DIY – What Was I Thinking?

Posted on December 12, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru

As part of my mission to make our Peruvian house a home, a bedroom makeover was top of the list. Here is why.

Clash of the Colors

The duvet cover was ours, but the rest of the room was this hideous when we arrived (and the balcony doors had full-length, red and blue curtains too). I couldn’t stand waking up in such a horrible space and when I returned to Peru in September, I resolved to have it redecorated by Christmas. But I wasn’t sure how to start – when I was in the central market I would stop in curtain shops and look at fabrics but didn’t see anything I liked and wasn’t sure how to find more options. As luck would have it, a departing Peruvian teacher friend, Jocelyn, offered to sell me a gray curtain and sheers. Because I also needed a shade, Jocelyn graciously offered to take me to the central market to buy the fabric and have the shade made. And so it began…

One curtain replaced…

We went to the market and Jocelyn took me to a particular shop on a fabric street. One interesting thing about the central market (which after much confusion and discussion I determined is really just the main shopping district in Cajamarca) is that similar stores are clumped together – so the stores on one block all sell cookware, and the stores on another block all sell fabric, and on another block they all sell eyeglasses. It was odd to us as we initially expected there to be a variety of wares on a block, but apparently that isn’t how it is done here. It makes sense on the one hand because if you are looking for an item you can go to one street and look in all of the stores for it. But it’s a huge hassle when you don’t know where that one street is! So while I had found a street with curtain shops, they weren’t exactly the fabric shops I needed as those were on another street. Jocelyn was amazing in action – I had learned to barter with handicraft vendors and taxi drivers, but I had no idea that one could barter in a fabric store. But barter Jocelyn did and we left with 5 meters of the same fabric as her curtain for $36. Then we went to another shop around the corner where Jocelyn introduced me to Jhon who Jocelyn said would make my shade for a good price. John said he would have the Roman shade ready by Tuesday and would come to my house to install it, all for $24 – sold! The last time I bought a Roman shade in the US it was 1/3 the size and cost over 3 times as much.

My excitement was short lived when I realized that I needed to paint the room before the shade was installed and I had 4 days to do it. Matt wisely wanted no part of this project and urged me to hire someone to paint the room. But we were booked most of the weekend, so we wouldn’t be home to let someone in the house and supervise him. Matt then suggested I move the delivery date of the shade to give me more time to hire someone. But I was too excited to get the room renovated so I stubbornly forged ahead.

I went to buy the paint on Friday morning. First stop was the hardware store around the corner from our house that has a large sign out front advertising paint. After some confusion, despite the word for paint being “pintura” they say “latex” here, I was informed they had two colors: white and beige. On to the next store down the block. There the clerk gave me paint brochures and I picked out an okay color only to be told that they had two colors: green and white. What the heck? Wouldn’t it make sense to tell that to me before showing me the brochure and discussing the color I wanted? At that point I gave up on buying from the mom and pop shops and caught a cab to the “big box” hardware store. I quickly found a color I liked and the guy started mixing it – by hand with a 2×4! It took about a half hour. When I asked about a stir stick to mix the white paint I was also buying, he had no idea what I was talking about, which should have been obvious to me as he was using a 2×4 to mix the paint. I rooted around my backyard and found a 1×1 stick that I used. Matt and I got a good laugh about how quaint this process was until I actually went to use the paint. Obviously, that 2X4 had been frequently used as my paint had old dried paint pieces throughout it. It was awful – with every paint stroke I had to pick off the paint chips. It definitely made me regret doing my own painting. Of course, if something like that had happened in the US, I would have returned the paint, but 1) something like that wouldn’t happen in the US and 2) I didn’t see managing that conversation in Spanish. Despite the setbacks and the need for 2 base coats, I managed to have the room painted by Tuesday.

Taping

First Coat

An hour before Jhon was scheduled to arrive, he called and asked if he could come on Wednesday. About an hour after the appointed time on Wednesday, I called Jhon and he assured me he would be there in 20 minutes. Over an hour later he arrived and installed the shade. It looked great, but by then I had realized that I needed a new curtain rod for the curtain that had started this project, so Jhon, Matt and I discussed what we needed and Jhon said he would be back on Friday with a new curtain rod. A no-show on Friday, Jhon said he would be over on Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning I happened upon his shop while I was in the market, so I stopped in to see if he was coming over later. He showed me the rod and then asked if I wanted the supports for it. You think? So that delayed the project until Tuesday. You guessed it, Tuesday came and went and another call to Jhon confirmed that he would come on Wednesday. Delays are the norm here, so it honestly didn’t bother me much when Jhon didn’t come when he said he would. But then he did arrive and this is what he brought.

What the heck?

Mismatched

He seemed genuinely confused that I would want the curtain rod and supports to match. He also neglected to put the knob on the end of the rod, but by this point I was so sick of waiting that I had Jhon install it and planned to deal with it later. About a week later, we ordered a rug for the room from a department store, so that gave me the incentive to pull out the paint and finish the job. The date for the rug delivery came and went and when we called we learned that our order was canceled. Matt went to the store and then was told that the rug wasn’t available in Peru! So I am considering the room done for now, even though we would still like a rug. Lesson learned: next time I think DIY – don’t!

Almost Done

Much better

Done

And if you are wondering about the bare bulb, I am not even going to try to find a light fixture here as most houses have bare bulbs throughout and I do not know whether there is a street in the market carries fixtures!

