Last Peru Post: Food

I had an interesting relationship with Peruvian food, in the sense that I was sick more often in Peru than any other place I have traveled. And I have traveled to much less touristy places than Peru. When I finally got home, I was sick again for a day and half- this time off of plane food. Being sick from food makes the idea of writing a food post less than appetizing, which accounts for the delay in this post. Despite that, all in all, the food in Peru was mostly tasty, although sometimes rather disgusting and stomach-churning. So I have decided to rate the following Peruvian foods on a scale of one to five, five being mighty tasty and recommendable, and one being repulsive.

Ricotto Relleno *****
A pepper filled with marinated meat and cheeses.
Inca Kola ***
A bright yellow soda that tastes similar to bubble gum. Not my favorite taste, but definitely worth a try.
Chicken Milanesa ***
A thin fried patty of chicken. Safe, but not too flavorful. You will notice that almost everything is served with french fries.
Papa a la Huancaina **
Potatoes with a creamy yellow sauce. Worth a try, but not very delicious. Served as an appetizer before an entree.
Cuzcena beer **
Following in the footsteps of every other Latin American country I have been to, the beer selection in Peru was lacking, but not lacking in the lager department, of which there were many choices that all tasted a little more flavorful than water. But hey, it's beer.
Alpaca ****
If you read this blog throughout our travels, you probably saw pictures of living Alpaca. This is a dead one. Tastes like beef. Pretty good.
Pisco Sour *****
A nice alcoholic beverage that tastes a little like a margarita, but a bit more sour with a little bit of froth at the top. Very flavorful and refreshing.
Ceviche *****
Fish in spices with lime drizzled on it. Delicious.
Seafood *****
Lima is known for its great seafood dishes. This was one of my favorite meals of the entire trip. Shrimp, fish, octopus, in a spicy, creamy delicious sauce. Savory. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it now.
Kebab Wrap *****
This is tied with seafood as my favorite type of food I ate in Peru. Kebabs are amazing. I have eaten them in many countries and have never been disappointed. If you have never had one, you should quickly look up Middle Eastern food on yelp and run out and buy one. Very delicious. Also known as the carne asada burrito of the Middle East.
Picarones **
Donuts that taste a little pumpkin-ish, drizzled in a maple type of sauce. In my opinion, they didn't taste very good, but they are not repulsive, so they are worth a try.
Suspiro ***
A mixture of dulce de leche and meringue. Extremely sweet, but fun for a few bites.
Picante de Cuy = death
No stars for this dish. Peruvians and foreigners both rave about the crunchy, chewy, thick skin of the guinea pig, and then the reward of the soft, tender flesh once you make it through the skin. My experience of tasting this was one of trying to keep myself from feeling nauseous with unsuccessful results. It is worth a try just so you can say you ate guinea pig. And I hope that you have a pleasant experience. I definitely did not.
To read Matt's review of eating guinea pig, go here. He is funny and much better with words than I am.
And if you are tired of eating in Peruvian restaurants, you could just buy food at a market:


Other notable foods in Peru that receive five stars from me but did not make it on the camera:
-Trout (I have never like it in the U.S., but in Peru it is fresh and flavorful.)
-Soups (Many meals come with a soup for a starter and all of the soups in Peru are delectable.)
-Juices (Almost every restaurant serves fresh juice for an inexpensive price. They blend it on the spot for you. Sometimes it is a little more like a juice and sometimes a little more like a smoothie- whatever you end up with is always delicious!)

That's my story of food in Peru. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And the guinea pig was mighty ugly.

Needless to say, there were certain food dishes I was really looking forward to coming home to like:
- bean and cheese burrito (specifically from Saguaro's, my favorite)
- sushi
- red wine
- fruits and veggies

And I have since eaten all of those things, and they made my taste buds very happy.

Now I am leaving the country again for the last time in a long while. Tonight I fly to Costa Rica for my last master's class. It will be at the United Nation's University for Peace and is entitled: "Educational Leadership for Peace and Sustainability." The class title pretty much combines all of my passions, so I am excited, and I get to hang out with five of my cohort-mates for the week, which will be fun.

An Excerpt From My Journal: June 15, 2009, Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua

An excerpt from my journal, and a little peek into what I reflected upon during my travels:

I am experiencing an interesting feeling. The only word I can think of to describe it is contentment. I have always been a planner, a goal setter, and then an accomplisher. I decide I want to do something, usually write out a plan of how I am going to accomplish it, and then I work toward it. Writing out plans and budgets is how I graduated from college in three and a half years, saved money for our honeymoon and travels since, trained for a half marathon, taught high school for three years, saved money to co-own a property, saved money to partially pay for my master's degree, etc. My whole life has been spent doing what I set out to accomplish. It may sound like I have no spontaneity, but this goal setting addiction I have has enabled me to have pretty great moments in life from crossing the finish line after running without stopping for 13.1 miles to standing next to flowing lava in Guatemala to hearing about miracles from rural people in Nepal to road tripping in a mini van with my family around New Zealand to reading thank you letters written by high school students to their public high school teacher to doing research in Bosnia-Herzegovina for my master's degree.

