I just got back to the hostel after a day of rock-climbing.
Apart from having fun, the reason we went was to prepare ourselves to take about 25 of the older kids from Aldea Yanapay climbing on Saturday. ¡Que locuro! What madness! I think it will be a really fun opportunity for them, though. My peruvian co-teacher from familia Uvitas, Natalie, arranged it with a guide she has climbed with before. There were four of us volunteers there; myself, Natalie, Sam from Manchester and Marla from Alaska. Alex the rock climbing instructor´s paramedic friend Fabio was there too, because he will be teaching a first aid class on Saturday. We met in Plazoleta San Blas just after 8:30 in the morning. I put sunscreen on for the first time since arriving in Peru as we waited for Alex and Fabio in the glorious sunshine. I put on a good hearty dose too, because it exploded out of the tube thanks to the air travel!
The taxi ride out of the city took us by the ruins of Sacsayhuaman and Q´enqo. Driving out of Cusco, weirdly, reminded me of Australia... because the hills on the outskirts of the city are covered in Eucalyptus trees. When we got out of the car I felt like dancing! It was such a relief to be out in the hills and fresh air, with Cusco just out of sight. I really do enjoy Cusco, but I am a country girl and definitely need a break every once in a while. Our climbing spot was just a few minutes´ walk off the road, a small-ish, lumpy, rock face with a fang-like protrusion sticking out from of the green hills. The whole area was grassy, with jagged grey rocks sticking out everywhere and purple flowers scattered accross the hilltop. Alex and Natalie set up the ropes for rappelling while the rest of us took in the view and breathed deeply. I was excited to strap on a snazzy tuquoise, purple and neon yellow harness, knowing I was about to climb "real live rocks" for the second time in my life. The rappel was an uneven vertical face at the top and then a "negativo" at the bottom, which just meant that the face angled back, preventing you from touching it. On our second rappell we waited at the bottom and then set ourselves up to climb. Fabio made it look easy (and sylish, with his pants tucked into his socks), but the wall was actually quite challenging. I was the first to try it (tucking my pants in too, of course!) and fell off trying to get out of a sticky spot. Swinging on the rope is fun, so I didn´t mind falling. That is, until Marla made it up first try! Though she is more experienced... Sam was facing a fear of his (heights) and did really well, making it up to where I fell the first time. The second try I made it a lot farther, but still not quite to the top. We spent a while learning our knots, then gathered up the gear, ate our lunches (avocado and tomato sandwich and chocolate cookies) and started our walk back in to Cusco. It was a beautiful walk through the rolling, emerald hills and past various lesser-known ruins. At one point we saw lots of horses being ridden and grazing. I wanted so badly to hop on one and gallop through one of those fields in the rain, which was falling gently though it was still sunny. At one point there was a lost in translation sort of moment discussing the different expression for farmers tan in our respective languages. Marla had zoned out and asked what we meant by a "drunk driver´s tan". :) We spent a while bouldering at some pre-Inca ruins. Moving sideways along a wall barely as tall as yourself, with minimal footholds, is harder than it looks, especially when the ants who live around your handholds start climbing on and biting you. I managed to do both walls I tried; the ants were just motivation to do it faster. The walk back to Cusco was along a grassy path flanked by low, stone walls. The sun was so powerful today that despite two applications of SPF 55 my skin is displaying evidence of the beautiful weather. I had a late afternoon meal of salad, soup, rice, peruvian soy-meat stew and cool chamomile tea with Marla and Natalie on our way home. The whole thing cost 5 soles (about $1.80). The combination of sun, rock-climbing, food and a long, long walk left us completely "knackered" (as Sam said). Time to go nurse my sunburn and maybe take a little nap before maybe going out tonight.
With love,
Julia
Showing posts with label vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetarian. Show all posts
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
I look like a vegetarian in Peru too.
In Canada, I have been mistaken for a vegetarian a great many times, most memorably by just about every person in my Peak class last spring. This morning, in Lima, Señora Cabrera said, " You´re a vegetarian, right?".
