Full of Beans
Ramblings from Belize, Guatemala and looking onwards to Peru
1 - What came first - Lima, Peru or the lima bean?
I’m informed that lima beans only became known as the lima bean as a result of what their crates were labelled with upon export to Europe (“Lima, Peru”). However, it may surprise you that the lima bean we all know and love has been around for some ~3500 years and their existence did not merely commence with their European repatriation.
It is thought that phaseolus lunatus was first described by Columbus c. 1498 years after the birth of the bro JC (i.e., AD 1492), however, there is no conclusive evidence for the introduction of common beans to Europe before the mid-1500s in spite of the Columbian exchange having commenced some 40 years prior (Myers, Formiga, Janick, 2022 - genuinely a very interesting article which touches on depictions of beans in 1500s media, among other things).
On the other hand, Lima - the capital of Peru - was founded in 1535 by the Spanish. The name Lima is thought to have come from the Spanish pronunciation of the Incan name for the region (“Limaq”). The Incans had first occupied the area in the 15th century, and before the Incans, by the Ichma people who were absorbed by the Incans, who themselves had absorbed the Moche (and so on, dating to the 10th millennium BC).
So, in a nutshell:
The region that Lima, Peru, is in has been inhabited for a long time (since 10,000 BC).
The lima bean was first domesticated in the Andes around 2000 BC.
Lima, Peru, was incorporated as a city in 1535.
The lima bean was not known as the lima bean until its export to Europe, the exact date of which is unknown. No one really knows when the bean actually landed in Europe and all we have to rely on are some diary entries and depictions of lima beans in paintings.
The exact date that the lima bean came to be known as the lima bean is unclear but I think it is a logical conclusion to say that the city of Lima, Peru predates the European name for the lima bean (which likely didn’t come into the vernacular at any point prior to 1535).
It therefore seems that the Lima (the city) is older than lima (the descriptor of the bean); lima (the bean) is older than Lima (the city) and lima (the descriptor); but the Lima people predate lima (the bean), Lima (the city) and lima (the descriptor).
Naturally, this does beg the question of to what extent the corporeal self is tied to one’s name. Is the mere existence of the lima bean pegged to when Europe gave it a name? Where does the butter bean fit into this, isn’t that the same thing? What about Dave Letele?
Any definitive conclusion is definitely above my pay grade, and like you know sometimes words and names are different and that’s all there is to it (and this publication is in favour of acknowledging that history should not be told from a Euro-centric point of view).
Your thoughts? I am going to Lima (the city), Peru tomorrow, by the way.
2 - I’m not sure what to expect from Peru. Lima has been described to me as dreary; Cusco as fantastic; and the rest has all been somewhere in between. Regardless, it’ll be a nice switch-up from what was some much-needed beach time in Belize.
Worth noting that Jefferson Farfán was a staple of my FIFA Ultimate Team experience in 2012 / 2013, and the Peruvian national football team knocked the All Whites out of the World Cup qualifiers in 2017. Beyond that, I do like fancy myself some ceviche and could otherwise do with fewer beans in my diet after a ~month in Central America. If Madame George in Auckland is anything to go by, that should be fairly achievable.
Perhaps more relevant to my trip is the rather troubled political history that Peru has seen. There have been a number of coups, and much like the rest of Central and South America, the US has meddled at various points. There was political unrest as recently as last year following the arrest / overthrow of their President.
3 - I do have to confess that the one bit of trip admin that I did before my departure did not pay off. I booked the Salkantay hike to Machu Picchu for the first week of June, thinking that there were two months between my departure date and June. There isn’t.
As a result, it seems likely that I’m skipping over just about all of Central America and half of Peru (hopefully the dreary parts, if any?). My takeaway from this is that it’s better to do things on the fly and not plan (and not that I need to look at calendars more closely or learn the months of the year).
