blogabroadI have now officially sampled Cui, one of Peru's most prized national dishes. My roasted guinea pig arrived to our table tonight complete with tail, claws, and a toothy smile (at least until a friend insisted I cover its face with my napkin.) After only three days in Peru, we have had the opportunity to sample several national dishes. Though cui is by far the most fun, others include alpaca (a type of llama) which was much better than the guinea pig, corn soup, and Inca Kola (counterpart to CocaCola, with subtle hints of cream soda.)
With less than 24 hours in Lima, our first destination, we were able to observe the local surfers, explore the local markets (featuring gigantic fruit and every llama fur article imaginable,) and try ceriche, a traditional Inca drink consisting of fermented corn flavored with fruit. Our original hostal reservations were for El Centro (downtown Lima,) but after a bit of discussion our taxi driver convinced us to stay somewhere "less dangerous," dropping us instead at a hotel in the coastal suburb of Miraflores. The central plazas, however, were gorgeous and filled with cathedrals and statues of Pizarro and San Miguel. My favorite sculpture depicted a miniature llama perched atop the head of the Virgin Mary (apparently the sculptor misunderstood his instructions when asked to adorn her with a crown of llamas(thorns).) After hours of exploration, we dined at a convent-run-restaurant nearby, sipping Inca Kola as the nuns harmonized in a spontaneous rendition of "Ave Maria." Three hours of sleep later, we boarded the plane for Cuzco.
After spending our first day in Peru surrounded by the 24 comunas and 9 million inhabitants of Lima, arrival in Cuzco was beyond refreshing. Golden mountains, bright blue sky, and lots of flowers greeted us as we manuevered our luggage out of the airport and through the maze of predatory taxi drivers. The whitewashed clay houses and shops of Cuzco extend far up into the surrounding mountains, creating a tangle of unbelievably narrow one way streets. Sidewalks are rare, and pedestrian alertness is a necessity, as we discovered in our initial taxi ride.
Upon arrival at the hostal we were greeted with my favorite national offering, koka tea. Recently educated regarding the tea`s ability to alleviate altitude sickness and its powerful mood-lifting effects, we gratefully finished off the pitcher before boarding the bus to Pisca, a local community renown for its Sunday morning market. Exploring the market gave us an opportunity to purchase dirt cheap alpaca blankets, jewelry, and CD`s, chat with the locals and enjoy a musical performance outside of the local cathedral. Underneath the colorful exterior, however, Pisca was marked by extreme poverty, and several of the vendors were practically pleading with us to purchase a whistle or an ice cream for 1 sole (approx 30 cents.)
After lunch we set out to explore our first set of Inca ruins, hiring a taxi to drive us up to the temples and stone dwellings overlooking Pisca. The views were breathtaking (literally) and after one friend fainted from the altitude we decided to follow local advice and chew koka leaves throughout the remainder of our climb.
Today, aside from a morning of exploring downtown Cusco`s art museums and cathedrals, we were able to explore 5 more Inca ruin sites in the surrounding hills. Increasingly amazed at the genius of the Inca people, we snapped pictures of elaborate aquaduct systems, intricate astronomical calendar devices, complex arquitecture, and even the sites used for human sacrifices. Throughout the tour, our guide explained the core Inca values of love, knowledge, and hard work, relating them to the three most honored local animals: the serpent (symbolizing death, the underworld, the past,) the puma (land, the present, humanity,) and the condor (afterlife, future, perfection.)
Tomorrow's plan: 6am train to AguaCalientes (the jungle community at the base of Machu Picchu), an afternoon soaking in the hot springs and exploring the surrounding rainforest. After a night in AguaCalientes, we're hoping to take another insanely early bus to the Inca ruins to beat the tourists and watch the sun rise. Resigned to high altitude temperatures, (60ish during the day; 40 or less after sunset) we were thrilled when today's tour guide mentioned banana plantations and 80 degree weather at the base of Machu Picchu. Sounds like a promising excursion-(now if only I could bring some cui along.)
