Into Peru

We left Ecuador ahead of schedule. Flew to Loja in southern Ecuador , and stayed one night instead of two. Power cuts in Ecuador didn´t help. Waiting aroud 2 hrs at bus station to book ticketsbecause of lack of power... wandering in unlit streets geting lost, a bit.
Bus from Loja in Ecuador to Piura first major city in Peru . 8 hr bus trip . First part through incredible mountains- mountain passes in Ecuador. Then down to the desert. at the last stop in Ecuador the temperature had climbed to 40 degrees. Stopped overnight in Piura. Seeing incredible poverty on the way and fantastic fruit and rice growing . Piura centre city quite rich contrast to the areas outside the city. Decided to bypass Chiclayo and go straight to Trujillo, a big city in northern Peru. Centre of the city is beautiful with old and colourful colonial buildings

Booked hotel in Huanchaco 14 km north of city just past the airport. A Beach resort. Staying in the best hotel in town, with own swimming pool, and enclosed garden. Very relaxing. The town is in the desert.

The beach is fascinating. Traditional craft built with reeds are in daily use a s a fishing craft. By accident came across the reed beds , and the reed drying operation. got talking to a fisherman who explained the different types and sizes of reed used, ¨las madres¨ the long ones and ¨los hijos¨ the short ones used for different parts of the boat. These boats a genuine working fishing boats. Overall length is about 3 mts and about 1mt wide at the back They use a split bamboo 2 mt long ans the paddle . The oarsman- fisherman kneels while paddling . See pics above

//ªªªThor Hyerdal where are you now did the Kontiki sink in the end it was a boat made of these reedsºº ªª yes the keyboard is funnyªª . /// quality of photos not great because of a grain of sand BUT I found a shop in Trujillo , within hours had stripped it down , replace a damaged cog , cleaned it , and had it back in working order. What have we lost -- here they still believe in repairing things!!! ///

Next walking on the beach we saw the crabs- small pink- orange running around- then noticed that they and the seagulls were picking something from under the sand as the surf washed over , not sure what it was , but it was either turtle eggs or some sort of baby cuttlefish.

Will put up pics later

Food delicious fresh fruit,, fish causing ¨deposiciones liquidos¨ requiring toilet roll in back pocket but not too serious, the matter is under control!

Great foods in Quito

Currently there are power cuts in Ecuador. Why? Not enough rain! We are dependant on hydro-electric power and there has been very little rain. Pictures on the papers of dams with no water behind them. Security warnings are part of everyday life in Quito, but when there is a blackout put on your chastity belt, lock the door and cover your head with the blankets. Apart from that there are some great foods here and some that push the boundaries for westerners .

Great foods in Quito

Cachos.. first go to the market or street vendor and buy a bag, say 1 kg, of white beetles. They are alive and crawling over each other. The are only available at the end of October , start of November, after heavy rain. The smell is strong, think of almond essence with an overtone of stewing rabbit. Next decapitate each and pluck off its wings. Soak in salted water for 24 hrs.. Strain. In a lightly oiled pan fry very hot for 5 min, add water and stew for 2 mins. Meanwhile prepare and roast “popcorn” . When water has evaporated serve with prepared corn. Eat with fingers. The flavour is nutty and the texture crunchy. It is a dish prized by the few and hated by many. Well worth the experience
Moracho. Buy your moracho corn in the local corn supplier, (don’t confuse it with the 79 other types of corn available, particularly the moracho fed to chickens). Stew with an equal volume of milk and water. Add cinnamon and sugar to taste. Serve in a mug and hey presto! You have something that tastes like across between rice pudding and porridge, great for a cold morning in the Andes!
Humitas. The best cooks prepare at home but the vulgar masses listen for the Humita woman’s car horn to honk, and buy from the cardboard box in the back of the van. What is it? A special maize flour flavoured with spices, and sometimes sugar, plenty of oil, pounded for hours on end , All wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed for hours. Quite tasty, eaten as a snack or the main part of the evening collation. But it is just another addition to the long list of carbohydrates.
Colada Modada y Guagua de Pan This is a traditional food for All Saints/Souls day. The Morada refers to the colour—purple- It is a thick fruity” soup” made with dark fruits—blackberries, blackcurrants and others unknown. It is strained to takeout the seeds etc and fruit chunks added mainly pineapple(I think). It is served with Guagua de pan. Guagua is the qitchua word for baby. The bread is a plain bread shaped into the shapes of babies and decorated with a coloured “plastercine”. It is a very tasty warming supper dish. Don’t make the mistake of buying the bread shaped like camels, horses, llamas, etc, these are sold from the same stands but are purely decorative. I assume you just put them with the other junk in the house to collect dust
Bread Bread Bread to the power of n. The bread shops ,(every 4th shop) outdo each other in advertising how many types of bread they have at 10 cents. Most of the bread is sweet in some manner. The frequency of bread and other carbohydrates does not help the digestive system—the less said the better.
Cuy.. Guinea pig—I have not had the pleasure yet. But Janio , the 16 yr old in the house refuses to eat it on the grounds that he does not eat "rats"!
Cuero , tripa.y pata de gallina In Santa Isabel, I declined the lunch of pig skin and tripe. Only once have I had the pleasure of Cuero the pig skin—all texture and fat and tripe(beef tripe) did appear on one dinner plate—a texture that Goodyear would be proud of.. If you are so inclined you can buy the cuero from the wandering vendors with the bag of cuero over the shoulder. 95% of soups provide an endearing surprise in the bottom of the soup plate—a hen’s foot. If you are unlucky and don´t get the hen´s foot some other unidentified offal will appear. All these things add flavour and if you can overcome your western sensibilities the soups can be quite nice.


Nex time -- Random thoughts and impressions