Another Sunday, Another Beautiful Walk in the Country

Posted on December 2, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru, Scenery

Matt, Mistina and I set off for Llacanora on Sunday afternoon with the goal of finding the waterfalls near the town. Matt and I had previously embarked on this trip but were sidetracked by the cave art of Callac Puma. A worthy diversion, but this time we wanted to reach the waterfalls. Mistina, a teacher from Nebraska, was game to join us and was tasked with keeping us on track to our final destination. What a great time! It was about a 5 mile walk on picturesque country roads from our house to the small town of Llacanora. Once in Llacanora, we saw a sign for the waterfalls, but the directions subsequently became unclear so we kept asking everyone we saw, which included a guy walking down the street, an old lady minding a store, a lady who was actually there to go to the falls for the first time and didn’t know where to go either (we told her once we found out) and a couple of guys getting drunk sitting outside a shop (on our return trip, one guy was passed out and the other had inexplicably removed his shirt). You follow the the road above Llacanora and eventually turn left down an unmarked dirt path. It’s about another kilometer to the first falls. We never figured out what is referenced by the 1000 meters on the sign – perhaps the turn off.

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Once on the path, we knew we were on the right track as we passed “tourist restaurants” and knick-knack stores. Eventually, it became even more obvious due to the amount of other people enjoying a day in the countryside. The paths were well traveled and generally easy to navigate. We arrived at Hembra Falls and were impressed.

Hembra Falls

Picnickers

Path

Ladies selling snacks

Sign for the first falls

We kept climbing upward and eventually arrived at the even more spectacular Macho Falls, which are about 30 meters high. Due to their size, we couldn’t get a photo of the entire falls with our i-phones.

Macho Falls

Pool Beneath Macho Falls

Matt, Kerry and Macho Falls

Above the Hembra Falls

Alta Vista

On our way back, we decided to walk on the other side of the river. We arrived at this aqueduct, which we either needed to cross or go back down and around to cross the river. Mistina mustered up her courage and went across.

I took one step and chickened out. A man standing below starting shouting up words of encouragement and succeeded in shaming me into crossing. I started across in a most undignified fashion as my coach yelled specific instructions (in Spanish) to me. I froze at the wire I had to step over, a maneuver that required me to actually stand up a little.

Pathetic Kerry with Cheerleader

Under the direction of my drill sargent, I made it across and then Matt came skipping over. Okay, maybe he wasn’t skipping, but he certainly had no fear – note that he is walking on the edges of the aqueduct and not with his feet in the middle!

Fearless Matt

Matt Crossing

We left Llacanora, but not before watching two little kids zoom down a steep hill on a skateboard. The younger one clearly wanted us as an audience and gave a little wave as they set off and then again upon arriving at the bottom. Super cute. We headed back on the road to Baños and stopped at one of the restaurants along the way. These “campestre” or countryside restaurants are very popular and usually open only on the the weekends. They generally have large grounds with play areas for kids, huge tables set up under multiple pavilions and a nice, family feel. We chose one that in a valley that had about 50 cars in the parking lot and cheerful music and felt we made the right choice when Matt and Mistina saw several of their students with their families. We only had one glitch when the waiter tried to seat us in a table off in a alcove. I think he meant it kindly, but nobody puts these gringos in the corner and we asked to sit with the rest of the clientele, a request that was granted. Unfortunately, they were out of about half of the items on the menu as we arrived around 3:00, but Misitina had fried trout, Matt had grilled beef and I had a delicious stewed kid (as in baby goat, people!) dish. We ended our meal with picarones, fried squash/sweet potato doughnuts, and as we had already walked about 7 miles, walked back up to the road and caught a cab home!

Kiddie table

1st Communion, Peruvian Style

Posted on November 16, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Cajamarca, Celebrations

“We’re going to the first communion this weekend,” Matt said when he came home from school one night.

“Okay, whose first communion?” I asked. Having been to plenty of first communions in the States, including my own, I was interested to see one in Peru.

“I don’t know. The fourth graders, I guess,” he replied. “I have an invitation somewhere.”

“All of them?” I was confused. Davy is not a Catholic school and while I know Peru is 85-90% Catholic, I didn’t understand why first communion would be associated with the school as opposed to a parish.

“I don’t know, but I’m the principal so we need to go.”

Fair enough. So last Saturday Matt and I put on church attire and headed to Iglesia Belén (Church of the Nativity) in the center of Cajamarca. (Once at church I discovered that if I owned a micro mini skirt and stiletto heels those would have been equally appropriate attire for a first communion although I am not sure how I would have sat down…) We arrived and knew we were in the right place by the host of little angels all around us.

Nervous and Excited

Church Square

3 Angels

Boys Looking Angelic

Girls

Church

Matt was in hot demand for photos. Mainly with the girls – like in most countries, the boys stay farther away from the principal. But Miss Mistina, a fourth grade teacher, was sought after for photos with boys and girls and, in one case, the family scurried down the street after mass to catch her. We chatted with some parents who spoke excellent English and the mom explained that the children usually make their first communion with their school. She added that 48 children were participating today and that 1 other student already made her first communion in Lima and the remaining 3 fourth graders “were not participating.” It was clear she did not approve of the three non-participants. She also explained that the children dress alike to avoid the “miniature bride” factor and competition. That seems like a great idea and probably an easier sell in a country where uniforms are the norm.

