Mountains in Huaraz

One weekend, rumors began to spread about the Peruvian government giving everyone a four day weekend. This unexpected holiday was a way to encourage Limeans to leave the city to make room for the South America-Arab Summit. At first, I didn't believe the rumors. How can a government simply declare two holidays ten days before the date? I wasn't hopeful. Furthermore, I expected the holiday would be just for the public sector which meant my private school would still be in session.

I was wrong. As it turns out, if you are the President of Peru, you can declare two extra holidays- for both the public and private sector. Four day weekend, hooray!

To get out of the city and make the best of our unexpected holidays, two friends and I took an overnight bus to Huaraz, to enjoy mountain views, ancient ruins and beautiful hiking.

View of the valley at the start of our horseback ride 

With Cañón while taking a break

We started our trip with a three hour horseback ride up a mountain outside of Huaraz. I hadn't been on a horse in nearly 10 years and my inexperience showed. Once I trusted my horse enough to know he wouldn't fall down the side of the mountain, I began to relax and could enjoy the views. The only sounds I heard were the rustling of the wind and the horse's hooves on the paths. That kind of quiet is eerie when coming from a city plagued by car horns, travelings salesman and bus engines.

On the way to Chavín

The Ruins at Chavín de Huantar

The main temple at Chavín

The second day we drove three hours to Chavín to explore the ancient ruins at the site. Archeologists have found evidence of civilizations on this site as early as 1200 BCE but the Chavín culture didn't arrive until about 400-500 BCE. People often talk just about the Incas and it's easy to forget that the Incas were one of the last cultures in Peru, meaning that before them the country was inhabited by a myriad of other people, cultures and traditions. Chavín is strategically located in the valley of the mountains and at the intersection of two rivers. Used a a ceremonial site, the only people who would have had unlimited access to the temple would have been the high priests. Most likely, the everyday citizens lived in the surrounding areas.

Lago Llaca, Huascarán National Park

The glacial lake and mountains- 14,678 ft. about sea level

At the lake

On the finally day, we took a car into Huascarán National Park. I'm a proud city girl who has never been keen on hiking but these views have changed my mind. At 14,000 feet above sea level, it felt as if we could touch the top of the snow capped mountains. Through my travels, I have become aware of the earth's size in regards to width but it wasn't until this trip that I began to think of the earth in vertical proportions. It was the first time I had been around mountains of this size and I was in awe of it's beauty. Clean blue skies, snow lined mountains and crisp mountain air, it can't get much better than that.

Sun & Sand

Last weekend, Alvaro, myself and Elizabeth (one of my very dear friends from high school) took a weekend trip to Ica, Peru. Elizabeth had been in Peru for about six weeks traveling to various cities and spending time with me in Lima. For her last weekend in Peru, we traveled south to the land of eternal sun and lots of sand. 

On Saturday morning we took a small city tour that took us through the main square and past the ruins of the Ica Cathedral that was nearly destroyed in a 2007 earthquake. From there we went to Cachiche, a small village next to Ica that is famous for its historical witches. Several hundred years ago there was a large concentration of witches in this village and the area is full of mystical legends. These original witches passed down their traditions to descendants who still practice healing practices in the village. One of the most interesting parts of the village is the seven headed palm tree. It is believed that several hundred years ago, one witch put a curse on this tree saying that if the seventh head ever grows, the city of Ica will be destroyed. To prevent this from happening, the seventh head is ceremoniously cut every year.

We also visited a Pisco Bodega where we saw the traditional methods used to prepare Ica's famous pisco. After our tour, we tasted several varieties of pisco that are produced on the property. 

But the highlight of the weekend was sandboarding! I have heard from several people that sandboarding is the thing to do in Ica and they all were right. I'm a stranger to any kind of extreme sport, so I admit I was fairly nervous before my first ride down the dune. But after surviving the first descent, I couldn't get enough! Not only was the sandboarding amazing, but the view was beautiful. I have never before stood in the middle of desert with only sand as far as my eyes could see. We were fortunate enough to have a clear night and were leaving the dunes around sunset.  It was the perfect day, Point for Peru once again!