4 - I’m anticipating (not planning - see point three) that I’ll go on to Bolivia following a few weeks in the south of Peru. I like the idea of climbing Huayna Potosí in Bolivia (6088m in elevation), and the Uyuni salt flats seem like a good spot for some Instagram content. Besides, there is plenty of hiking to do in the south of Peru (Arequipa, Colca Canyo and Puno), and in parts of Bolivia.
I had initially planned to go to the North of Peru for some surfing at Mancora, but there are logistical challenges / 24 hours in a bus each way between me and achieving that (ibid, point three). I may swing back this way after some time in Bolivia (or prior) - would certainly make a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos a bit easier - but equally, may fly to Colombia after Bolivia to live out my surfing dreams. Agile living!
5 - This week’s read has been Don Quixote. I’ve turned to the Penguin Classics. At around 1000 pages I’m probably not finishing it this week, or next, but perhaps I’ll have a GoodReads review up by mid-June / by the end of my hike to Machu Picchu.
Hiking to Machu Picchu sparks memories of Anthony Horowitz’s “The Power of Five” series. One of the fav young adult series of my childhood. I vaguely recall the main character of the book, Matt Freeman (not to be confused with the former college teammate of Trae Young and the bane of 2015 AGS basketball of going by the same name), hiking to a hidden Incan city for some blood ritual and also complaining a lot about mosquitoes. No takeaways to be had from this as far as I’m aware.
6 - Very much enjoying Billie Eilish’s latest. CHIHIRO is probably my favourite track from her to date. The album as a whole seems like a real change from her previous and it’s hard to knock artist growth.
7 - The past ten days in Belize were absolutely lush. For starters, Belize is around ten degrees cooler than Northern Guatemala. The food is broadly similar to Guatemala, but naturally, being a bit closer to the beach brought with it a greater variety of fish and more opportunities to sit back and do absolutely nothing productive - hardly a reason to complain.
Bumping into former colleagues on a street in San Ignacio (inland border town of 20,000 people, for reference) was absolutely jarring, however. San Ignacio was otherwise lovely (nothing personal with the former colleagues, I swear) and features a pretty spectacular cave system / Mayan archaeological site that I was fortunate enough to visit.
Otherwise, a few days snorkelling on Caye Caulker Ambergris Caye has me looking into doing my PADI. It’s been at least ten years since I touched a BCD for my PADI junior open water in Bali on a family holiday, but I suspect any trip to Colombia (Cartagena, Santa Marta) or Ecuador will see me going all Jacques Cousteau.
The variety of marine life is pretty gobsmacking and probably one of the few countries that could possibly claim to have New Zealand beat in that respect - a single day out brought with it juvenile manta rays, spotted eagle rays, regular eagle rays, moray eels, regular (?) eels, manatees and a delightful number of different fish I couldn’t possibly hope to name.
Less impressive but equally gobsmacking was my decision to have my earphones tucked in to my board shorts when swimming.
8 - Belize’s beer selection is superior to Guatemala’s. There’s been a decent selection of crafties and Belize’s national beer, Belikin, is definitely .5 more sessionable than Cabro or Gallo.
Peruvian beer market analysis to follow.
9 - I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many golf carts (or Americans) in one place as I did on San Pedro, Belize. Golf carts are the primary form of transport and it’s absolutely nuts. It puts Remuera Golf Course to shame.
I can’t say I’ve ever seen a golf cart traffic jam before, but yeah, first time for everything and all that.
10 - Job hunting and advocating for my work experience in a foreign market remains a thoroughly disheartening experience. I do have positive news on this front, however, having landed an interview next week for a corporate / M&A role in Dublin. London is proving to be a tougher nut to crack.
The thought of interviewing while in a hostel fills me with a level of dread that I am struggling to articulate. Finding a quiet space, a clean collared shirt, functioning earphones, a reliable internet connection and a razor are all easier said than done and will require serious preparation on my part. Hooroo.
That Dave Letele call out got a genuine laugh out loud. Looks like things are going well!
Bean busy!!!!