Matt and Jimena (who told us her head itched from the flowers)

Matt and Girls

Matt and Katia

Matt and Favianna

Gloria

Matt and the Girls

Matt with the Twins

The same mom kindly led us into church and to our assigned seats – places of honor on the side, right up front by the children. Not my usual back-of-church choice, but we were not alone as the teachers were similarly honored. The priest even came down to greet all of us before mass, and I almost had a giggle fit when the priest said “Que Tal” to me, which is an informal “How’s it going” greeting. I managed to stutter back “Buenos Dias” as he continued down the line of teachers. Then I looked up at the dome and had to stifle my giggles again as the cherubs holding up the dome look like they are making “Nanny-Nanny-Boo-Boo” faces. Look and tell me if I am wrong:

Nanny-Nanny-Boo-Boo

While the service lasted two hours, it was very pleasant. Our years of Catholic education certainly helped as Matt and I generally knew what was going on. There was also a handy written program, so I could even say the responses (the shorter ones or I got lost) and sing in Spanish. The Our Father, which should have been easy, was confusing, so I am not exactly sure what was going on for that. All 48 children participated in some fashion by reading petitions, bringing up the gifts etc., which was nice. I had considerable anxiety during communion when everyone was taking the wafer directly in the mouth, a practice long discontinued in the US. So I intently watched the line and was relieved when I saw one woman extend her hands. Then I saw she was noticeably pregnant. Was there some special pregnancy rule? By the time we were headed up to the altar, I had seen two other women, neither who appeared to be pregnant, do the same, so I held out my hands and was awarded my host (and not whacked with a ruler by the nun dispensing communion). Whew. Poor Mistina, who is not Catholic, was being urged by the children to take communion. She explained that she was not Catholic and received stunned, uncomprehending looks. So on Monday she had to explain where her Christian beliefs and their Catholic beliefs intersect and diverge. She said the kids are still a little shocked that she isn’t Catholic.

Altar

Presentation of 1st Communiants

Chuch

Procession

Program

Our Father

After church we wandered to the Belén museum and ended our outing with a baby mummy and a skeleton. All in all, a lovely day!

Baby mummy

Skeleton

The Chief Cries in Cajamarca

Posted on October 4, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Cajamarca, Peru

Remember the crying Indian Chief in the Public Service Advertisement in the 70s for the Keep America Beautiful campaign? He paddled his canoe through a garbage-strewn river, passed industries spewing pollution, landed on a highway watching cars choke out fumes and, ultimately, had garbage thrown thrown at his feet. That guy is bawling here in Cajamarca.

Trash in River

Trash in Street

Trash in the Wind

Trash in Grass

Trash in Country

For a culture that worships Pachamama, or Mother Earth, the lack of respect for the land is puzzling. It is shocking to see trash everywhere and people littering without an apparent care. When we went to the Baños bash, we had to walk a few blocks to find any trash containers; everyone else was simply throwing the used food containers on the ground. Shortly after arriving here, I saw a tiny child throw a plastic cup and spoon on the ground after finishing a jello treat. The first time I was stunned and assumed the mother didn’t notice. Now I realize that the mother taught the child to throw her trash on the ground. The odd part is that our garbage is picked up 7 days a week. There are also street cleaners – people, not machines – that go out every day to tidy the streets. But there is simply no way to keep up with the constant stream of trash.

It isn’t just the litter, either. The concept of using less plastic or disposable items doesn’t exist here. Even if I bring my tote bag to the grocery store, the clerks still want to put my groceries in plastic bags first. All of the street food is served in plastic or styrofoam and there are countless street vendors. When we arrived, Baños had no recycling program. It was painful to throw out plastic bottles and other recyclables, but we were told that while we could bring them to school theoretically to be recycled, there isn’t really any such program in the area. Baños now gives us a recycling bag every week or so and we use it, but it is likely the recyclables also end up in a landfill. Actually, the plastic bottles are collected from our trash by farm ladies, so at least there is some grass roots recycling. Unfortunately, these ladies often tear apart the trash bags and leave the rest of the trash scattered on the sidewalk and street after they take what they want. So even before the recycling bags, we would try to leave the plastic in separate bags to reduce the mess.

Water fares no better than land. We have rivers that run from the mountains into Baños, but instead of being fresh, glistening springs, they are also choked with pollution. Bags of trash are dumped in the rivers. People wash themselves, clothes and cars in the rivers, the latter by actually driving their cars into the water. While I recognize that some of these people are very poor and may need to wash themselves or their clothes in the river, the same cannot apply to their vehicles. It is simply acceptable here, as evidenced by excavation companies pulling their dump trucks in the river to rinse off the excavated rocks.

I am adjusting to aspects of my life in Peru, but I don’t think the prevalent trash ever will be one of them.

An Unexpected Adventure

Posted on August 31, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru, Scenery

The beauty about living in Peru is that we have plenty of time to see and explore to our hearts’ content. As a result, we can deviate from our plans knowing that there will be another time to see or do what we originally intended. It is a wonderful feeling and on Friday we put it into action with a fantastic result.

It was the Saint Rose of Lima holiday, which doesn’t mean a whole lot to us except that Matt didn’t have school (and no volunteering for me). We wanted to get outside and enjoy the day and after some deliberation decided to walk about 3 ½ miles to a small town in the mountains, Llacanora. There are also some waterfalls near Llacanora and we thought it would be fun to take a leisurely walk there, eat lunch somewhere and walk back.

We set off and were not disappointed. 10 minutes from our house we were on a road in the mountains. The views were spectacular and the air was fresh.

Stairway to Somewhere

Stairway to Nowhere

Making Bricks

Farmer Working

Adobe Walls

Waterfall

About 2 ½ miles into the trip we saw this sign:

The Adventure Begins

“Pictures, that sounds interesting,” we thought and decided that a 450 foot hike up the mountain was probably worth it. There was a decent path and we quickly came upon a house where a hip-looking guy was climbing a rope spider web, which seemed quite out of place. We greeted one another and then because the path looked unclear, we asked him if we were headed the right way. He confirmed that we were and urged us to forge ahead and said there were beautiful views. He and the woman in the yard were laughing, not in a mean way but in the “silly Americans” way, so we continued on.