948 Chickens

Chickens in the fire and on the left: the chicken count

This past Wednesday was a national holiday. On a Wednesday. Thank you, Catholic Church. I wasn't entirely sure why we had a holiday but had recalled seeing something on my school calendar that said "St. Peter and St. Paul Day". I googled this and discovered that June 29th, is in fact the feast day for St. Peter and St. Paul, commemorating the day in the year 67 when they were martyred in Rome. My deeply Protestant self was unaware of this Feast day, but still thankful to be in a Catholic country.

Last week I exclaimed that we have to do something different for the holiday. I couldn't bear the thought of staying at my apartment watching more episodes of Friday Night Lights, it was time to explore. 

We settled on the idea of going to La Granja Azul with some friends of ours. This place translated as, The Blue Farm, is a huge piece of land outside of Lima that is known for serving some of the best pollo a la brasa in Peru. This dish is essentially rotisserie chicken served with fries, a salad and an array of Peruvian sauces, nothing fancy but mmm, mmm good. I've had rotisserie chicken before in the States, but this stuff I simply can't resist. The best part of La Granja Azul? It's all-you-can-eat chicken. 

We were seated at a table next to the area where the chickens underwent their final preparations. We watched as the chickens, whole and roasted to a crisp, were removed from the fire and set down on a large table. Then a man who was at least sixty years old, wielded a large chopping knife and cleanly chopped the chickens right down the center. Busy waiters collected the halves and took them to their tables. It was a seamless system and it has to be, La Granja Azul is sprawling. 

The restaurant consists of several different large rooms and tiered terraces, I would guess that the capacity is well over a few hundred people. A few hundred people times all you can eat chicken equals a whole lot of chickens. In fact, right next to the large fire is a board that is updated periodically with the number of chickens that have met their delicious fate. When we sat down at 1:15 it was 510. When this picture was taken at 1:30 it was 600. Finally, when we left around 2:45 it was 948. Nine hundred forty eight little chickens had given up their lives for our holiday feast. Where does one buy 948 chickens? What kind of refrigerators do they have for those? And most importantly, who counts all of them?

All in all, it was a successful day. We got outside of the city, spent time with friends and I contributed one chicken to the 948. 

Happy Ceviche Day!

Photo credit: Absolut Peru

Peruvians are proud of their Peruvian food, really proud. There is a pride that radiates from a person when they begin to talk about their favorite Peruvian dishes. It's an interesting moment to watch, especially for me, since the culinary specialities from the States are generally an Americanized version of some other country's specialty. Though Southerners love their comfort food and their bar-b-que. And be warned, never mess with a Southerner and their sweet tea.

Yesterday was Ceviche Day. A national celebration of the deliciousness that is raw fish "cooked" in lime juice. Don't let the raw fish line send you away, it's amazing. Absolutely amazing. I'm told that some foreigners don't like ceviche because of the raw fish issue. Well, I love it. Does that add a few more points to my wannabe Peruvian status?

Let's hear it, three cheers to all the fish who give their lives for such a culinary treat. Happy Ceviche Day, Peru! Next up on the food celebration list is Pisco Day at the end of July. I can hardly wait.

If you're making your way to Lima anytime soon, here's Living in Peru's list of the top ten ceviche restaurants in Lima: be sure to check them out.

Sir, I'm not a tourist.

A few days ago, I was playing tour guide to a young American woman spending a week in Lima. We had spent the morning getting pedicures, eating a Peruvian lunch and our final stop was the Incan Market. This is by far the best place in Lima to find hand crafted goods from all over the country. We spent several hours exploring the booths and finally made our way home.

I hailed a cab and quickly asked the driver to take us to a roundabout that was approximately half way between our two apartments. He quoted me a price of S./5 which seemed reasonable. We hopped in and as we were driving I realized that instead of going to the roundabout, the driver could continue straight and drop off my friend right at her apartment. I became flustered, so my Spanish was a little rocky, but he understood. When she exited the taxi, I asked him to take me to my apartment.

We made small talk on the drive and as we neared my apartment I asked him for the new price, including the ride to my apartment. I've been here long enough to have a good idea about what the price should be. I also know enough about Peruvian taxis to know that I should have settled on the multi-destination price before I got into the taxi, but I'm making slow progress with these things and can't expect too much. He immediately quoted me the price "S./12".

In the next three seconds I simultaneously thought:

"12 soles!"
"He's ripping me off."
"I am not a tourist, I know what the price should be."
"Well, I'm already in and can't fight too much."
"Eh, it's worth a shot..."

