovered for quite a bit of the way. It shows just how much water is flowing underneath the footpaths whilst the unsuspecting pedestrian ambles his way along.

OK hope that you enjoyed todays Sunday walk. We are now heading into the final week of the challenge. It only remains for me to add the strava. Bye bye from San Borja.

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 22)

 Ahhhh, the weekend. Time just flies in and another week is done. No sooner is it Monday morning and it's Friday afternoon again. Sadly the weekend seems to go in even faster. So to Saturday's offerings. We I am keen to try to establish a few visitors to our balcony but being on the 8th floor we don't see many birds up here. I have seen a blackbird a few times so I decided to put a few bits of biscuit out. Sure enough yesterday he/she found it. And today he/she was back for some more.

Today saw us take a slightly different and longer route than usual although there was nothing exciting to report from the new area.

Yesterday evening we were treated to a visit from the guys below. They are buskers but I am sure you'll agree they go to quite a length to get a few soles.

The value of cars is another amazing thing here in Lima. I managed in another of my surreptitious moves to sneak a snap of this bad boy, which is, I can assure you, by no means the worst pile of junk on the road here. This car although I am sure you'd feel it was ready for th scrappie is in fact still quite a valuable asset to its owner and is good for a few km yet. Some of them you can see right through to the ground. I have no idea how they get their MOT. Maybe they have to know someone who knows someone but nobody seems to mind.

My Volvo is almost 20 years old and I had to pay $6000 (about £4250) for it! Still if I manage to keep it between the kerb and the white line, shiny side up while it is in my care I should still get a decent return on it when it is time to move on.

If you want an ice cream then you just have to wait until you hear the toot toot of the ice cream man (or woman because there are lots of ice cream women). It is very distinctive and you can wait for a while to hear it. The best way to get to hear it is to hit the start button to record a song. It seems that the guys knows just when you are getting to the end of an otherwise perfect take and toot toot toot. Arghhhhh!!!!!

Ok I have loads of marking to get done so I am going to look lively and get onto it now. Take care now. I'm missing you already.

A k a day in Lima Peru (Day 21)

 And so dawns another day in Autumnal Peru. It started cold but the sun did manage to break through and so it quickly warmed up. We need to make the most of it before the winter fully sets in. There'll be no sun at all for several months. Today's walk took us along the now familiar Avenida San Borja Norte but we did investigate further a site that we have seen but bypassed on many occasions. It looked from the distance like a recreational garden area with an elegant entrance way.

When we got there we discovered that it is a war memorial remembering the soldier of Peru who gave their lives in a war that happened as recently as 1995. The Cenepa War which was fought between Peru and Ecuador over a disputed land border between the two countries. It was the last such conflict in the Americas over a land border and lasted for one month.

We decided to investigate a busy street that we have never really been to before. It is a commercial area with a number of retail outlets. On one side was a series of party shops selling everything you could want if you were going to or hosting a party interspersed with a number of small markets of the type we go to to get our fruit and veg.

Lots of the street corners have little cabins that sell all sorts of things. This one specialising in toys for the children.

Lots of the properties, both houses and shops, are surrounded by high fences like the next picture. There is obviously no such thing as a burglar taking legal action against a property owner for injuries sustained whilst trying the break into the premises because the fences are topped with 8 inch spikes upon which any unsuspecting burglar might impale him or herself.

You'd have to be brave, desperate, mad or all three to try climbing over this fence.

Looking for a place to park your bike, then I have found just the spot.

The gardening squad were out in force today removing the bedding plants from the central reservation. I am not sure what will go in their place but I'd be surprised if they are left empty. I'll keep you posted.

OK that's enough excitement for one day. I will keep the rest up my sleeve for further episodes. And there is excitement believe me. Amazing video footage of the ice-cream man and a samba band. I bet you cannae wait. Today's strava takes up over 114 km.

So from your roving reporter in lovely Lima, I bid you all goodnight.