The Fisherman and Ceviche Culture of Lima Tour

This half-day tour was a great way to see and experience local culture. Alfredo was prompt in his pick-up and knew a lot about the local culture. His local contacts were amazing and really allowed us to see and experience aspects of Peru we would not have otherwise. The stop at a local restaurant for ceviche was amazing and so tasty!

The tour is unique, interesting and informative. Alfredo helped us above and beyond just the tour to ensure we had a good trip to Peru. The driver was very professional as well. The fishing town of Chorrillos is part of Lima. But we would never find our own way to it. If you want to experience something off the beaten path, this is the tour for you.

Alfredo was prompt, graciously picked us up from our Miraflores hotel, fluent in English, and very informative! Easily my favorite part of the day was being able to watch fresh ceviche being made, but that was just the tip of the iceberg, as there was so much more to the day. Everything was thoughtfully planned, and there was no long drives, or long waits in traffic etc. My cousin and I had a great time!

Everything!! Alfredo and my driver were the best, on time , fact filled, totally took care of me, showed me things that I hadn’t planned on, top notch professionals all the way, the ceviche was the best ever!!

I had the best opportunity to learn how to execute the perfect ceviche with different techniques and skills I normally used. My guide, Alberto was not only friendly but also knowledgable about the area and fluent in English. I told him I am a chef and he has set up a cook along alongside the ceviche master of Churillos. I had an amazing time. Not only that, I also had the opportunity to learn about boat building, the different types of wood and also the history of cock fightings. Was an amazing day overall. I would definitely recommend this tour to other tourists because this is something unusual and almost impossible to do it without Alternative Peru.

Nothing I say here can do the experience we shared any justice. Alfredo and the driver picked us up at our Airbnb. I wish I could remember the drivers name as he was very friendly and open to all of our questions. We started the day at the Chorrillos fishing village and we were shown around the market. Alfredo introduced us to a tasty simple fried sardine sandwich that is very popular there. Next we went out on a fishing boat to learn more about the area and the fishermen that work the local waters. The colors of the boats and the people we met were equally beautiful. Next we were taken up into Chorrillos and shown around the historic village by Julio, a member of one of the oldest families in the area. His pride for his village and the history were very noticeable. We saw where all the boats from the village were made, by one boat maker. We were then shown where Julio and his father breed and raise champion fighting birds. My favorite part of the trip is when we made it to the top of their house where Julio has a small restaurant where he prepares and serves the best Ceviche I have ever had. Julio showed us how he prepares the fish and explained the whole process. After we filled our bellies with fresh seafood and our hearts with conversation and connections we headed out to the top of Chorrillos for the most amazing views. Thank you to Alfredo, Julio and all the people we met and connected with. You will all be forever burned in our memories and on our hearts.

This was the best activity we did on our short trip to Lima in Nov2019.

We did The Fishing Culture of Lima tour, taken through the fish market, took a quick boat ride in the bay, visited a boat carpenter's workshop, and a local's home (the Casas family) in Chorrillos, while learning about the importance and rich history of the area.

There was a beautiful display of a variety of roosters, and the best ceviche we had was here; made by a local who showed us step by step and fresh caught! (Thanks Julio!)

Everyone was very hospitable.
Shout out to Alfredo and Placido for a great experience.

Highly recommended if you want a breath of fresh air while staying in the big city. You really get to know a place and it's people.

Our family recently went on the fishing culture tour of Chorillo, just south of Lima. We had a great time – – it was an interesting, comfortable and enlightening experience. Our guide was Alfredo, a Puruvian who has traveled extensively himself and who is fully fluent in English. He is extremely knowledgeable about Peruvian culture, society, and politics. We visited the fish market, the boat workshop, and the home of a local family that raises roosters and runs a restaurant. There we learned about creole music and dined on delicious ceviche made by the mother of the family. We then went on to the hillside overlooking Chorillo where we had a great view and learned more about local history. Throughout the tour, Alfredo provided insightful commentary and enjoyable company. If you want to get off the beaten path and have a unique experience, this is the tour for you.

