Potato Festival

This past weekend was the last weekend that my parents were in town and I spent the days before their arrival from the jungle trying to find restaurants to go to and things to do. A certain banner had caugt my eye everyday when I went to work and one day I looked it up when I got home. It was for the Potato Festival in Surco! SO EXCITING!! A potato fest in the capital of potatolandia. Looked up where it was and the hours and C and I met my parents there early on Sunday morning.

My first impression. Thats it? The festival occupied one side of the main plaza in Old Surco. The plaza itself is fun to see with an old colonial style yellow church on one side and basically want amounted to 3 other sides of restaurants. My excitment for potatoes quickly overcame my disappointment over the size of the festival. POTATOES!!! Non-touristy street fair!

There were two rows of stands and they either had potatoes or some other type of Andean food stuffs. There were stalls with just bread that C says you can last a long time and come from the mountains. (upon closer inspection this meant that they were dry and meant to be eaten with other items). There were food stalls that sold stews made of dried meat called Charqui, huge balls of Causa (yellow potato with chicken/tuna/crab filling), HUGE plates of Peruvian Chicken and rice or duck and rice, tamales, guinea pigs, and cebiches.

From Do you Machu Picchu?

Quinea Pigs


There were other stands that had New Andean foods such as a variety of different flours, whole oatmeal, 5 varieties of quinoa,

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fresh butter and cheese, ham, and natural products. I think that Peru is the place to be if you are allergic to gluten or want health food products to change out mainstream ones. There was a stall with wine made from different roots and made from the prickly pear fruit, two stalls had coffee made from the carob tree and then...there were the potatoes!

Of the more than 3.000 varieties of potatoes grown we only saw many 100...I must say it is difficult to see the difference in all of them, but some are very easy to point out. One stall had just bags of different colored potatoes ranging from bright yellow to purple. One guy had this lumpy bumpy red ones and one was the general potato stall where they had little bags of potatoes to show with its name. We found the common red potato-it is called Gringo which basically means foreigner, but in a kinda rude way. Some of them look like little turds...and most of them are lumpy bumpy. I dunno how we got our common variety ones to be so smooth. It was amazing to see so many types of different potatoes. What was most interesting wasn´t the number of types, but the shapes and the colors that they came in.

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Colored potatoes!

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The display stand

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The recognizable red potato

We listened to a farmer explain how the keep the plant bug free. He told us about one bug that will crawl 40km is one night and how the basically suffocate it underground using huge sheets of plastic. They also kill the flying ones using vegetable based insecticides. They take bitter plants and boil them down and then spray it into the air and it keeps the bugs away. It was great to see a farmer there explaining his work and not some guy in a business suit with a fancy presentation.

We spent probably a good 1.5 walking around that one street street fair. It was so much fun and so exciting to see something off the beaten track-for tourists at least:) I loved not just the little street fair, but just the people/life/culture watching that we were able to do just by being there. My mom bought some hand woven cloths that are gorgeous and we were all tempted to try the food but couldn´t quite get ourselves over the fear of stomach bugs. Next time...

From Do you Machu Picchu?

Bascially what my mother bought and one made of alpaca

Do you Machu Picchu?

This past weekend was spent visiting probably the most famous thing of Peru. I went with my parents to Machu Picchu. I must admit that I have never felt a strong desire to visit. Not that I didn´t want to, I just never felt the pull of going. Same with the pyramids...Anyway.

I must say-it IS impressive.

I was a little worried about the altitude. The city of Cusco is at almost 11,000 feet and the highest I have been was in CO this past Christmas at around 10,000 ft. The good thing is that everything around Cusco, well most things are at a lower elevation. Machu Picchu itself is only around 8,000ft above sea level. For coming from sea level and not having a day to acclimate (ah the joys of taking days off from work), I must say I was pretty impressed with myself. I felt a little funny right when I got off the airplane and lost my appetite at dinner time, but was otherwise unaffected. I think my lack of sleep from going to the airport at 3.30am took more of a toll on me that first day. My mother, who is also notoriously susceptible to altitude did just fine as well.

That first day we drove from Cusco to the Sacred Valley and a city called Ollantaytambo. It is about 1.5-2 hours away from Cusco and we made seveval stops along the way to take photos and visit the pueblo of Chinceros.

The landsacpe on the way to Ollaytambo.

From Do you Machu Picchu?

From Do you Machu Picchu?

Chincheros is a little pueblo known for weaving and dying. I kinda felt like we got swept into a tourist trap like the tea tasting things in China or the herbal pharmacy/rug weaving demonstrations in Morocco, but it was a little less extreme. They gave us demonstrations on how they spin the alpaca and how they wash it;

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with this cool root that they grate and then it foams and when you wash the wool it turns out all clean and white.

