Thirty Days in Peru ~ odds n' ends a wrap up

My month in Peru seemed to go by so quickly, yet I had so very many experiences, saw so many sights, and did so many new things, that I don’t think I’ve had sufficient time to absorb them all yet. When I had the opportunity, at the end of my trip, to relax and reflect a little, my mind just seemed empty until the night before departure when it filled with all manner of thoughts and feelings which rendered me unable to sleep most of the night.

I had found myself earlier in the day and continually throughout the afternoon with the desire to hear pan-flute music, which is common throughout the southern highlands. At some point during the night, after finally falling into a feverish sleep, I awoke with the regret that I hadn’t purchased a pan flute as a memento of my trip.

The next day, on my nine hour trip from Trujillo on the northern coast to Lima for my final journey home, I reflected more on my impressions of Peru and came to the conclusion it is still too early to tell if it left an impression upon my soul.

After having dinner with my friend Yadilitta, while waiting for my flight to Miami, I thought about all the people I met, who crossed my path for a number of hours or days, and came to the conclusion that the people I had the opportunity to interact with most definitely left an impression upon my heart.

Yadilitta, with whom I had the great pleasure to share my passion for good food and who steered me along the pathways of traditional and nouveau Peruvian cuisine, as well as chauffeured me around Lima, became an instant friend and confidante. She emailed me suggestions of what foods I had to try as well as restaurants in every town I visited. She sent me recipes for some of the dishes we ate together and shared my excitement when I blogged about simple fare and gourmet meals.

Then there were Kam and Prince, two exuberant guys from the U.K. who were following the same route as I, as our paths crossed and re-crossed. Kam works in the stock market and Prince is in the Royal Air Force. They are cousins who came to Peru more or less on a whim. They were not as interested in the secrets of ancient cultures or the ways of the surviving culture so much as they were interested in connecting with other travelers to celebrate their travels and the shared culture of their youth and exuberance.


In Arequipa there was Jose, the elder, proprietor of my cheap and somewhat dumpy hostel, who was there 24/7 sleeping in his clothes on a couch in the small upstairs lobby room a few hours a night between 2am-6 or 7am. He always greeted me with a big smile and “Mr. Robert!” when he came to unlock the hall gate and let me in or out. Jose directed me to a good tour operator for my trip into Colca Canyon, let me store my bags at the hostel while on that 3 day trip, and had my same room ready for me when I returned. He was always curious about California and the USA, and although both of us only possessed a rudimentary grasp of the other’s language, we managed to have quite a few short conversations. Imagine my surprise when I awoke the last day of my stay to find that Jose had been replaced by a younger man who spoke much more English and turned out to be Jose Jr.! I should have guessed by his pleasant outgoing manner and lively smile and eyes.


Cathy, who worked the day shift at Hostel Tourista Recolada in Cusco, was a gentle soul who was pleasant to be around and seemed always to be in a mild state of wonderment. She graciously welcomed me, when I arrived at 7:30 am after my overnight bus trip from Arequipa, with a hot cup of coca tea and made me feel comfortable in one of the hostel lounges as a room was prepared for me. She enjoyed humming and sometimes outright boisterous singing as she went about her daily chores. Her smile always made me feel like “welcome home” and I looked forward to seeing her every morning as she calmly served breakfast in the small dining area to the guests as they began their day.


I met travelers from many parts of the globe but none more than from Australia. New Zeeland was second and I met more than I would have imagined from Holland as well as Brazilians, Venezuelans, and others from Singapore to Spain. On the second night at the bottom of Colca canyon I had hours of good conversations with Julio from Barcelona, Sasha from Holland, and Rachel from Kansas City. We were sitting at one of the picnic tables in the dining area under cover from the late afternoon rain storm.  Although Julio and Rachel had both been traveling the first part of their journeys with a friend, all three were traveling on their own.

The last week of my trip was spent along the northern coast above Lima, an area which was not nearly as tourist friendly and where I only met one traveler who spoke English and could have a good conversation with. Needless to say, I felt a bit adrift and alone, but I still managed to have a pretty good time.