Setting Off

Climbing the Path

Our First Goal

We realized that we didn’t know what we were looking for, so I did a quick google search and learned there are caves and ancient rock art on the site. We hiked about and eventually saw some fantastic rock art that apparently dates back to between 8,000-5,000 BC.

ET Phone Home

Dog and Figures

Llamas

The paths were hit and miss, but it wasn’t as difficult as the climbing at Cumbemayo. After an hour or so of hiking we decided to head home so we would have time for lunch before our appointment with a new plumber. (No surprise. He didn’t show up.) But we will definitely return to this incredible site again, prepared with a picnic lunch and a full day at our disposal to explore the larger caves, which we never found.

The End for the Day

Matt

Valle Verde

Amazing View

Second Goal

Shallow Cave

Matt Taking a Break

Precarious

Idiot Art

Once home I did some research on Callacpuma or Puma Orco (Puma Hill), but didn’t find a whole lot. It is a designated archeological site and there is concern over damage being done to the pictures and people adding their own “rock art” to the site. Callacpuma isn’t referenced in any of our guidebooks and doesn’t seem to be much of a tourist attraction, which makes us even happier that we found it. The rock art extends over 3 square kilometers, so we have plenty more to explore. I also researched whether pumas still live in the area as at one point we heard a noise that sounded like a big cat roar and I joked about mountain lions, not realizing the name of the site we were visiting. This morning we had breakfast with Maribel and she told us the the place is considered sacred ground and most people go in March when it is believed the spirits don’t mind you are there. She also said there aren’t any wild animals left in the area. Perhaps we heard a Puma Spirit!

Q&A Part 1

Posted on August 29, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru

Many of my faithful readers (okay, friends) have asked questions about our day-to-day lives. This post will answer that burning question on everyone’s mind: “Matt works, Olga cleans your house, what do you do all day?”

Good question, and Matt is probably reading to find out the same thing! During the week, I get out of bed around 8:00. Note “get out of bed” not “wake up.” Given that one of my reasons for not having children is that I couldn’t stomach the idea of sleepless nights, it is pretty ironic that we have yet to sleep through a night here. Honestly. First, our street is the route for heavy vehicles and they rumble by all night long. While that in and of itself is loud, there is a speed bump in front of our house that these semis bounce over, adding to the noise. Sometimes the semis don’t slow down for the speed bump (they always ignore the stop sign) and the vibration of the truck coupled with the banging of the load sets off the car alarm of the red Toyota two doors down. (This also happens all day long.) Trucks = average of 3 nightly sleep interruptions.

Double Long

Double Long Rumbling Down the Street

Dump Truck Blowing the Stop Sign

Guys on Truck

Speed Bumps

Then there are the dogs. They bark all night. Sometimes it is the dogs across the street barking because a truck woke them up, sometimes it is street dogs fighting or taunting the dogs across the street and sometimes, who the heck knows, they are dogs. Dogs barking = 3. Not to be outdone by the canines, are our neighbors the roosters. It is complete fiction that roosters crow at dawn. They crow ALL NIGHT LONG! Roosters = 1. Next we have bands/music. At 10:40 last night a band started playing and marching down the street. I’m not sure the occasion, but my cabbie earlier this week told me that bands are hired for birthdays. Perhaps this person was born at 10:40 pm. Bands/Music = 1. We also have fireworks and the military. It is not unusual for the military exercises to start as early as 5:00 am, though I am not sure how safe it is to have gun training in the pitch dark. Yesterday, in an opposite direction from the band, there were fireworks (more like M80s) going off all night. Random loud booms = 1. Finally, we have a guy that pounds on a neighbor’s door every morning around 4:30. Booty call, drunk stumbling home, worker rousing a friend – no clue but it is &%$? annoying! Door banger = 1. The beauty is that no one EVER yells at anyone to be quiet. Apparently Peruvians sleep like the dead. We don’t and our average nightly tally of being awoken is 10!

I want to keep him awake during the day so he doesn’t keep me awake all night!

I Love a Parade – Not!

Getting Ready for Some Barking

After I get up, I putter around a bit, assess whether Olga has arrived so I can determine how guilty to feel over lollygagging in bed and then go on my walk, which is usually between 1-1 1/2 hours, depending on whether I run an errand or two on the way home. Once home I do my PT exercises and additional workout exercises for a half hour to an hour, shower, dress and eat breakfast, all while dodging Olga. Olga and I usually have some stilted conversation at some point in the morning, which counts as a Spanish lesson, and the next thing I know it is almost noon.

For the past three weeks, I have been volunteering at Matt’s school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. I leave the house at 12:10 to catch a cab (another Spanish lesson!) and begin at 12:45. Each day I assist in 3 different elementary classrooms for 45 minutes each and end my day reading for 15 minutes to a class of first graders. I then hang outside with Matt while he says goodbye to the students and parents and subsequently amuse myself until we leave around 4:30. While I have always admired my friends in the education field, my admiration has increased dramatically. Well, not for those that lack classroom management skills. For those my admiration has plummeted. I know it has been a really long time since I was in grade school, but I swear we had to sit in our desks during class, not wander around to our cubbies or get drinks of water. Okay, I also have to admit that on more than one occasion, in high school no less, I had a teacher drag my desk and me to the corner because I wouldn’t quit talking, so maybe these students behave just fine!

Wowing the 1st Graders!

Although I enjoy volunteering and the children are darling, I do not think elementary education will be my next career. Not only do I find it exhausting being “on” for that long (and I am only there a 1/2 day), but practicing law is very goal oriented and I am accustomed to deadlines, projects, and endings. And winning. Learning never ends and I find it frustrating that at the end of a class you can’t measure what has been accomplished and that projects continue ad infinitum. Matt notes that a child progresses over the course of a year, but I am not known for patience. While I will continue to volunteer, I plan to scale back to two afternoons a week so I have more time to focus on writing and studying Spanish.

