My Favorite Peruvian Places & Experiences: Arequipa and Lake Titicaca
This post accompanies my LIVE YouTube broadcast on 28 March 2021 about my explorations of Arequipa and the Lake Titicaca area of Peru.
Peru
Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Causa
You can be very creative with this dish. A vegetarian central layer of steamed veggies, egg salad, or various cheeses, work well…And you can use anything that sounds good for garnish: tomatoes, cucumbers, grated carrots—just use your imagination.
Quest for Fiber: Colores! Colores!
Since I arrived in Calca, I have been trying to find a natural dyeing workshop to learn how the Quechua traditionally dyed their fiber.
From Coca to Coffee and Cacao: Part 2
Raul grows the native Chuncho cacao, whose fruit is smaller than the more prevalent hybrid varieties. Cacao is ripe when the fruit turns yellow.
From Coca to Coffee and Cacao: Part 1
The coffee here is shade-grown—a growing method which encourages the farmers to nurture the forest as a whole.
Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Calca’s Traditional Market
So, on Friday I decided to make empanadas. With some advice from Mabel in mind and suggestions as to where to find fresh chicken, I walked the 10 blocks to the mercado and started shopping.
Quest for Fiber: Revisiting Arequipa’s Fiber Mills
Michell’s Mill is the place where more tourists go because of their very interesting alpaca museum, Mundo Alpaca and high-end apparel shop located on the mill grounds.
The Cheese Shop
As you drive through the area around Huarocondo, you see signs for roadside stands selling fresh homemade cheese and yogurt.
Smoothies? You ain’t Seen Nothin’
Smoothies? You ain’t Seen Nothin’ The Juice Ladies of San CamilloOne of the highlights of the San Camillo market in Arequipa, is the long line of women (about 50 stalls!) selling just about any kind of smoothie or juice you can imagine. Along with the Seccion Fruitas (Fruit Section), it is the most colorful part …
Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Tamales! En Peru!
Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Tamales! En Peru! One day a couple weeks ago I asked my host, Adela if she knew how to make tamales. “Claro!”—of course she did. Since I also like to make tamales and wanted to make some here from the foods I could get in the market, we planned a day for shopping and …
Comprando en los Mercados y Tiendas
I really enjoy walking through the busy streets picking out the places where I want to shop. Each street seems to have its own specialty and once you know which streets cater to which items, then you know where to go.
How to Get your Hair Washed and NOT go to the Movies in Peru!
Luckily, everyone thought is was very funny. I had to repeat peluquería over and over before I could hear the difference and get the pronunciation down. Today, I am still repeating it in my head, especially whenever I pass one of the many salons on the street!
Return to Arequipa to Meet Rebecca
Most of our energy for the day was spent at the San Camillo Market, where Rebecca enjoyed pointing out the fruits here that are also grown in Hawai’i.
Trueno Y Relámpago! Thunder and Lightning
Tonight, I took the opportunity to point my camera out my bedroom window and try my hand for the first time to capture some of Mother Nature’s power:
Quest for Fiber: Translating Tom Sawyer
Sitting there with no work reminded me of a very classic American story by Mark Twain. In very broken Spanish, I tried to recount Tom Sawyer’s method of snookering his friends into whitewashing the fence.
Quest for Fiber: The Alpaca Ladies of Acora
A woman sat on the ground with not only her raw fiber of many colors, but also her hand-crafted husos (spindles) for sale. WOW! Here I was
Quest for Fiber: Sometimes You Just Have to ASK!
As I turned to leave, the woman in the stall across the way held out a ball of yarn and asked “Lana de alpaca?” JACKPOT!!
Revisiting the Festival of Candelaria on the Shores of Lake Titicaca
The Festival takes on a new meaning in Puno, where the Virgin of Candelaria is the patron saint and the celebration goes on for two weeks! Dancing and music go on every day and last late into the night.
Quest for Fiber: Alpaca and Acrylic and Títeres
On my third day in Arequipa, Adela took me to Michell’s Fiber Mill. There is an outlet store there with all kinds of alpaca yarn at very good prices. Adjacent to the mill is Mundo Alpaca, a museum showing the process of preparing alpaca fleeces for market—both by hand and by machine.
I am in Love: Posada Santa Barbara
When I entered the restaurant I was overcome with emotion. I was the only one in the lodge eating that night and Juan had prepared a table just for me with white table cloth, tea service, a candle, and romantic Peruvian music in the background.