A well organized day with Alfredo, our guide and Placido, our very capable driver, who safely transported us to multiple experiences in heavy, challenging Lima traffic. Alfredo speaks impeccable English and his knowledge and passion for his country is evident. The experiences take you directly to the community and you meet the people in their own homes and places of work and hear their stories, struggles, achievements and dreams. Local guides joined us in two settings to enhance our understanding of the area. One of our highlights was joining a family at their local restaurant, watching the preparation of ceviche, tasting his delicious recipe and finishing the meal with music and dancing. Another highlight was visiting a family in their home, meeting the children and hearing about the mother’s achievement of becoming a community leader and successfully bringing electricity to her area of the settlement. Alfredo is very organized and maximizes your time throughout the day, noting points of interest and answering all our questions about his country while we travelled to our destinations. Excellent communication prior to our arrival in Peru and clear instructions on what to expect. If you are looking for a tour that you will remember long after your vacation ends, this is the one to choose.

100% worth and recommended - it lets you explore what the real life looks like in Lima, and experience in close enough to really let it change you.

This was our second time to Lima. Last year was our first time.

Last year my wife and I wanted to see the monuments and other attractions commemorating the history and culture of Peru. But we also wanted to understand the cataclysm that had been wrought on the nation by the Sendero Luminoso, a Maoist group led a University professor. Roughly two million people had fled the Andes to Lima in order to escape the cruelty of communist terrorists and the over-broad reactions of the military. The refugees clambered up the arid mountain sides surrounding Lima: they were squatters glad for their lives, and hopeful to start life anew.

So we signed up for the tour of Alternative Peru.that took us to see, among other things, the habitations on the hillsides Alfredo Bendezu was our guide. He was outstanding. After we had visited the local market, and my wife had danced with a troupe from the Amazon strolling through the market, -- a two-legged jaguar and a mischievous, leering two-legged cayman -- we went to the extensive and ancient hillside cemetery. Then we went to the high spot of our tour, the shanties on the hillsides.

Alfredo introduced us to to two women who were refugees from the Andes. The first lady described what life was like in Lima. Her neighbors had not abandoned tribal traditions: they appointed a leader and participate on the weekends in maintaining or improving their habitat. This lady heads up a cooperative of women who make traditional Andean wares and collectively seek available markets.

The second lady had a baleful story. When she was but five years old, her father, a tribal leader, had gone to Lima to complain that the terrorists were intimidating the villagers and inciting them to rebellion. The government took no action. When her father returned, the terrorists were waiting for him. Before the eyes of his family, the the terrorists decapitated him. (Echoes of Pol Pot.) The family fled with little but their grim memories.

This lady had no formal education. But she was committed to the common good: for a mere pittance, she would, among other things, cook a simple early breakfast for the children on schooldays so that they would be attentive at school. She is like an auntie to the children. She took up this sacrifice in homage to her father. We we moved.

Alfredo showed himself to be intelligent, and sensitive. He is a mlld-mannered, soft- spoken person. He is simpatico. But he also has dedication to these the downtrodden.

Our second tour, done in 2019, was less ambitious, but no less enjoyable. Alfredo took us to the fish market and explained how the fishermen had banded together into an association. Everyone seemed to know Alfredo. Then off we went for an excursion by fishing boat around the harbor. The captain, Jaime, had a first mate who had fled Venezuela. Then Jaime went with us to see a friend in Chorillos who was among a handful who still repaired and renovated the old wooden fishing wherries.

From there we went to an hacienda in Chorillos. The hacienda had been in the family from the 1600s. In the war with Chile in the 1850s, however, the Chilean army had devastated this neighborhood, and only now was it starting to recover. As Alfredo explained, the wealthy left and never came back. The incumbent family descendant had a menagerie of nearly 400 fighting game cocks,The owner was not offended that we frowned upon the sport as being cruel..The treat of this visit was a little bistro on the upper floor of the hacienda. it happened to front onto the next curve of the serpentine climbing up the hillside. A garrulous local master of the culinary arts prepared two magnificent ceviches for us: the fish and shellfish were taken that very morning from the market we had first visited. The ceviches were wondefully fresh and tasty. Alfredo then took us to several religious monuments that afforded vistas of all of LIma.

Alfredo commended to us the Larco Museum (pre-Incan antiquities: worth a look) and the Lugar de Memoria (a diorama of the rise and defeat of the Sendero Luminoso).The LUM as it is called was sobering: it recounted the miasma of the terrorists through photographs, press clippings, children's drawings of raids and executions, and the people's plea for peace and finally, through astute military intelligence, the capture in Lima of Guzman, the Maoist professor. The museum's brochure was in Spanish, English and -- notably -- Quechua.

Seeing Alfredo again was like seeing a friend again. His soft voice and pensive commentary deepened our empathy for Peru.