Looking back through my pictures, I see I have quite a few that did not make it into the blog yet may be missing parts of the story.  I will just add them here with brief explanations and hope that will suffice.

I have quite a few pictures of food......  Here is some street food from Puno I did not stop to ask about.....perhaps skewered meat and potatoes cooked on a grill.

These were good, yucca fries with two dipping sauces.

I had many versions of this starter...Potatoes with a mild yellow chile sauce This was the best with an olive and hard boiled egg ~ Peruvian potato salad

The best breakfast I found...Eggs covered with a spicy tomato sauce, a salad of avocado, tomato, and cucumber, delicious wheat rolls, coffee, and a small pitcher of mango pineapple orange juice

a simple avocado, tomato and cucumber salad with citrus vinaigrette

This was good!  Avocado stuffed with chicken salad and asparagus

Very common were papas rellenos - mashed potato stuffed with meat and other ingredients and fried...I tried three diferent versions

this was one of the best because of the good (ahi) yellow pepper sauce....with ground beef, onions, and hard boiled egg

Going Home

My trip home would consist of a nine hour bus ride followed by about 3 hours in Lima then a red-eye from Lima to Miami, a flight fom Miami to Dallas, a flight from Dallas to San Jose Ca. then a 3 1/2 hour drive home to Oakhurst; all-in-all about 36 hours of travelling.

With three hours to kill in Lima at dinner time, the natural thought was to go out to dinner with my friend Yadilitta.  She had introduced me to the food of Peru in the first days of my visit and having dinner with her would be the perfect ending to my trip. We decided to go out to Malabar, who's cuisine is described as international.  The chef is Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America.  He worked in Italy and is the only chef in Lima to use and research Amazonian ingredients. Chef Schiaffino has created an eclectic cuisine that takes inspiration in his Peruvian, Italian, and Cuban heritage.

The bus trip started out with a light snack of a warm empanada filled with beef, onions, and hard boiled egg.  It was pretty good and I wondered why I had not seen breakfast empanadas on any breakfast menus during my trip.  The bus ride went pretty well as I had found a bookstore in Trujillo with books in english and had purchased "One Hundred years of Solitude" by Garcia Marquez and reading it passed a lot of time.  There was not much to see on the ride as the area from Trujillo to Lima is pretty much all dessert except every so often where a river flows out of the mountains to the sea and creates a strip of green where a town springs up.

Mountains with drifted sand along the road to Lima from Trujillo

The bus said the trip was only 8 hours but several other bus lines I had checked said 9 hours, so I figured on nine and to arrive around 6 pm. I was right about the nine hours and my bus arrived to the station at 6:15 pm where Yadilitta was waiting to pick me up. I took a few minutes to freshen up and change into a clean shirt and pants and we were on our way to Malabar.

 

It was nice to see Yadilitta again and we talked about food and some of my adventures in Peru on the way to the restaurant.  Yadilitta was not exactly sure how to get there and after a having to go around a couple blocks because of one-way streets we arrived and got a prime parking spot right next to the restaurant.  We each ordered specialty pisco sours; I got a one with cocona juice and Yadilitta got the Pisco punch which was prepared according to a 1850-recipe.

Yadilitta and I with our Pisco's

We had a hard time choosing courses because everything on the menu looked so good.  Some of my favorite dishes had been tiradito's and fresh seafood sounded great to both of us, so we started with a tiradito.  A tiradito is raw fish sliced very thin and served with a flavorful citrus sauce.  The sauce with the tiradito was incredibly good and I tried to slurp up every drop! 

I was intrigued by the Rockfish Tataki which was not exactly as I had expected but it was very good.  The fish was seared on the outside giving it a smoky flavor and paired with the crispy pork which was smoked pork cooked till crispy then pulverized to a powder.  The two smoky flavors and textures worked very well together and the sauce was citrusy with some acid to add brightness to the fish. 