This was after I had eaten raw fish, octopus and cow´s heart... in a single meal.
My first and only day in Lima (that is Saturday the 8th) was Señor Cabrera´s birthday, so the family (plus me) went to a buffet lunch to celebrate. The whole thing was laid out beautifully and the food was both delicious and foreign. The only famliar things on my plate that meal were a few green beans and a plain salad of lettuce and carrots. There must have been dozens of seafood dishes; ceviche (fresh, raw fish marinated in vinegar, lime and seasonings with onions), pulpo (octopus prepared similarly), shrimp, different types of fish, oysters... prepared in as many ways as you can think of. Then there was the grill, where you chose a skewer of meat (or fish!) for one of the guys behind the buffet wearing chefs´ hats to cook for you. I didn´t learn ´til later that just because something looks like beef, doesn´t mean it is. I may not sound especially enthusiastic, but the anticucho (cow´s heart with traditional seasonings) was pretty yummy. Milenka was pragmatic enough to inform me what I was eating after I had eaten a piece... though I might have preferred if she told me after I had finished it all (which I did). I could probably describe the food for many pages, but I will spare myself some trouble typing and say that there were also large selections of traditional dishes from the mountain regions, desserts, ice cream, drinks and pasta made to order with (you guessed it!) seafood. I had a jolly time chatting with (and trying to understand) Milenka´s cousins. Later we went back home and played card games (they like rowdy ones, we also did a slightly less fun version of that "The Coo and Can" due to comprehension issues). Oh yes, also when we arrived back home from the buffet they all had me do about a quarter shot of Pisco, "To digest to fatty food and help my cough go away". Pisco is potent stuff and unless I eat a dozen deep-fried Mars bars and have a cough like a Howler monkey I will not be trying it again. Happily, I managed to keep it down (gag reflex going strong!) and my eyes only watered a little bit (okay, maybe one tear fell...).
That night, four of Milenka´s friends from medical school came over and as each arrived I understood less and less of what was going on. After and hour and a half they had decided where to go, so we crammed six bodies plus the driver and a wheelchair into a regular five-seater taxi. We went to a party given by an older colleague of theirs, which was strange for me because he had hired waiters, musicians and bartenders for a party in his house and because the majority of the crowded (and it was crowded) seemed to be over forty or under thirteen. I´m not even sure there was an occasion for a fiesta. We were back just after midnight and then it was off to bed for my nine-thirty a.m. taxi to the airport. The nine-thirty a.m. taxi was very punctual, arriving about ten minutes after nine. So I said a rushed goodbye to Mile and Elda and was off.
This is the part where I explain to my mother who Milenka is and why I was staying with her; There is a website (CouchSurfing) where you can connect with people all over the world and request for them to host you on your travels. It was the perfect situation for me, because I am low-budget, solo and looking to get a not-just-tourist-stuff experience of Peru. Milenka and her family were very kind and helpful, and I am grateful to them for welcoming me and making me feel at home. The reason I didn´t tell you before, parents and people who might tell my parents, is that I knew you would worry. I decided to tell you afterwards so you wouldn´t have to. Check out the CouchSurfing site for all the info about safety, trust etc.
Cusco. ¡Ahhh, Cusco me encanta! I already like it better than Lima in so many ways, not the least of which is that my transportation from the airport cost twenty-one cents rather than forty dollars. Of course today I was squatting in an overcrowded van with my pack on; lurching and swaying rather than cruising along in a shiny black sedan with air-conditioning and a suit-sporting driver, backpack comfortably in the trunk.
I will tell you all about the joys of Cusco another time, since I am parking my butt here for five whole weeks and I´m sure you are just about ready for me to shut up now. My cold has almost gone, hallelujah! Must have been the Pisco... and I am very excited to begin working with the kids tomorrow! If you have gotten this far in reading, you are just amazing, thank you!
