Don't know where we're going, but we're making great time.
Cacao beans are a major export of Peru. However until recently, Peru didn’t have a large market of artisan chocolate producers who sold their wares in finished form. Everything went straight to the international market. Fortunately, that has changed with advent of farm-to-table movements, fair trade agreements, organic farming, and a concerted effort by producers…
More observations on how life in Lima is just a little bit different than anywhere else. Catch up on Part 1 and Part 2. Weather Forecasts. Weather doesn’t happen in Lima, so the weatherman job doesn’t exist. I’m not sure about other parts of the country. Seriously, there’s a gradual daytime change of about fifteen degrees over…
One of the changes I wanted to make this year was to get away from the crass commercial celebration of the holidays in the United States. I personally despise the two+ months of non-stop hard sell that takes over all aspects of American society. Peace on earth? Can’t find it north of the equator. I’ve…
More observations on how life in Lima is just a little bit different than anywhere else. Catch up on Part 1 here. Lawn Care. Trimming the verge in Lima does not involve lawn mowers. So how are lawns kept trim? Well, there are armies of guys with weed wackers keeping Lima parks nice and even. I…
Despite the struggles to get to the mountain and the obvious dangers in going, Machu Picchu was fabulous. Here are some of our favorite pictures:
We’ll do an actual post on Machu Picchu next. However, I thought we should give a little background on what it takes to get there. These steps are in the order of the journey, not in the order of when you should buy things. I’ll do a little timeline/cost summary at the end to help…
Two fancy restaurants in one weekend isn’t typical for us, but since Jan’s birthday didn’t fall on Thanksgiving this year we didn’t have any choice. We had to eat out again. Knowing his taste for adventure, I picked Ámaz Restaurante, a restaurant with an emphasis on ingredients found in the Amazon rain forest. Because who among…
Let’s face it, people are going to indulge in a little consumerist activity while living in a foreign land — especially when the exchange rates are so good. I’ve learned a few things even though I’ve purchased very little in the way of souvenirs. Space is limited in our bags and I’m not paying an…
It may seem a little indulgent to spend the weekend going through historical sites in Lima, but as it only costs 5-10 soles per person to visit most of them (that’s $1.50-$3.00 at current exchange rates) we’re not going to miss much. Huaca Huallamarca A “huaca” is a designation of a sacred site. Most of…
A typical Thanksgiving Day meal in Peru was always out of the question for us. We don’t even like turkey, cranberries and mashed potatoes when we’re in the states — we’re more of a lasagna or chili household. So it wasn’t out of character for us to choose a more offbeat holiday meal at a…