Home Is … Where?

Posted on September 27, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru

I returned to Peru on Monday after a two week visit to the States. The trip was exhausting, but great. I attended my friends’ wedding in the North Woods, crammed in dates with as many family and friends as possible, ate and drank at many of my favorite Milwaukee establishments (Distil, Lalli’s Pizza, Kopps, Harbor House, to name a few) and shopped for my list of random items. My first morning home I spent an hour in Walgreens and was giddy from all the choices I could make when buying sundries. Thank goodness my retail excitement had waned by the time I hit Target later in the trip or who knows how many hours (or dollars) I would have wasted there.

Where in the World is Kerry?

Thanks Shannon and Kieran!

But as I suspected would occur when I set off, I returned to Peru feeling adrift. Not unhappy, just disoriented. In Milwaukee, I was in my comfort zone – I was surrounded by people who know me well, had my car, knew where I was going, spoke the language, understood the customs and enjoyed all the comforts of the U.S. But I don’t have a home there. In fact, over the course of 12 nights I stayed in 5 different places. I was a visitor, which felt odd given that I was in the city of my birth and my hometown for most of my life. Toward the end of the trip, I was looking forward to being “home” in Peru, with my routine, house, bed and, of course, Matt.

But back in Peru, I remained unsettled. I had to readjust to the dust and litter, the crumbling sidewalks, the stares on the street and the language barrier. But there was also the familiar: Matt, our house, the mountains, the route from the airport, the egg vendor who asked where I had been. We don’t plan to live in Peru forever, but we also don’t anticipate returning to the U.S. after we leave Peru. I have one foot in each place, without being committed to either. I have asked other expats where they feel their homes are or when they felt the U.S. was no longer home, and the responses varied. Some feel the U.S. is always home, others say after a few years or a few moves they felt that each new place was home.

Home

The Ugly

The Beauty

In order to combat this discombobulated feeling, I decided to make Peru more homey, even if our time here is limited to a few years. To that end I have been on a shopping spree to finish outfitting our house with some of the miscellaneous items that we hadn’t bothered to get around to buying, such as a second guest bed (we are open for visitors!), a lamp, couch pillows and a coat tree. There are a few more items on the list but I am not going to delay due to the uncertainty as to how long Peru will be our home.

Bottom line: my heart will always be in Wisconsin, even if my home is elsewhere.

Packers Party in Peru

Posted on September 9, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Baños del Inca, Celebrations, Peru

What a weekend: Torch Festival, More Baños Bash, House Party, School APAFA (PTO) Fundraiser and Packers Party! Good thing I am leaving for the States today for the wedding of our dear friends, Angela and Craig, so I can relax. Those of you who know me know how likely that is. 🙂

Matt already blogged on the first half of our weekend, so if you haven’t read it yet, check out his post and pictures here: http://mattgeiger.blogspot.com/2013/09/torch-parade-18th-anniversary-green-bay.html

It is true what they say about Latin time. Saturday night we went to a birthday party at a teacher’s house, which was a lot of fun, but we needed to leave to go to the school fundraiser. The party started at 8:00 and we knew we would be the first ones there when we arrived at 8:40. But I also knew the American hostess is always ready early so we would be welcome. We left the birthday party at 11:15 pm, shortly after many guests had just arrived. In the States, Matt would usually be asleep by 11:15 even if we were at a party, so the fact that we got to another one after that time was pretty impressive for us.