But despite all of this, I have never really felt content. I have always wanted more, not in the sense of material possessions, but I have always thought about what I am going to do next in life. When I graduated from college, I planned when I would go back. When I finally started my career as a high school teacher, after three years I decided to get my master's. Half way through my master's, I thought about getting my Ph.D.

I know I sound like a neurotic fool, and I guess I am. But there is a point here.

I think I have done almost everything I have wanted to accomplish in life (besides having babies, which will come later). For once, there is not a next step for me. I want to go home to San Diego, continue to live in community, hopefully have a job, and be content.

Am I relinquishing the idealistic counterculture in me or am I finally really living into it? It's not that I want to become a boring self-centered person (although this entry screams of self-centeredness). It's not that I hope to relish in mediocrity. It's just that I want to live in contentment- being present, and not always thinking about what is next.

Coming Home

As I sit in my bed this Sunday morning, with a husband sleeping peacefully beside me, and the morning light gently streaming through my windows, I am trying to reflect back on our summer of traveling- what I learned, what it meant for me. What an amazing summer it was- so full of history, natural beauty, love, adventure, learning, living. But one of the best things about traveling is missing home and friends and family, because despite the adventure you've been on, it doesn't really compare to the relationships in your life. Those who you live near that have such a natural presence in your weekly and often daily life- friends that are more like family. And those who you are related to through blood or marriage- the parents, in-laws, aunts, cousins- the people in your life you daily wished you lived closer to.

Coming home isn't so bad... it's actually quite nice.

Huaraz, Peru

Our last stop before heading back to Lima was Huaraz, which is home to the highest mountains in South America. The range is named the Cordillera Blanca and is a part of the Andes. Unfortunately, we had to leave Huaraz a day earlier than we planned because there were more scheduled transportation strikes and we couldn't risk possibly missing our flight out of Lima to Los Angeles. The transportation strikes in this country are quite inconvenient, but the beauty and intrigue found within Peru makes up for its inconveniences.
Laguna Querococha:

The ancient city of Chauvin was built in 1200 B.C. and is the earliest known ruins in Peru. These people were a part of the pre-Incan cultures that resided in the region. This temple was built about 2700 years before the Incan ruins that are more famous. The similar style of architecture is apparent, which clearly later influenced the Incans.

One captivating part about these ruins is that you can actually go inside of them. The Chauvin people built inside tunnels, rooms, and prisons, which are open to visitors like me:
Laguna Llanganuco:


P.S. We are at home in the United States now, after arriving safely last night in Los Angeles at about midnight. Glad to be back.

Strolling the Streets of Cusco...

...very slowly after all of that hiking we did.

Machu Picchu

Note: Read this post first for the full story of how we got here.

We woke up at 3:45 a.m. on the fourth day of our trek to be some of the first people let into Machu Picchu. Our trekking group began the hike up 1,600 stairs at 4:15. When we reached the top, we eagerly waited in line to be let into the park, drenched in sweat from the rigorous climb. We were some of the first people in, walking through the ancient city enveloped in morning mist and dew. It was magical.




The mountain directly behind Machu Picchu that is seen in all of the famous pictures (including the one we took at the very top of this post) is named Huayna Picchu. In order to be able to climb it you have to be some of the first people into the park to get a ticket, because they only allow 400 people on it per day. Because of this restriction, it is somewhat special to be one of the 400. Our trekking group arrived early enough to get a voucher to hike it at 10:00 a.m.

Huayna Picchu:



The trail was a little steep, as you can see. That is my butt hiking up in the picture below. The Incas were pretty crazy. Not only did they build Machu Picchu on top of a mountain, but then they decided to build more structures on top of Huayna Picchu:

We made it to the top. Hanging off the edge:
I was very happy to be here and alive at this moment:The ruins look so little and we are so big:
Then the craziest thing happened. Remember how I said only 400 people in the whole entire world could climb Huayna Picchu per day? So what are the chances that you would see someone you knew at the top of the mountain as you are enjoying the view and eating your lunch? Well, it happened to me. My friend Takeo, who I am in my master's program with, just happened to hike the mountain the same day at the same time as me! It was more than exciting to see him at the top:

Matt and I were lucky enough to get to spend about 10 hours at Machu Picchu, and I wouldn't have wanted one minute less. It was a beautiful, majestic day that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Huayna Picchu and me:


Matt likes llamas:
What a perfect day: