In search of David’s new lens cap google directed us towards Alto Las Condes one of Santiago’s grand shopping malls. Armed with our Bip! card we caught the 817 bus. The Bip! card works like other travel cards and you just top it up when needed…unfortunately we hadn’t, but the kindly bus driver smiled and waved us on anyway.
Alto Las Condes, like most shopping malls was huge and mystifying. With no directory as to which floor for which store. We travelled the escalator to the top and down and not a camera shop in sight, google had let us down.
A fools errand let’s get back into town…but we have an empty Bip! card.
So off we went retracing our steps in search of somewhere where we can top up our Bip!.
It was hot..I wished I’d brought my water bottle …”we’can find somewhere for lunch while we look” …. I said trying to be enthusiastic as we passed row after row of fenced off and padlocked car showrooms.
An oasis… a line of those long tall stick like cactus behind which people were eating! It was a Peruvian restaurant with a wonderful water feature of rocks and astonished Inca faces. After downing cold beers we attempted the menu thanks to our trusty translate app. Variations on Ceviche (raw fish) with choices of cream, chilli or cilantro sauce. We opted for the mixed fish and seafood with cilantro. Absolutly delicious. The pieces of fish were so tender with the subtle flavour of the cilantro and the squid, which normally I would describe as trying to eat a slice wellington boot, was not quite melt in the mouth, more of a gentle chew that just melted away. It was all served on a lettuce leaf with a few pieces of boiled and roasted corn and slices of onion. To be accurate its not fully raw, as the fish is cured in lemon or lime juice with added flavours such as ours with cilantro.
Washed down with a very chilled soft Chilean Chardonnay…a perfect lunch.
We did finally get to top up our Bip! and caught the metro back to the hotel. I looked up ceviche and to my wonderful surprise ceviche was recognised by UNESCO and I quote, thanks to Wikapedia, ”as an expression of Peruvian traditional cuisine and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”
I did ask someone why was ceviche the national dish of most of South America and she said simply - “well, we have such fresh fish”.
We never did find a camera shop so the lens cap hunt will continue.