Seabass Tiradito with Banana Passion Fruit Juice

Rockfish Tataki with Parsley Juice and Crispy Pork

Rocoto Chile Pepper Confit stuffed with Blood Orange Sausage and Rice

The rocoto relleno was really good.  We both agreed there was just the right amount of spice in the dish and all of the flavors were balanced very well. It had some raisins in it for sweetness and the texture was a revelation to me as it was very smooth and melted in my mouth.  

The suckling pig was again, an inspiration of flavors and textures.  The suckling pig was cooked till very tender topped with a piece of chicharon or fried pork rind for crispness.  I liked the idea of pork three diferent ways and the eggplant banana sauce was really good, a combination that I would never normally think of but which was very good.

Crispy Suckling Pig with Watercress Salad and Pork Tenderloin with Eggplant Banana Puree

Yadilitta and I in front of Malabar Bar

Dinner was just a little bit too rushed for me as I had to catch my plane and I wished Yadilitta and I had more time to visit.  Our shared love of food had been an instant bond of friendship between us when I first arrived in Peru and Lima.  She is a self proclaimed "foodie" who loves to cook and explore new flavors and tastes.  We had wonderful times talking about and eating food as well as our exploring the open air market and cooking together. 

As a chef, our shared foodie outings were some of my most memorable Peru experiences.  Thank you Yadilitta for spending your time with me and sharing your knowledge of Peruvian cuisine and passion for all things gustatory!

Huanchaco/Trujillo

I have been having the most exasperating time with computers and the internet since I got to the northern part of Peru.  In Chiclayo, I had to use internet cafes, which took me forever to find and were just terrible!  No hookups for my camera, crummy keyboards that would go out and I´d find words and parts of sentences missing, a mouse that lost its roller ball, keys that didn´t work etc.... When I got to Huanchaco I was happy to find the hostel I was at had 2 computers but one broke down that first day and there were so many people wanting to use the one left, it was hard to get much time on. 

Caballitos de totora are reed watercrafts used by Peruvian fishermen, originally the Moche people, for the past 3,000 years, archaeologically evidenced from pottery shards.

Named for the way they are ridden, straddled ('little reed horses' in English), fishermen use them to transport their nets and collect fish in their inner cavity. The name is not the original name as horses were not introduced to South American until after the Spanish arrived in the 15th Century. They are made from the same reed, Scirpus californicus, used by the Los Uros people in the Lake Titicaca region.

Fishermen in the port town of Huanchaco famously still use these vessels to this day, riding the waves back into shore, and suggesting some of the first forms of wave riding. There is currently a minor debate in the surfing world as to whether or not this constitutes the first form of surfing.

Sunset in Huanchaco

Reed Fishing Boats or "Caballitos de totora"

I said goodbye to Huanchaco taking one last run on the beach this morning. there was a humungous dead sea lion on the beach, He must´ve been dead for a while because he was turned almost white. I didn´t even notice the stench till the second time running by it. 

I am now at an internet cafe in Trujillo. I, and my bags, took a collectivo here (s1.5)! The keyboard is giving me fits.....maybe it is the humid weather......part of it is that I type by sight with three fingers and half the keys are worn off.....

I got to Trujillo early in the afternoon and immediately upon going out for a walk, spotted the Museo Cassinelli only two blocks from my Hostel!  Upon getting to the door, I saw it was closed from 1 am to 3 pm then reopened til 6pm.  I went for a walk to a mall about 12 blocks away where I hung out for a couple hours.  Upon returning to the museum, I saw two tourists, a couple, in the lobby getting their picture taken with Mr. Cassinelli.  He was older and thinner but I recognised him from pictures i had seen of him on the internet.  I asked the ticket person how much a tour cost and he said s5.  I dug into my pockets and only came up with s4.90 .10 short but he would not let me in.  I told him I would be right back with more money.  As I was leaving to go get some more money I saw the two tourists outside talking excitedly with looks of wonder and amazement in their eyes.  I got back at 5:30 pm and the museum was closed!  They closed early!  I was very disappointed!

