Trail to Peak: The Adventurous Path
Hiking, Exploring, Travel & Adventure
Category: Peru
Cultural Mores: The Strange Quirks of Peruvians
Excerpt: “Every culture, every country, every group of people has its quirks. Viewed from the outside, these common, every day, figures of speech, actions, or things considered normal seem strange, quaint, even bizarre.
I thought you might enjoy some of the amusing things that we saw or experienced when we were in Peru: things we felt were just south of normal….”
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Biking Through The Sacred Valley
Touring the Sacred Valley by bike, rather than by tourist bus, is not the usual way to see the ancient archaeological sites of Moras and Moray.
Of course, watching your guide get thrown over his handlebars and into a cactus on a steep slope is probably not what tourists usually come to see in the Sacred Valley to see either. The usual tourist thing doesn’t involve pulling spines out of the seat of your guide’s pants and the backs of his arms. Nor is averting your eyes while your guide drops his drawers to have your husband check out his cheeks a typical occurrence! THAT is what I’ll always think of when I think of the Sacred Valley. But I’m getting ahead of myself….
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One Last Look at Peruvian Food & the Mercato San Pedro, Part 4
Peruvian food, and especially the food of Cusco’s streets, hotels, homes and restaurants, is fantastic fare. The San Pedro Market, host to many of its fine ingredients, is the perfect place to explore. A window to the culture, it gives a unique perspective on Peru, its people and its food.
Let’s take a closer look at the Mercato San Pedro, now that we have a deeper understanding of the geographic, historical and ethnic influences on Peruvian cuisine that have made it into the wonderful fusion sensation that it is today…
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Peruvian Food & the Mercato San Pedro, Part 3
What do the US Civil War of the 1860s, cotton picking, Chinese migrants, a Japanese insistence on six minutes, super-aggressive Californian trout and a terrible rain storm have to do with Peru, let alone the development of Peruvian cuisine?
We’ve seen a bit of the hustle and bustle of the San Pedro Farmers’ Market in Cusco’s historic old town, with its incredible stalls and the wide variety of produce and products that is sells there in its quite organized chaos. And we’ve explored the historical and geographical influences that have helped make the Peruvian food of Cusco so incredibly delectable. Now let’s delve a little deeper…
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Peruvian Food, Ceviche & The Mercato San Pedro, Part 2
Chef José Luis proudly proclaimed, in a candle lit corner of his Uchu Restaurant, over an incredibly beautiful dish of ceviche, “In Peru we do not eat. We taste.” Sitting at a small table, tucked away in a corner, getting to know Chef José, I looked down into the bowl of ceviche that had just been placed before me. It was stunning. What a way to begin our evening!
But it was not just that the bowl of ceviche was visually beautiful; its tastes were remarkable as well. Each bite was different. The flavours danced and played in our mouths while the ideas that he shared with us about the development of Peruvian fusion cuisine swirled in our minds. It was a tremendous way to start an evening, an evening of exploring Peruvian cuisine during a culinary tour of the city’s restaurants and street food stands.
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Peruvian Food & The Mercato San Pedro, Part 1
I think that the biggest surprise in all of our travels in Peru was just how incredibly good the food was in Cusco.
Those of you who know me well, know that I love cooking and I love experimenting with my food. I knew very little about Peruvian food, other than the fact that quinoa and potatoes were used ubiquitously, and so I assumed that the food would be quite plain. Was I ever wrong! I was simply floored by the tastes & textures, the variety and the creativity that was inherent in the dishes we tried while in Cusco. THIS was no Costa Rican rice & beans food culture!
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At Long Last: Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu has been on my life bucket list for as long as I can remember. I recall sitting in my grandmother’s basement, flipping through back issues of Nat Geo, dreaming of being a National Geographic photographer, trekking around the world after amazing animals… Continue Reading “At Long Last: Machu Picchu”
Salkantay Trek Day 4: Hiking Through the Jungle to Machu Picchu
Excerpt: “Let me tell you, this was one inspiring group! The smaller of two groups of 29 and 17 students from Warwick University, they were in Peru, doing a version of the Salkantay Trek to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They were bright, youthful, and enthusiastic: a terrifically positive group, energized by the task they’d taken on. Animated by their cause, they were seriously motivated by what they were doing.”
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From Bean to Brew
Excerpt: “So how does that morning cup ‘o Joe, so prized in Europe and North America, go from being a red berry that is a parrot’s favourite treat, to the dark brown sludge that forms the basis of a heavenly morning treat??? Follow along and I’ll explain…”
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Jungle Stories
Excerpt: “But this is part of the Peruvian cultural landscape, part of the societal landscape, and part of the travelling experience. And it makes the point I was trying to explain at the beginning of this post: trekking slowly, spending long periods of time getting to know people in the country in which you are travelling, gives you insight into the true way of life of the people there. It is eye opening and enlightening. This story, equal parts lightheartedly humorous and heart wrenchingly sad, lets you see the complexity of this way of life.”
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Do you know your ABCs?
Trail to Peak: The Adventurous Path 