They also showed us how the color the yarn with natural products like leaves or purple corn or sulfur rocks or crushed nopal bugs:

From Do you Machu Picchu?

From Do you Machu Picchu?

Its amazing the different varieties of color you can get. The girl took one color, added salt and it changed the hue from bright to a softer color. It was so cool! My parents haggled with them for some alpaca products and then we made our way Ollantaytambo to see the ruins.

In Ollantaytambo the ruins are of an old temple that served as both temple and store house for the Incan Empire. Seen from above the temple has the shape of a llama. I got to see my first Inca stones. They really are amazing in the way they fit together seamlessly and in that they are not just square. They have a little flap that fits into the neighboring stone and some of them have little tabs that fit together. They also built their structures on top of packed earth and smaller rocks to allow for earthquakes. Its amazing that their structures have withstood so much time without being destroyed by natural elements.

From Do you Machu Picchu?

Our morning to go to Machu Picchu dawned early and clear. The road to Machu Piccu is long, but not difficult. You just have to catch many modes of transportation. You can take a train that will take you directlyish to Cusco which is like 3 or 4 hours or you somehow get to the sacred valley and train from there. Once in Aguas Calientes, the gateway to MP you either hike up a huge hill or take a half hour bus ride that is full of switchbacks and dust. On the train you pay extra for cool windows on the top of the car, but the track is lined with trees so you mostly get nice views of foliage.

When you arrive at the train station you pass through another gate and on the day we arrived the locals were making a mad rush to get on their train to go and vote, but it was really interesting because they have to go through a different gate and they were all loaded with stuff. They had extra bags and food and children strapped to their backs. They keep the local passengers and the tourists separate, to charge the tourists more money, but it really seems like they are being treated like second class citizens because they are made to go through a different door. Everywhere there were signs of poverty even in the midst of all the tourist wealth. It made for a really interesting contrast during the whole trip.

We traipsed through the Market which is kinda claustophobic and scary. The entire market is tented and has narrow passageways. Thank goodness we didn´t go through it at midday-with the tarp covering it must have been way too hot. Its a relief to find your way out of the maze into the fresh air. We boarded the bus and made out windy way up the mountain to the bottom of the ruins. The bus makes tons of switch backs to get to the top of the hill and if another bus is going down at the same time then both of them squeeeeeeeze on the road and if you stuck your hand outside the window you it probably would be chopped off.

Getting off the bus and through the gate (after stamping the passport of course) and hiking up the hill was spectacular. We went up the side and got to have great views from the get go. There were few people and we hardly got stuck on anything. It really is amazing how the Incas managed to do all that they did AGES ago. What stuck me is that no one really knows why the ruins at Machu Picchu exist. There are several theories, but nothing conclusive. They don’t even know the name of the place. They know that the Mountain peak is called Machu Picchu, but don’t know about the rest of it. The man who man Macchu Picchu famous apparently destroyed a lot of the archeological evidence of the things they found there and so a lot of the original information has been lost. I think that all the mystery and the crazy stories about the finding of the location and the speculation of what happend in the site only add to the allure of Machu Picchu. Not saying that is isn’t amazing. It is. But its also the trip to the site and the other sites around it and the short/long history of the thing and the mountains and EVERYTHING that for me made Machu Picchu amazing. The whole kit-n-kaboodle. Next up-Doing the Inca trail in the 4 tourist days instead of the 4 local/Inca hours it takes!

From Do you Machu Picchu?

Machu Picchu! Looks a little fake right?

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Amazing Incan Stonework. All the pieces fit perfectly! And the blend into the natual curves and rocks of the mountain. How did they do it? Nobody knows....

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The fam on the ruin.

A little Irish luck?

Two weeks ago I had my first visitor!! My friend Kaitlin came down to visit and experience Machu Picchu. All in all it went smoothly. Not having a cellphone to contact people makes it a little tricky. Good thing I had use of a landline and internet. I must apologize to my friend however, because this city is NO where like Madrid. Apart from the fact that I don´t know nearly so much about Lima, the city itself is huge and sprawling without a unified/easy/cheap method of transport, AND due to lack of funds and extraordinary tiredness due to working like a normal person I haven´t had time to explore as much as I coulda/shoulda. Good thing she was down for some relaxation with a few kicks thrown in.

On the plus side having a visitor gives you a good excuse to do things you don´t normally do. For instance, I got to hang out in Miraflores for a day or two and we wandered around. I think the central hub has too many people for me to actually ever want to live there. Also the shops aren´t too interesting and the restaurants less so. There are a fair amount of shops and restaurants, but most seemed to be overpriced and underwhelming. Despite this it was nice to be able to walk around and see new sights.

