A little taste of the music here in South America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KewfYKJy8YU

Christmas & New Year in Perú - La Navidad y Año Nuevo a Perú

So would you look at that! I haven't written anything since last year. A little slack, but I have been doing things to occupy my time! That's got to be good, though.

This year Christmas certainly was different. It was my first one away from home & with great luck, we've got 18 hours difference between here & NZ. I guess it was okay though because I was still able to skype the whanau for their Christmas without it being some crazy hour of the morning.
I was even able to see Uncle David's annual Christmas speech - which made me feel as if I was actually there in NZ.

Here in Perú we started off Christmas at 9pm on the 24th by drinking Peruvian, Spanish & Argentinian Rosé - all of which were delightful, however the Peruvian one was very, very sweet, typically. We ate Christmas dinner on the 24th also, but maybe that was just because we were going to the beach the next day. When it hit 00:00, we went outside to watch and light some fireworks, then off to the Christmas Tree or 'Arból de la Navidad' to open all of our gifts. Somehow I have attained the strength to stay up ridiculously late in the evenings, so the 2am finish of present opening wasn't too harsh.

At 9am on Christmas day, we packed up and left for a night at the beach, Camaná. A 3 hour drive through what literally was a desert land of windy roads and sand dunes. We arrived and I was able to sleep and sunbathe all day long :) How about that for Christmas, eh?

New Years Eve was slightly different. There was more alcohol & more tourists. Usually the people here go to Camaná for the New Year, sort of like how people go to The Mt. (Maunganui) in NZ. I didn't really want to go, because I was there just last week, and also I had Estelle visiting, so we'd planned to stay here in Arequipa. To our great advantage, her hostel, 'Bothy Hostel' was throwing a NYE party, so we booked a room, went out for our last 2010 meal (Turkish at a place called Istanbul... hmmm quirky.) then came back to party with the other gringos. There were Danes, Brits, Aussies & a guy from the states, as well as many Peruvians & us, consisting of the Kiwi (me) and two Frenchies, Estelle & Juliette (Juliette is actually Belgian, but lives in France. bla blah bla). All in all it was a fun night. Cheap drinks, good friends and something I'll remember next year and for years to come.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll upload some photos soon and maybe my resolution this year could be to write more posts!

Merried Christmas & Happy New Year!

Liam in Perú .x

La sopa de los mariscos

I guess its a bit of a confusing thing really; what name do you give to the category in which Fresh Water Crayfish fit in? Seafood, no?

Well it's clearly that way in Spanish.

This is just a little snippet of what some of the food is like here. I'd say this is the second most seafoody dish I've eaten during my time here so far (The first being Ceviche - raw fish marinated in lemon/lime juice). I can't remember the exact name for this, however, I remember it was spicey, delicious & all-in-all chowdery.

Maybe it's something for the next freezing winter in NZ?

That sounds good to me. If it's not warm enough for you, there's always the spice to lend an extra hand.

Foodblog '10 - Liam

Approaching 3 Months in Perú

Because I haven't done anything overly exciting in the last few weeks, this post will be short.
I think I can easily weigh it out with pros & cons, therefore:

Pros:
-I have made some really good friends lately.
- I'm about to start my 3.5 month vacation.
- I'm learning Spanish really fast - though sometimes I have mind blanks and say things in English, or the other way round.

Cons:
- I was robbed in a taxi about two weeks ago, which was probably the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. Luckily, however, I got away safe, with only a few bruises & a loss of a cheap cell phone (retail for about $30 NZD)

I decided not to write any of the other cons. The reason is that I'm enjoying too much of Perú, I'd rather make the bad things feel like little things for now. They're not what's important. :)

In the near future:
-Travel to Puno (Lake Titikaka)
- Visit from some friends in other cities.
-Christmas!!! (and I have sent off my family's gifts already!)

Until next time,

Liam in Perú. x

Five facts you may not have known.

Just thought I'd let you know about some of the differences I have noticed in some daily things over the 7 weeks I've been here in Perú.

• Driving; a courageous sport.

So there are pretty much two rules for driving in Perú.

#1If you want to go, honk your horn as you drive through the intersection.

#2 Take advantage of all of your oppertunities.

• Milk; or lack of.

There's only UHT Long-life milk here. This was something I wasn't prepared for, but I suppose it's okay. Will be something to worship in times of return.

• Shoes; just don't wear them to bed.

There's a good reason behind the fact that Peruvians wear shoes when they're in the house. It's very dusty all over the place, and it makes for an easier clean when it comes to washing. I felt it wasn't necessary for me to take on this aspect of the culture and I walk around in socks. So, sue me!

• Toilet Paper, scrunch, fold ... flush?

I know, it sounds really gross that here we don't flush toilet paper. If you didn't click, we put it in rubbish bins. Coming from somewhere like NZ where the toilet-flush is almost strong enough to suck us in, sure it seems strange. I guess you have to see how weak the plumming can be in some places to understand that it can't cope with loads of paper.

• Carbs with a side of carbs and a glass of carbs.

Believe it or not, it's normal to eat rice with potato here. Pretty much every meal, to be honest (excluding breakfast). Also, with all of this, there's a special drink called Chicha Morada. It's made from purple corn. Great to wash down all those carbs!

Pictures from Monestario de Santa Catalina

Monestario de Santa Catalina

Today I went to Monestario de Santa Catalina with my host-sister, Marita.
It's a Monestary which was built in 1570-1580 to house the Catholic nuns of Arequipa and is still "functional" today, though they have built a new section for them to actually live and sleep in.

The monestary is essentially a little city for the nuns to live in. It's entirely built out of sillar, the white, volcanic stone of Arequipa. As well is this, I learnt that the vibrant colours of Red, Blue and Yellow used to paint the walls and archways are made out of the same bug that Ivan, the tour guide of Colca used to paint stripes on my face. It's really strange, because they are very small, and the monestary is gigantic. It would have taken millions of bugs to paint it.

Throughout the monestary are houses of the rich nuns. Somehow, after all of the earthquakes Arequipa has had, they are in one piece, with the art works, musical instruments, beds and kitchens intact! Really a sight to see. As well as this, there are two galleries of art, which I took advantage of my photo capabilities and took photos of most of the artworks. I figure it's a good way for me to reflect on my art history knowledge and keep it ready for when I return. Also interesting to compare to such art of a similar time in Europe, as it's Catholic as well.

All the tourist books say it, and I agree. This is one of the better places to visit when looking into the culture and religion of Post:Inca Peru, when the Spanish had arrived. If you get the chance, go here because it is an awesome array of colours and you get a great view of the city and surrounding mountains from above, upon the rooftop terrace.


Photos of this day will come soon,

Until then,

Liam in Peru :)