Chan Chan

Collectivo Bus

Collectivo busses are most often operated by two men; one being the driver and the other operates the sliding door to let people in and out, shouts out to people on the street the destinations, and takes the money.  The trip to Trujillo costs only s1.5 on a collectivo where the taxi driver may ask s50 and I paid one s25 the time I had to take one because I had no idea where I was or where to find a colletivo route.

This morning I caught a collectivo into Trujillo to buy my bus ticket to Lima.  It will be an 8 hr journey and I can either go over night and arrive at 6 am or go at 9 am the next day and arrive around 6pm.  As my plane does not leave until 12 am the next day I guess the overnight trip is out of the question.  I also walked around to find a place to stay overnight in trujillo and found one that looked good only two blocks from the bus station!

According to my city map in the guide book, I wasn´t too far from the "Museo Arqueológico Casinelli" which is a private museum that is situated in the basement of a gas station. Even though I did not have a street address, I thought I could find it because it was on a road that V´d off sharply from the road I was on, and I figured I would see it.  Well, I missed it and before I knew it i was on the edge of town.  Well, I thought, maybe I can walk to Chan Chan and before I knew it i was there. 

Chan Chan is an archeological site about 3 miles north of Trujillo which covers over 12 square miles.  The largest Pre-Colombian city in South America, Chan Chan was constructed by the Chimor (the kingdom of the Chimú), a late intermediate period civilization which grew out the remains of the Moche civilization. The city of Chan Chan was built around AD 850 of more than 100 million adobe bricks. It was the imperial capital of the Chimor and lasted until its conquest by the Inca Empire around AD 1470.  It is estimated that around 30,000 people lived in the city of Chan Chan.

Chan Chan is severely threatened by El Niño weather, which causes heavy rains and flooding on the Peruvian coast.  The city's ruins are also threatened by earthquakes and looters.  At present, there are many archeological and restorative projects going on at Chan Chan. Although the site does not get much rain, and most of the damage to the ruins have been caused by wind, El Nino rains dealt it some heavy blows in 1983 and 1986.  It was named a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1986 and preservation includes roofs over the most delicate parts of it to protect it from the rains. 

The city is composed of ten walled citadels which housed ceremonial rooms, burial chambers, temples, reservoirs and some residences. Chan Chan is a triangular city surrounded by walls 50-60 feet high. A distinguishable aspect of Chan Chan is that there are no enclosures which open to the north. The tallest walls shelter against south-westerly winds from Peru's coast. Northern-facing walls gain the greatest exposure to the sun, serving both to block the wind and absorb sunlight where fog is frequent. The numerous walls throughout the city create labyrinth of passages.

 

There is still some archeological excavation going on

The walls themselves were constructed of adobe brick and were then covered with a smooth surface into which intricate designs were carved. There are two styles of design present in these carvings: one is a ‘realistic’ representation of subjects such as birds, fish, and small mammals; and the other is a more graphic, stylized representation of the same subjects. The carvings at Chan Chan depict crabs, turtles, and nets for catching various sea creatures. Chan Chan, unlike most other coastal ruins in Peru, is located extremely close to the Pacific Ocean

This man made pool was probably used as a pleasure garden by the elite

It´s hot out in this desert sun!

Huanchaco

I got up this morning and went for a run on the beach.  My ankle was more stiff than when I went running last night but it loosened up after a while.  I really did not do much today except enjoy the day, hang around and be lazy.  I went for a swim in the ocean in the afternoon and watched people a lot of the day.  I found a nice park with grass and no-one was around so I took a nap in the shade.  Being close to the equator during the summer, the sun can burn in a matter of 30 minutes or so without sun lotion.  I have some 50

A cemetary up by the church over the town

Huanchaco Beach and pier

Yesterday I went for the cheap food place and I think it made me sick.  I had my first case of dysentary since being in Peru.  Today I went to the more upscale Mochica restaurant where they had good service and good food.  I had Cabrito with Tacu Tacu.  It was braised goat with beans and rice.  The goat was nice and tender and had a spicy sauce with it.  With the tacu tacu, they mix the beans and rice with seasonings and then fry it a little to get it crisp on the outside.  It is the only bean dish I have run accross in Peru and I was kind of craving some beans.  I forgot to bring my camera with me so, I didn´t get a picture of my dinner.