I replied very firmly, "10 soles".

He looked into the rearview mirror and gave a small smile, realizing that he couldn't pull a tourist scam on me. "Yes, señorita, 10 soles."

And, success! It's not even about the two soles, which is roughly 60 cents. It's more so about making it known that I am in fact, a Peruvian in training and I won't fall for their tricks.

Peru: The Brand

Living in Peru » Business : Peru finally has a country brand.

Erin in LIMA!

I have been mostly MIA this past week, sorry about that. That’s what happens when you start a new job with crazy hours and you’re trying to adjust to the schedule. And when you get a slight bout of Peruvian allergies and you go to a three and a half hour long job interview. Throw in yoga classes, lesson planning and preparing for my first visitor and you’ve got a busy girl.

My dear friend Erin (pictures above on the 4th of July in Dresden) is currently sitting on a plane bound of Lima. I am so very excited, not only to have an American here with me but mainly just to have Erin here with me. She and I set off to Germany together two years ago. At the time, we were merely acquaintances, but it was during our time in Germany that we became very close and she is now one of my best friends. She shares my love or language and travel and is one of my loudest cheerleaders when it comes to my adventure in Lima.

I can’t wait to spend a week with her and am excited to show her a little bit of my new home.

Safe travels, Erin!

Islands

Two weekends ago, Alvaro and I spent Saturday morning being tourists. I was nearing the end of my tolerance for Lima and he needed a change of pace from school, work, more school and more work. Thanks to Lima's best touring company, Mirabus, we embarked on an early morning ride to Callao, the port of Lima.

After arriving in Callao, we got off the bus and followed our guide who was carrying a bright red flag. Like children following the line leader, we walked to the end of the port and stood in line. Immediately we were bombarded by street vendors of all sorts, selling sun screen, soda, crackers, hats, binoculars for rent and lemon candies for seasickness. A very tan Peruvian girl wearing a tank top and short denim shorts stood right next to us, yelling, "The trip is four hours, you need these lemon candies for sea sickness!" The very annoying, very demanding family behind us summoned her to their side and bought several candies and at the end of the transaction, without moving down the line, she again yelled her sales pitch. This scene is one of the perfect examples of how Peruvian street vendors are cunning entrepreneurs. During the summer months they sell sunscreen, hats and soda. Around Christmas, you can purchase wrapping paper. In the days leading up to New Years Eve, every vendor is selling yellow leis or plastic glasses, as Peruvians believe that the color yellow will bring you good luck into the New Year. Valentine's Day allows for everything red and I can only imagine what sort of green products will arrive in time for St. Patrick's Day.

Once we boarded the boat, we were directed to the lower cabin and took a seat on the last row. On top of our seats were faded orange life jackets that we instinctively put on the ground. They stayed there until our guide came by and told us that we had to wear them. Reluctantly, we put on the awkward vests and sat back down.

Our boat was to circle four of the largest islands just off the coast of Lima. The first island that we passed, the largest one, is currently the home to the private beach home of Peru's President. Other than the three houses with red roofs that belong to that complex, the island is deserted. I have heard rumors that this is the island that the Peruvian government hopes to turn into a major hotel, casino and resort oasis. Though like most things in Peru, the reality is far, far away.

The second island is now deserted but once housed a jail that was home to Peru's most dangerous criminals. The primitive looking buildings were still in use until the late 1980's when Peru's then President, Alan Garcia (who is currently serving a second term, with a fifteen year recess in between), brought several terrorists to the island to be executed. This controversy, as well as other logistical problems led to the jail's final closure in 1986.

After the boat rounded these two islands, we finally arrived at the main attraction of this whole adventure- the sea lions! In this cluster of several islands is one island that is home to thousands of sea lions. It is an interesting phenomenon that the sea lions have chosen this one island, Besides the neighboring island that is used as the “nursery,” for moms to take their children to learn to swim, hunt and feed, the sea lions only reside on this one particular island.

At this island, the boat stopped for a few minutes and we were allowed to walk to the front to take pictures and get a closer look, I now know that those awkward life vests were specifically for this ten minute period. Immediately upon stepping out of the boat, I was knocked over by a horrendous stench. What I can only imagine was a mix of salt water, dead fish and sea lion excrement, was so powerful that my nose never adjusted to the smell. I was oddly aware of it the whole time. And the noise, the noise! Before arriving at the island I had my questions about the origin of the name “sea lions” but after hearing their roars similar to that on a real lion, I had no further questions. It was a truly amazing site to see thousands of sea lions perched on the island. Those closest to the water were jumping in the freezing waters and then using only their flippers, they began a comical climb back onto the island’s shore.