Of course, I might get fired from volunteering as I accidentally wrote a naughty word on the board. The teacher had me lead a discussion on the lessons learned from the class’s popcorn and chicha morada sale and I got confused as the students were spelling the word “chicha” for me and wrote chichi instead. The class went crazy and I knew enough to quickly erase it. Yes, I wrote the equivalent of “boobies” on the board. Although in Spain this slang would have been much worse (think female genitalia). And what about the restaurant chain Chi-Chis? Apparently they were way ahead of Hooters!

FYI, chicha morada is a fermented, non-alcoholic drink made with purple corn, pineapple rinds and spices. I’m not a big fan as it is cloyingly sweet.

David Gets My Vote For Smartest Student!

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons I usually run some errands, sit outside and study my Spanish, work on this blog and other correspondence, and research random things. Most exciting random thing to date was finding the NFL Game Pass, which will allow us to watch Green Bay Packers games!

Go Green Bay!

While none of that sounds too difficult, everything here takes longer than it does at home. For example, our plumbing issues continue and about once a week the plumber shows up and we engage in difficult conversation (Spanish lesson!) for about 15 minutes before he leaves, promising to return to fix the things that are broken. Last week Tuesday we were discussing a leaky kitchen pipe for the third time and he said he needed a de-clogging product. By some small miracle, I actually understood him and had some, so I retrieved it for him, fully expecting him to dump it in the sink. Nope, he took a towel and swabbed some on the outside of the pipe. As you can imagine, this did not fix the leaky pipe and he has not returned to date despite saying he would be back last week Thursday or Friday to fix the other faulty items. In the States, we would simply call another plumber, but as this is our absentee landlord’s plumber, we are uncertain of the protocol, and she has not responded to us. So here we sit with a leaky kitchen pipe that stinks up the cabinet and leads me to fear bugs, a broken toilet, a non functioning cold water pump (the same one spewing water in a prior post) and a broken shower head. ARGGG.

Then there is grocery shopping. We shop at Metro, which is a Target-esque “little bit of everything” store but smaller, in the El Quinde mall in Cajamarca; the Castope grocery store in Baños, which is tiny compared to a US grocery store; the other Castope near our house, which is the size of a very small gas station convenience store; the Central Market in Cajamarca; the market in Baños; and sometimes a fruit or vegetable stand on the street. Why so many stores? Because none of them has everything we need at any given time. Castope doesn’t have any decent fish (although yesterday it also didn’t have any chicken) and sometimes no lettuce; we can only find fresh nuts at the Central Market; produce is hit or miss, even at the grocery stores, so sometimes you need to go several places; for two weeks no store had Matt’s favorite soda, Inca Cola Zero; the list goes on. You cannot assume that because you found an item at one store that you will ever find it there again. Add the fact that trips to Cajamarca require cab rides and we can only buy what we can carry, and shopping takes a long time. Not infrequently I go to Castope multiple times a day just to get everything I want (because I know it might not be there tomorrow). While I try to do most of the shopping while Matt is at work, we usually run some errands after work at least once a week on a day I am volunteering and on the weekends.

Neighborhood Castope

Baños Market

Big Castope

Neighborhood Castope

Central Market Cajamarca

Baños market

Central Market Cajamarca

Our evenings are pretty boring. It gets pitch dark by 6:30 pm, which puts us in hibernation mode. So unless we are invited somewhere or running errands, we are usually home by dark, eat dinner and then work on the computer or watch tv for the evening. We have yet to find a bar in Baños and vanishing restaurants are the norm. For a week I thought I was losing my mind as I passed this sign, which had me very excited!

The first night at 6:10, Matt and I walked to the place and . . . I couldn’t find it. We walked around a few blocks while I insisted that I had seen this nice bar (I didn’t have the photo at the time). The next afternoon, I again attempted to find it with no success. On the third day it miraculously appeared and I took the photo for proof. That night, Matt and I again set off, but no bar. We subsequently did see the door open one weekend afternoon, but there was no one inside. I did some internet sleuthing and believe this bar is actually in Cajamarca, so I am not sure why the sign is in a place in Baños. Many restaurants have no signage and irregular hours so unless you know where you are going and when a place is open, you wander about feeling like a fool! We found one place that looked very nice and asked the woman who was cleaning when it was open. 9 to 5, Friday through Sunday. I repeated it twice to make sure we understood and indeed, those are the hours. So we eat and drink at home for the most part.

Weekends have had no set pattern. We were in Lima last weekend (stay tuned for that post) and Matt is off this Friday so we plan to do a long walk or excursion at least one of the days and likely will run some errands. A gardener from school is coming over to cut our grass (we think by hand with a clippers) and trim our bougainvillea (which requires him to climb out our second story window and perch on the porch roof) at 2:00 on Saturday so we will need to be home all afternoon while he is here. And who knows – maybe the plumber will show up!

Picnic with Peruvians

Posted on August 22, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru, Scenery

I was invited by a teacher at Matt´s school to go on an outing last Sunday. As she graciously insisted on collecting me at our house despite needing to take a bus to do so, Matt and I prepared an American bacon and eggs breakfast for Maribel and her 15-year-old daughter Nicole before we headed out. I ended up on a fantastic group outing to Cumbe Mayo, an archeological site about 30 minutes outside of Cajamarca. I did my research on Cumbe Mayo after I returned home and learned that it was a pre-Incan aqueduct built in approximately 1500 BC. Almost more impressive than the ancient feat of engineering is the natural beauty of volcanic rock formations referred to as “the Stone Monks.” The site also has petroglyphs, but I didn’t know to look for any on this visit. Next time!