Another exciting adventure we had was to FINALLY make it into Barranco, the more indy/boho area of Lima which is next to Miraflores on the coast. We went to eat ceviche at this place called Canta Rana. It is a family owned restaurant and they have soccer paraphernalia everywhere and is kinda tavern like, but not dark....that doesn´t make sense. We ordered the traditional mixed ceviche that just has lime juice, and also tiradito which has different sauces. We also ordered the jalea that goes with it that is a plate of fried seafood and a plate of shrimp causa. Causa is like a lime flavored mashed yellow potatoes with some sort of meat/seafood on sandwiched in bteween. Sounds odd, but is really tasty. Barranco in itself is really pretty. A lot of the old colonial buildings are still standing and are relatively well kept. Instead of tearing down old buildings it seems that Barranco converts them into new offices or whatever. The colonial style is so beautiful but it is too bad that leaving it as it is is a constant reminder of the colonial rule that dominated Peru for centuries.

My second to last new adventure were shopping in the artisan markets with my friend to find her souvenirs. There are these markets close to Miraflores in Surquillo where you can buy all sorts of Peruvian items. You can buy silver and alpaca blankets and hats and shoes and textiles and paintings and sculptures and musical instruments and clothes to remind you of Peru. A lot of the stuff is pretty cool, but a lot of it is also very similar. A lot of stands that sell the same items at slightly different prices. I don´t know how the all turn a profit. Kinda reminds me of all the bars in Madrid. All basically the same, but somehow they all survive. We tried on some fun gigantic poodle-esque hats and tried to find the best/most interesting deal.

And last, but not least I got to experience some more nightlife in Lima. Their nightlife seems to be very concentrated to certain areas with a few random places in spread out areas. We turned to the main nightlife drag in Miraflores. I have had several people tell me that Lima has like 2 or 3 good clubs. They all seem to be in the Larcomar and it was pretty hopping in that area, but nothing like being in Sol around 2am. Drinks are mostly the same price all over with about 16-18 soles a pop for a mixed drink. I think the coolest part of the nightlife right in Miraflores is the proximity to the ocean. You can either go clubbing with an ocean backdrop or have cocktails with friends and a great ocean view.

And now you ask, what does all of this have to do with Irish luck. Well my friend is of Irish descent and she said that she would be good luck for Carlos in his job searching/interviewing process. And guess what? SHE WAS! Carlos was offered job with an American based company to work as a Business Development Manager. SO EXCITING!!!!!!!!! A little bit of luck, a lot of hard work, and a whole lot of patience (9months) have gone into this process but at long last he is employed with an American based international company that he is excited about, and not just because its a job. He is excited for the future possibilities of this job and the personal and professional challenge that it will provide him.

I realize this is kinda long, so thanks for those of you who hung in there to the end. Below I have posted the most recent pictures of my adventures.

more lima adventures

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Beef hearts and Pisco Sours

I have finally tried the infamous anticucho of Peru. The anticucho is a skewer of grilled beef heart. I do not like to eat the insides of animals, generally. However, when in foreign lands, I suppose I am more daring. I had tripe in the form of callos in Madrid, sheeps brain in the form of sheeps brain in Morocco, and now beef hearts disguised as kebabs in Peru. Of the three innards that I have tried I like the beef hearts the most. They taste like low-quality bbq meat. Slighty chewy. I tried them at this bar lounge called Huaringas in Miraflores and they were served with giant corn, onion salsa like stuff and Peruvian hot pepper sauce. Now that I have tried it, I don´t know why I waited so long. Probably because I was afraid it was going to be like my callos (tripe) eating experience in Madrid where everyone told me you had to eat it and it was horrible. I was wary of an appetite scarring experience.

Above I mentioned this bar/lounge called Huaringas where I tried my first anticuchos. It was also my first taste of Peruvian night life. I set the bar very high. Huaringas is not your everyday bar, unless you are loaded. However, its very nice inside. It has 3 floors with tables and then a 4th teraza floor at the top. It is decorated very nicely and has a good atmosphere with good music. Now, the bar is set high because the drinks are 18/20 soles a pop. To give you some perspective, the bar on the corner by my office sells pisco sours at 3x18 soles. Hmmmm. At Huaringas they are very tasty and really pack a punch. They also has all sorts of drinks with pisco or with something else. So far my favorites are the passion fruit one and the stawberry one. Carlos has become a fan of the coffe/cocoa nib one. The crowd at this place is slightly older, which makes sense. Younger/university kids would never spend that much money on a drink unless they were invited, but it also keeps the atmosphere chill. Also, NO SMOKING! They even make you go downstairs and outside if you want to smoke. Very nice. I have been twice to Huaringas and I´m looking forward to more paychecks so I can explore more Peruvian nightlife scenes.