My Introduction to Peru

Trip Start Sep 28, 2004
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Trip End Dec 23, 2004


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Saturday, October 2, 2004

I´m a little amazed to be in Peru. Sitting by the woodstove in Virginia, I couldn´t imagine that in a few day´s time I´d be in the Andes, sipping coca tea and getting ready for the Inca trail. But here I am, and to add to my surprise (and delight), I find that I speak Spanish! Who knew?! It´s far from perfect, but I understand people and they understand me, which is more than I had hoped for after a year and a half of disuse.

My first night in Peru was spent in the Lima airport, and I can testify that it´s not such a bad spot. Armed with information from Sleepinginairports.com, I made a little nest near check-in and rested until my morning flight to Cusco.

And Cusco--there´s another surprise! With a nickname like, "Gringo Capital of South America," I expected a pretty serious tourist enclave. It´s true that the Plaza de Armas (main square) is full of English speakers, but wander a few blocks from the Plaza and there´s nary a Whitey to be seen. Take the bus to an outlying neighborhood, and any tourist influence virtually disappears. I´ve also been incredibly lucky to be able to spend my first few days with a local family. My friend Amy has been here studying Spanish for three weeks, and her host family offered to host me as well. So my first lunch in Peru was homemade corn chowder, Banana peppers stuffed with rice, vegetables, olives and raisins, and Chicha Morada, a bright purple juice made from bright purple corn. After lunch and a long nap, Amy and I met some of her friends from the Spanish school for dinner and drinks. Our dinners have been more American-style (pesto spaghetti, pizza), but some of the menus do include things like Alpaca steak and Roast Guinea Pig. Other meals with the family have included Quinoa, Squash soup, Asparagus soup, Spinach Quiche, and something they call "Friday Soup," made with eggs, cheese, potatoes, carrots, and green beans. Mate de coca is available all the time, has a light herbal taste, and supposedly helps with the altitude adjustment.

The town itself feels small and is easy to navigate. The pollution is horrendous, though, so a stroll through town doesn´t exactly feel healthful. The people are very friendly, even when they´re not selling something, though there´s plenty to sell. The stalls near the Plaza de Armas are full of beautiful woven pieces of fabric, Alpaca sweaters, silver jewelry, knit ponchos, ear-flap hats, and anything else a tourist could want. Women in full traditional dress lead alpacas around, looking for photo-hungry tourists. Farther out, the vendors sell everything from soap to stationary to car parts. A beaten-up car roams the side streets with its loudspeaker blaring, "Papaya! Papaya! Naranja! Naranja!" or whatever else happens to be for sale that day.

The only down side, aside from the pollution, is the temperature. I cannot for one second imagine why I keep going to cold countries. The temperature in my room when I went to bed last night was 57 degrees. Who planned this trip, anyway??? This weekend we´re getting out of town for a few days, and I´m looking forward to seeing the countryside.
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