Upon leaving our house, my adventure started with my first bus ride in Peru. Buses are really oversized vans and as we didn’t exactly know how they operate, we were too chicken to try one. I learned that the fare is 80 soles anywhere on the route and you pay when you get off. Because the bus was traveling too slowly and we were late, we hopped off and jumped into a moto-taxi, another first for me. We arrived at Maribel’s sister’s house (Yodi, short for Yolanda, I think) because we were going with Yodi, her boyfriend Fabi and her 6 year-old-daughter Kiera (pronounced in a Peruvian fashion that I never quite figured out) to meet some friends and head to Cumbe Mayo. We piled in Fabi’s SUV, stopped to pick up Maribel´s 13-year-old son, Kevin (named after the Macaulay Culkin Home Alone character, honest to god), and headed out of town.

Sort of. Despite the fact that Maribel and Yodi are native Cajamarquinas, they gave Fabi, who is from Lima, wrong directions. We were in a large SUV climbing winding, narrow streets to go up and over the hill to get out of town. We cruised around a corner, zoomed down a street, barely missing dogs and pedestrians, and Dead End. Fabi had to back up the SUV and honestly I am not sure we didn’t hit something on the way out. But he was an excellent driver and for all the near misses, I wasn’t fearing for my life. Perhaps I have Tommy to thank for training me as a passenger (if I yelled to slow down, he sped up. He got Mom´s car airborne and “buried the speedometer” on one memorable ride to teach me not to be a back seat driver! Matt should thank him.).

We made it out of the city and met up with a couple, a dad and young son and another guy. All very nice but I never managed to get anyone’s name. We set off on the country roads to Cumbe Mayo. The view was stunning the higher we climbed into the mountains and we ended at about 11,800 feet, which is 3,000 feet higher than Cajamarca. Nicole, like her mother, speaks very good English, so the ride went quickly as she asked me to teach her some slang (“no bad words!” decreed by Maribel) and looked at the music and pictures on my iPhone. I did get nervous when we pulled over and Yodi took the wheel. “She´s learning to drive,” Maribel explained. To us that would be learning to drive on the road to Pike’s Peak in Colorado! But I realized that this winding, rutted, dirt road with no guardrails probably is safer than learning in Cajamarca where driving is a blood sport.

Preparing for Adventure

Corn Nut Crack

Our plan for Cumbe Mayo was to hike around, have a picnic and enjoy the day. And that is exactly what we did. The entry to the site starts with a descent down a path complete with stairs to the base of one of the rock formations. At that point you basically can wander around at will. There are some paths, but, as we later learned, you can also just forge your own. The path we initially chose quickly had us going though a very narrow cave. At one point it is completely dark, which is horrible sensation when you have no idea how big the cave is and are also worried about getting stuck!

Into the Cave

Maribel Exiting Cave

Easy Part of the Hike

Yodi Leads the Way

The Mountain Climbers

We all made it and hiked for about an hour or so before stopping for a picnic lunch at a big stone slab in the midst of a flat, grassy area. One guy joked that the slab was the site of ancient sacrifices, but perhaps he wasn’t joking given the history of the site. The men unloaded their backpacks and everyone set to preparing lunch: hamburgers, Peruvian style. Delicious rolls, pre-cooked patties (I tried not to think about how long these patties had been unrefrigerated as it was at least 3 hours by my count), lettuce, tomatoes and shoe string potatoes. The final addition is typical in Peru, as were the condiment choices, including several ajís. There were multiple kinds of fruit juices and mandarins as well. It was really delicious and the view and fresh air were wonderful. I didn’t even freak out over the stray dogs that circled us like wolves as soon as the food appeared. I could only follow about 50% of the conversation, but that was fine and it was a great way to improve my comprehension. Because this is Peru, the boy had a soccer ball along so our lunch site was perfect for the post-lunch soccer game (I watched), apart from all of the aqueducts that the ball kept falling into.

Preparing the Picnic

Picnic Crasher

Yum!

Picnic

Eventually we set out again but after about 30 minutes the couple and Kiera decided they had enough of hiking and would wait for us while we ascended a peak. Once we hit the top, Fabi suggested we go “up and around” instead of backtracking. After much yelling down the mountain, it was determined that the rest of the party understood that we would meet them at the car. Our “up and around” adventure began. We went up and then started around, losing sight of the parking lot and our bearings. Eventually Maribel took control and led us in the direction of a woman with cows. By the time we got there, the woman and cows were long gone but two young boys were there. After much discussion, it was determined that we needed to go around a little more and then could descend. An easy task for two boys who live on the mountain, but more challenging for us.

Success!

Nicole and Kerry

What a View

County Boys

Woman and Cows

Grassy Trek

In parts the terrain was overgrown grass with holes everywhere. Yodi fell and twisted her ankle at one point, but thankfully could still limp along. Once that part ended we hit the precipice. After much observation and the realization that if we didn’t go down we were going to have to walk several additional miles around, we headed down. This terrain was mossy rocks, with grassy holes around the rocks. My thighs have just recovered from crab walking down!

Nicole and Kevin

Cactus and Scrub

Wow

Cactus flower

Rocky terrain

We all made it and after a terse discussion with a farmer whose field we needed to cross, eventually we hit the path and were back to the car park where the couple and Kiera were waiting. Everyone was tired so we said some quick goodbyes and headed home. The drive was crazy. Honestly, forget Mario Kart there should be a video game called Peruvian Roadkill. We had near misses with yoked oxen, cows, turkeys, chicken, sheep, dogs and pedestrians. All in all a great day!