Bus to Trujillo

Today I took the bus form Chiclayo to Trujillo which is about 3 hrs. south towards Lima.  It was actually a nice bus ride along the coast.  I was glad to get out of the hot dusty humidity of Chiclayo.  When I got into Trujillo I tried to find a collectivo going to Huanchaco, which is a beach town, and where I want to stay but I was not in the right area to be near the line.  I eventually flagged a cab and he first told me the price was cincuenta soles (s50) and I told him that was too much.  He asked me what I would pay and I said s25 and he agreed.  When I got to Huanchaco, I asked him to just drop me off but he insisted on helping me find a place.  We went to several hostels/hotels and they were very expensive.  We finally found one for s40 which I still thought was expensive for what I was getting but I took it.  I figured I can look around some more tomorrow and that is what I had to pay in Chiclayo. 

After getting situated in my room and walking about a bit, I went to get some food. I ended up on a 2nd floor balcony and, as I was eating a parade started.  I guess it was some kind of kids parade because all the little kids were dressed up and they were having a costume judging.  There were over 200 kids in the parade.  Later I went for a run on the beach and a swim in the ocean

Kids Parade

Chiclayo day 2

I switched hostels today and went over to the Hotel Sican.  They are the same price but include a continental breakfast.  After my success yesterday with the colectivos I decided to do the same thing today and visit the other two sites I want to see, the Tecume Pyramids and the Tumbas Reales de Sipan.

I took the collectivo to Lambayeque and the Museo Tumbas reales was incredible! I spent almost 3 hours there marvelling at the museum displays. The whole museum is dedicated to the discovery of The Lord of Sipán who was a very important Mochican warrior priest and ruler.

Huaca Rajada depiction

The tomb was found in Huaca Rajada by Dr. Walter Alva in 1987 were he discovered a great quantity of gold and silver objects, jewels, ceramics and carved wood. This investigation gave archaeologists the chance to know many more aspects of the Mochican Culture.  The museum is laid out so you can see the whole process the archeologists went through as they uncovered the Lord of Sipan layer by layer.  The museum is laid out like part of the pyramid and you go up a ramp, entering the top, and working your way down uncovering the layers of the excavation just as the archeologists did.

The first thing they found in the main tomb with the Lord of Sipan was a guard, the skeleton of a young man with a golden shield and his feet cut off, sacrificed to guard the Lord in the afterlife. 
In the main tomb, "El Señor de Sipán" (The Lord of Sipan), was found in a sarcophagus made of wood (the first wooden sarcophogus found in America), next to his head were the skeletons of two young women, and at his sides a skeleton of a dog and two lamas.

A gold Collar

A collar with ten felines in gold with shell teeth

He was all covered with gold, silver and copper, chest protector with jewels and gold necklaces. His skull rested on a big golden plate. The amount of gold and the incredible craftsmanship were astounding!  He was buried with six ear plugs made of gold and turquoise.  He had six or eight breast plates made of coral beads, a death mask and a head dress all made of gold and superbly crafted.  One of the most interesting things was a golden collar of 10 faces that were spiders on a web, all made of gold.

Very close to this tomb in Huaca Rajada, in 1989, investigators of the Brüning Museum discovered the tombs of "El Sacerdote" (The Priest), and the tomb of "El Viejo Señor de Sipán" (The Old Lord of Sipan).  His tomb, with all of its accompanying object and layout were also in the museum.  It was not nearly as splendid but it was also pretty incredible!