Love and hugs to all!
Julia
This was after I had eaten raw fish, octopus and cow´s heart... in a single meal.
My first and only day in Lima (that is Saturday the 8th) was Señor Cabrera´s birthday, so the family (plus me) went to a buffet lunch to celebrate. The whole thing was laid out beautifully and the food was both delicious and foreign. The only famliar things on my plate that meal were a few green beans and a plain salad of lettuce and carrots. There must have been dozens of seafood dishes; ceviche (fresh, raw fish marinated in vinegar, lime and seasonings with onions), pulpo (octopus prepared similarly), shrimp, different types of fish, oysters... prepared in as many ways as you can think of. Then there was the grill, where you chose a skewer of meat (or fish!) for one of the guys behind the buffet wearing chefs´ hats to cook for you. I didn´t learn ´til later that just because something looks like beef, doesn´t mean it is. I may not sound especially enthusiastic, but the anticucho (cow´s heart with traditional seasonings) was pretty yummy. Milenka was pragmatic enough to inform me what I was eating after I had eaten a piece... though I might have preferred if she told me after I had finished it all (which I did). I could probably describe the food for many pages, but I will spare myself some trouble typing and say that there were also large selections of traditional dishes from the mountain regions, desserts, ice cream, drinks and pasta made to order with (you guessed it!) seafood. I had a jolly time chatting with (and trying to understand) Milenka´s cousins. Later we went back home and played card games (they like rowdy ones, we also did a slightly less fun version of that "The Coo and Can" due to comprehension issues). Oh yes, also when we arrived back home from the buffet they all had me do about a quarter shot of Pisco, "To digest to fatty food and help my cough go away". Pisco is potent stuff and unless I eat a dozen deep-fried Mars bars and have a cough like a Howler monkey I will not be trying it again. Happily, I managed to keep it down (gag reflex going strong!) and my eyes only watered a little bit (okay, maybe one tear fell...).
That night, four of Milenka´s friends from medical school came over and as each arrived I understood less and less of what was going on. After and hour and a half they had decided where to go, so we crammed six bodies plus the driver and a wheelchair into a regular five-seater taxi. We went to a party given by an older colleague of theirs, which was strange for me because he had hired waiters, musicians and bartenders for a party in his house and because the majority of the crowded (and it was crowded) seemed to be over forty or under thirteen. I´m not even sure there was an occasion for a fiesta. We were back just after midnight and then it was off to bed for my nine-thirty a.m. taxi to the airport. The nine-thirty a.m. taxi was very punctual, arriving about ten minutes after nine. So I said a rushed goodbye to Mile and Elda and was off.
This is the part where I explain to my mother who Milenka is and why I was staying with her; There is a website (CouchSurfing) where you can connect with people all over the world and request for them to host you on your travels. It was the perfect situation for me, because I am low-budget, solo and looking to get a not-just-tourist-stuff experience of Peru. Milenka and her family were very kind and helpful, and I am grateful to them for welcoming me and making me feel at home. The reason I didn´t tell you before, parents and people who might tell my parents, is that I knew you would worry. I decided to tell you afterwards so you wouldn´t have to. Check out the CouchSurfing site for all the info about safety, trust etc.
Cusco. ¡Ahhh, Cusco me encanta! I already like it better than Lima in so many ways, not the least of which is that my transportation from the airport cost twenty-one cents rather than forty dollars. Of course today I was squatting in an overcrowded van with my pack on; lurching and swaying rather than cruising along in a shiny black sedan with air-conditioning and a suit-sporting driver, backpack comfortably in the trunk.
I will tell you all about the joys of Cusco another time, since I am parking my butt here for five whole weeks and I´m sure you are just about ready for me to shut up now. My cold has almost gone, hallelujah! Must have been the Pisco... and I am very excited to begin working with the kids tomorrow! If you have gotten this far in reading, you are just amazing, thank you!
Love and hugs to all!
Julia
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