The Road at Last

Victorious! Maribel, Nicole, Yodi and Kiera

Weary Hikers

Kerry and Maribel

Peruvian Fiestas Patrias

Posted on August 14, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Celebrations, Peru

Peruvian Independence day is July 28, and the related festivities in our area began on Thursday, July 25, with a parade Baños del Inca’s main square, which is about 3 blocks from our house. We were tipped off to the parade when we saw a few bands go by and a bunch of military. The base is a block away from our house and we previously had seen the men on training runs and in other formations. This time, the formations included a lot of guys with weapons and a party atmosphere. It was either war or a parade, so we decided to investigate!

Once in the square, it was a typical pre-parade chaotic scene. School and other groups trying to get organized, the military trying to set up a big cannon and, most interesting, a zip line from the top of the municipal building to the ground. There was a bunch of people like us (well, they were Peruvian; we didn’t see any other foreigners in the mix) just waiting. Oddly enough, it was pretty quiet given the number of people and the nature of the event.

Eventually, the endless speeches began. We caught some of it as it sounded like your basic independence rhetoric: freedom, pride, liberty – the usual. Then the Peruvian flag was raised, during which the anthem was half-heartedly sung by a few on the stage. Not even the school groups were singing it, which I found rather odd. To our great amusement, the song is essentially Simon & Garfunkel’s song “El Cóndor Pasa (“If I Could”) (“I’d rather be a hammer than a nail, yes I would…”). Sure enough, a glance through my guidebook when I returned home mentioned that Paul Simon heard this song played by Los Incas and then recorded it for the Bridge Over Troubled Water album (there is more to the story about the origins and copyrights, but the lawyer in me will spare you those details). Anyhow, the raising of the flag was punctuated by a huge cannon shot. That took about a year off my life! Then the Baños flag was raised and this time we were ready. Not only did the cannon boom, but also a soldier shot several rounds from a machine gun into a tree (poor tree) and another soldier zipped down the line to the ground waving the Peruvian flag. What drama!

Then the action moved to another bandstand adjacent to the first and the set up for the parade continued. As I determined that I do not like Peruvian parades any more than I like American ones, we didn’t last long.

So imagine how lucky I felt to learn that our trip to get our internet connection on Friday was going to coincide with the Cajamarca Patria parade. We finally received a water bill so we could have Cruz sign us up for internet service. Yippee! I had run out of data on my phone within 5 days of getting it, so this was a big moment. Although the company has offices all over Cajamarca (and Baños, for that matter), we had to go to the main one at the main square (Plaza de Armas) to order the service. We got there and the scene was identical to that in Baños but on a larger scale. The internet office was directly behind the grandstand and Matt and I were too intimidated by the military presence to go over there as on the prior day in Baños the military shooed everyone away from the stage (and cannon, for obvious reasons). But once we found Cruz, we all walked back there and stood behind the grandstand until the office opened.

It was a fun perspective to have, but again, the usual pre-parade chaos. After ordering our internet service, which went very well because Matt and I had pre-shopped on our own a few days prior and actually managed to understand most things so we knew what we wanted and the same woman assisted us, we watched the parade for awhile. Speeches given, flags raised, songs sung (with more audience participation this time including that of some preschoolers who were pretty funny screaming “Cajamarca” and “Viva Peru” at the appropriate moments.) Apparently the zip line riding, flag-waving soldier is customary as it happened again. While this parade seemed somewhat more organized and had far more groups involved, including interesting military ones such as some shirtless guys with black paint over their bodies and faces carrying large weapons and another military group with progressively more involved camouflage so that the guys on the end looked like Sigmund the Seamonster, a parade is a parade is a parade so we watched for only a short while.

Note: All this morning there were shots/booms coming from the military base. Loud shots and booms. Not sure what is going on over there, but it is a pretty common occurrence. The noise gets the dogs barking and also sets off car alarms. Life is not quiet here.

Note 2: It took two more visits to the internet office before our service was finally installed last week. Life is not fast here either.

The Walk to Matt’s School

Posted on August 12, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Baños del Inca, Peru, Scenery

It is hard to describe the 4-mile route to Matt’s school, which we walked a few times in anticipation of his daily “commute” in an effort to find the most direct route to a non-direct place. We found a good route and Matt has walked every day to school thus far and catches a cab home. You can check out his blog to see some great sunrise pictures and video showing the start to his day. http://mattgeiger.blogspot.com/

We start, obviously, at our house in Baños del Inca and walk through the town. Baños is small –we can easily walk around the entire town – and was the center of the expat community when there were more expats in the area. Houses are crowded close together and, like ours, generally run right up to the sidewalk. The main street in town has countless tiny shops and restaurants on one side and a market and main square/park on the other. We have become accustomed to walking around here, which was an adventure in and of itself at first. Sidewalks suddenly end or have large holes or random steps here and there, and piles of rocks pop up in the way. We have become pretty adept at navigating around Baños but still remain vigilant to avoid a broken ankle.

We rent the first two floors of our house. Our neighbor’s entrance is on the adjacent side and then they go up the outside stairs to the third floor. Maricarmen, her baby daughter and mother live there and are very nice. Conveniently, Maricarmen’s husband is Mexican and while he is currently working out of town, she speaks English as a result!

Corner of Our House

Front Gate

Garage Door

Rooster Neighbors

Burros on our Street

Main Shopping Drag in Baños

Food Stands Across from Main Drag

One of our corner stores

Street of Baños

Construction in Baños

Once out of Baños we take the walking path along Avenue Atahualpa, which is the main road between Baños and Cajamarca. The path is decent and well used by walkers and joggers, and it would be a nice walk if not for the large amount of traffic (much diesel) on the road.