Simple native fare

After the museum, on the same property, there were exhibits of modern Mochica pottery, weaving, print-making and food.  Of course, I had to try the food which was ceviche, corn pancakes, potato fritters and chicha, a fermented corn beverage. 

Model of how Tecume looked

How it looks now

recovered stonework

I next found another colectivo to Tecume.  In Tucume Peru, there are 26 pyramids that once were likely part of a major center of culture for the Lambayeque, Sican, Chimu and Inca peoples, all of which inhabited the region at different times. These pyramids are known as Purgatory, and the valley in which they are found is generally known as the Valley of the Pyramids.  All of the pyramids were made of adobe so, they have eroded pretty badly by this time.   

It´s hot out here!

Chiclayo

I got to Chiclayo and very quickly found out the guide books all need to be updated for this city.  The first two hostels I tried to go to were both closed and one of them had been gone a year and there is now a department store there.  My cab driver tried to get me to stay at a pretty iffy looking place and it was s65 which was much more than I was used to paying.  I told him I wanted a nice place for s30-s40 and he took me to a hotel which looked much better for s40.  

I got a room and had to tell them I would pay later as I was completely out of money.  They let me have the room and I set about getting to know the area a bit by walking around then got down to the business of getting some money which I finally accomplished around 1:30 pm.  I had to get an advance on my credit card because I lost my debit card by leaving it in the cash machine.

Founded as "Santa María de los Valles de Chiclayo" in the 1500s, the name was shortened to just Chiclayo around 1835. Chiclayo is one of the most important urban areas of Peru. It has grown to become the country's fourth largest city after Lima, Arequipa, and Trujillo, which I will be visiting next. The city has a population of 738, 000 with the metropolitan area reaching almost 1,000,000.

re-enactment of a Sican Tomb

showing what and who were in the tomb and the placement of bodies and objects

Depiction of anotrher tomb

A gold head dress

The museum I went to today was the Museo National Sican.  The Sican culture succeded the Moche culture in the area but they were no-where near as developed as a culture. 

The 'Moche civilization existed in the area from the years A.D. 100 to A.D. 800 occuping the territory which is now the northern coast of Peru in the Ancash, Lambayeque, and La Libertad regions of Peru. The area of current-day Chiclayo was part of this civilization.

I decided I would have to go on a shoestring budget from now on to try and conserve the rest of the cash I have in case I can´t get any more before leaving the country.  I decided to try and get to the museums and tourist sites outside of town on my own instead of taking a tour to save money. 
My plan is to take collectivos instead of the pricey tours.  The tour I wanted to take included the Museo National Tumbas Reales de Sipan, dedicated to the tomb of the Lord of Sipan, the Museo National Sican, and the Tecume Pyramids complex, all of which were up to 22 miles out of town.  One of the guide books, borrowed from my friend Mitchell, told me how to do it.  I would do it in two legs, two days.  Today was  Museo National Sican, which was in the outlying town of Ferrenafe.

I had to go to a an area where the collectivos congregated to pick up people going out of town to the Northeast.  The collectivos are vans that are operated like a bus without a schedule or an exact route that go to outlying areas for about s2, or abour .70 cents.  They try to get a full van of about 14-17 people plus they can put supplies on the roof.

The Moche culture had a high understanding of hydraulic engineering as evidenced by their canal system which allowed them to use rivers to irrigate their land. This allowed them to have a surplus of crops and a solid economy allowing their society to develop. The Mochicans also used copper in the fabrication of weapons, tools, and ornamental objects and are considered the best producers of ceramic artifacts because of the elaborate designs of their pottery. These designs represent religious themes, humans, animals, and scenes of ceremonies and myths reflecting their perception of the world. They are noted for their expressiveness, perfection, and realism. I really got interested in the Moche culture and civilization when I went to the Rafael Herrera Museum in Lima and wanted to see more of what their culture was about.  Besides, there is supposed to be an awesome museum here dedicated to the Lord of Sipan, a tomb to rival King Tut.