In between taking photos of the sea lions, I noticed the breathtaking view around me. I was floating in the Pacific Ocean, of the coast of Lima, Peru, and was facing two gorgeous, sand covered islands nestled into the clear blue water. The unusual reality of watching sea lions hit me and I realized, “this isn’t Nashville”. It’s easy to discount living on the ocean when the water rolling into Lima is brown and the shore is full of rocks, but while in the ocean, navigating the waters, I saw a brand new beauty in Lima. Despite all the ugliness and struggles and compromises, at least Lima has sea lions. There’s a serious Point for Peru.

Pirate Market

In the past four months, I have learned a great deal about social norms. In Lima, it’s socially acceptable to arrive over an hour late to a social gathering. Generally speaking, it’s acceptable for men to turn their heads in a full 180º to check out a woman that has just walked by. The most surprising, however, is that it is socially acceptable to buy pretty much everything from a pirate market.

The two biggest pirate markets in Lima are Polvos Rosados and Polvos Azules (Pink Dust and Blue Dust, respectively). These two shopping malls are housed in a large warehouses complete with separate kiosks, snack machines, ATMs, actual shopping bags, business cards and police protection. Unlike the shady fake Louis Vuitton handbag purchases that take place in a dark corner of a New York subway station, pirate markets in Peru are not afraid to stand out. This is particularly obvious by the pink paint covering the exterior of Polvos Rosados.

When Alvaro first took me to Polvos Rosados several months ago, I entered the warehouse and my jaw dropped. I was in disbelief at the sheer number of products available for sale. Backpacks, electronics, movies, CDs, clothes, shoes, pet supplies, books- you want it, they have it. Alvaro goes to the same kiosk every time to purchase movies. Each movie kiosk is equipped with at least one decently sized flat screen TV on which customers can test their movies to check for quality. Our trusty pirated movie salesman can find a movie in a matter of seconds. They sell everything. From the most obscure foreign film to the movies that still haven’t arrived in Peruvian theaters, they have it.  This kiosk sells movies for S./5 each, but if you buy four then you get a fifth one for free. About two months ago, Alvaro purchased the second Wall Street movie to watch for a class project. We started to watch the movie, only to discover that it was in black and white and the entire menu screen was in Russian. But no worries, our pirated movie salesman is so honest that he offered to switch out the movie for us at no additional cost. And my copy of Enchanted that wouldn’t play in English? No worries, he switched that one too and even threw in an extra movie for free, to compensate for “our trouble”.

Buying pirated movies in Peru has become so socially acceptable that the it seems ludicrous to buy your movies anywhere else. Video rental stores are non-existent in Lima. Forget Netflix and Redbox, they would be too expensive. Why rent a movie for $1 when you can buy it for $1.60? The movie selection at electronic stores and supermarkets is abysmal and if you were to find the movie you wanted, it would cost you at least $30. In a society in which the middle class has nearly disappeared, buying a movie is simply too expensive for a large majority of Peruvians. Which is why the pirate markets make sense, the movies are cheap, in wide supply and the demand in these markets is greater than in any other. Such a phenomenon has carried over to movie theaters. An adult ticket to a new release on a Friday night costs barely $5, if theaters in Lima were to charge the outrageous prices found in US, no one would go to the theaters. Why pay close to $50 to take your entire family to the movies when you can buy the same movie for less than $2 at Polvos Rosados?

Alvaro interns at one of the largest law firms in Lima and works in the Intellectual Property department. He spends his days writing cases for Adidas, Hello Kitty, Donkey Kong, Juicy Couture, Spongebob Squarepants, Louis Vuitton and Chanel, supporting these companies when knock-offs of their brand make it to the shores of Peru. Last week he went to a raid where he spent the better part of the day counting pairs of fake Chanel earrings to include in the evidence reports. For forty hours a week, he is surrounded by law regarding trademarks and branding, but yet last Sunday we came home from Polvos Rosados with seven movies. When lawyers and police accept something as a norm, I guess everyone else has no choice but to follow.