Atahualpa 1

Atahualpa Mountain View

Atahualpa Cacti and Mountains

Old and New

After about 1 1/3 miles is the turn off to Bella Union – a tiny hamlet. At first glance, the road doesn’t look much worse than Av. Atahualpa, but come the rainy season it will be a rutted mess.

Matt taking the road to Bella Union

Now we are in the country. A few cars go down this road, but not many, and we pass many farm families and countless animals. The natural aspect is quite pretty and pastoral, but we wonder how these people live apparently so behind the times. Just as we think that, a house will have DirectTV or a nice car in front of it. This is my favorite part of the walk although the countless dogs make me nervous. I would like to do this walk on my own, but am not sure that I will feel comfortable doing so without Matt.

After about another 1 1/3 miles we turn on a road that runs adjacent to the airport. This road is well paved, but a nightmare to walk due to all the traffic. We tried walking against the traffic, as taught in Wisconsin, and with the traffic, as they seem to do here, and neither makes for a safe-feeling walk. We pass a large piece of Caterpillar equipment on this road, and the first time by we stopped to take a picture to send to Tommy. Suddenly two dogs came running toward us, barking and teeth bared. Thankfully a passing motorcyclist beeped at the dogs and they ran away. The next time we didn’t linger but noticed that indeed the two dogs were guarding the Cat.

The airport road ends at Hoyas Rubio, which is the street with Matt’s school and finally we are back on a sidewalk for the last part of the walk. If I could manage to get out of bed to leave at 5:50 am, I could join Matt on the the country part of the walk each day, but anyone who knows me that isn´t going to happen!

Food Part 2 – Dining Out (Safe for Reading)

Posted on August 8, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Food, Peru

Apart from the cuy (see Food Part 1) Peruvian food is delicious: many fruits and vegetables (more on those in another post coming soon), meats of all kinds, seafood, excellent chicken, the best French fries ever, good bread, delicious seasonings. The list goes on. Peru is well known for its potatoes, there are over 1,000 varieties (and dozens in daily use), and cholco, which is corn with huge kernels. Peruvians love their starches; many meals come with both French fries and rice, in addition to a roll or slice of bread. Juice is also quite popular and while I have yet to find a food processor in a store, I have seen countless juicers and numerous street vendors sell freshly squeezed juices.

It is quite cheap to get a good meal in a restaurant. A couple of weeks ago we had lunch at a cevicheria, La Base, in Cajamarca. This time there were no French fries, but there were the best cancha, or corn nuts, ever. These were freshly roasted and came to our table a little warm, crunchy on the outside and creamy/starchy on the inside. Nothing like the hard teeth breakers we buy at the bar at home! We each had the ceviche misto, which was a plate of fresh ceviche made with shrimp, octopus, and squid. There were two root veggies on the plate, which appeared to be boiled, and cholco. One root veggie was similar to a sweet potato and the other was white. Neither of them did much for me, so I focused on the ceviche instead. Total cost for the meal, including waters and a tip was 29 soles or $10.88.

Cancha

Ceviche Misto

Many restaurants offer only a special menu at the lunch hour. The menu usually includes a roll; choice of salad or soup; a choice of entrée, often fried fish, breaded fish, lomo saltado (beef/veggie stir fry served over, you guessed it, French fries), chicken, a pork dish or cuy (we are done with that!); fresh juice and sometimes a dessert. The entrée comes with a veggie and a starch or sometimes two starches. Matt and I went to Tuna Café in Cajamarca and for 9 soles ($3.38) each we had the following: a roll, glass of fresh fruit juice, chicken soup or salad (we had soup, see the water blog), chicken with sautéed veggies and rice (Kerry) and a beef stew with rice (Matt), and a caramel pudding. Everything was fresh and delicious and our entire meal and tip was under $10.

We have also had some lunch misses. We have tried a few cheaper joints both in Banos and in Cajamarca. At one place the daily lunch special (soup, main dish, juice) was 4 soles and the food was not very good. Plus the place was just too dirty for me to feel comfortable with the food and I kept hoping the soup had been boiled for 3 minutes! We ate at another place in Cajamarca that was packed with locals for the 5 or 6 sole lunch, and while it was a little better, it was not a place we will return due to the lack of cleanliness and sub par food. For the low price at a “good” place, we do not need to eat at a bad one!

One day we treated ourselves to lunch at one of the nicer restaurants in town, Querubino. They do not serve a daily lunch special so we ordered off the menu. I had a lovely fish, although I cannot now recall what kind, served with sautéed veggies and rice. Matt had a beef carpaccio appetizer and a steak served with French fries and sautéed veggies. We each had a drink and bottled water. Total price was 87 soles or $31.32.

Rotisserie chicken is a specialty in the area due to the farming, and we have had excellent chicken both at home and in restaurants. For 10 soles at our local restaurant we can get ¼ chicken, salad and French fries that are to die for. Condiments are usually served with meals and while I have never been an American condiment fan (no ketchup, mustard, mayo or ranch dressing for me!), I love the Peruvian condiments. Aji, is a pepper sauce and ranges from mild to really spicy. Then there is an herb, garlic, olive oil sauce that is incredible. Often there is a mayo type item and ketchup, but I ignore those.

We are doing our best to return to low carb eating, but it is difficult, if not impossible, with the type of foods prevalent here. So we try to keep carbs like bread, sweets, rice or potatoes out of our house and to eat them in moderation when we are out. I am never very successful with the French fries, though, and fear the cancha will be another one of my downfalls!