We didn’t know what to expect from the fundraiser and it was unlike any in the States. It was held in a large pavillion and as we walked up to the gate, the security from Matt’s school greeted us and allowed us into the courtyard. (There is a lot of private security in Peru. Many businesses and even private homes have security guards. People do not leave their homes unattended; Olga stays at our house if we are out of town.) In the courtyard there was a small food stand where anticuchos (skewed beef hearts, which are a typical street food) were cooking over a fire. ¨That’s odd,” I remarked, “who is eating out here? The staff?” We entered the chilly pavilion where the band was in full swing and the dance floor was rocking (or salsa-ing). We stopped at the bar and discovered that our options were beer, soda or bottles of booze. We each had a beer and settled in at a table with Matt’s boss and his wife to check out the scene. It was very nice, but noticeably different. First, people dance here. Even the men. While there are still groups of women dancing, I have never seen so many men dance and people dance like they know what they are doing. Also, Peruvians like to party: last year the party lasted until 4:00 am and the organizers were shooting for 6:00 am this year. And all these people have kids! Then, there is the Loca Hora, where they hand out balloons, masks and noisemakers and people go crazy. Apparently that happens around 2:00 am, but we left before then. Finally, we found out the anticuchos in the courtyard were the available food, and you went outside to buy them. Earlier in the evening they also had papas rellenas, but those were gone by the time we arrived. So while there was food, drink and music, like in the States, everything was just a hair different that made it distinctly a Peruvian Party.

Baños has been utter chaos this week with the festival. It is as though we live in West Allis during the Wisconsin State Fair but can’t make any money parking cars on our lawn. Bands, fireworks, parades and crowds last into the wee hours. On Saturday we arrived home just in time to watch the 12:45 a.m. firework display from the corner of our house.

On Sunday, in preparation for the Packers Party, I had my first high altitude baking disasters. Yes, plural. For my first attempt, I made high altitude adjustments and the orange loaf cake was tasty, but flat. It puffed up on the sides and then collapsed. So for the second cake, I skipped the high altitude adjustments and had a cake explosion. I managed to salvage the cake, but post-explosion it became a very flat, chocolate bundt cake and some super flat brownies. So my research continues into baking at 8700 feet!

I miss my Kitchenaid Mixer!

Flat cakes (I also miss my cooling rack; note the oven rack substitute)

Cake Explosion

Salvaging the Mess

As we were finishing up our final preparations for the Peruvian Packers Party, a crowd began to gather in front of our house. Suspecting that the locals were not trying to horn in on American football, we headed to our balcony and discovered a procession in honor of Saint Mary of the Nativity. The procession was confusing. First, there were Atahualpa and his crew. Given that Pisarro, with the blessing from the Pope, wiped out the Incan empire by first slaughtering Atahualpa after double crossing him when the Incans paid his agreed upon ransom of silver and gold, we weren’t sure why he would be hanging around in a Catholic procession.

The procession

Atahualpa and Company

The procession meanders

Security detail

Time for a break

Then there were these guys, whose significance remains a mystery. Even more mysterious is why they began to build the worst human pyramid ever.

Who are they?

Confusion – check out the girls’ faces

Caterpillar?

Strange progress…

Giving up.

Finally there was the mini me of Santa Maria before the real deal. All very confusing to us, but we had a great view and enjoyed the action.

Procession

Mini Maria

The long sticks are musical instruments

Santa Maria

Why memorize the music when there are clothespins?

Santa Maria close up

The Packer Party was a great success, despite the final score. Matt explained the rules to our Peruvian guests while I explained what chili and cheddar cheese and beer dip were. The food was well received, but we are not sure whether we converted any soccer fans to football!

Tough game

Bar is open

Elvira wore her Green and Gold!

Recruits

Visiting outside

This Girl’s Got Game!

Kids finding other entertainment

Peruvian Cheesy Poofs!

Nail biter

The Baños festival wound down last night at 3:30 am! No fireworks, but the band played on. Many vendors remain in the square but life seems to be reverting to normal.

Back to the Baños Bash

Posted on September 7, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Baños del Inca, Celebrations, Food, Peru

The party has continued all week here in Baños, and every day we are surprised by the latest happenings. More vendors arrive daily although the newcomers have brought cheap clothes, jewelry, kitchenware, shoes, hardware etc. as opposed to the nice craft goods the initial vendors have. The town has been unbelievably crowded and tonight some of the main streets are closed. The party is currently rocking, and the music will likely last until at least 2:00 am. We went for about an hour earlier tonight after a function at Matt’s school, and the band was a lot of fun. The crowd is drunk – very similar to a Wisconsin church festival – and several people offered us beers as we are a novelty. This guy also was trying to get Matt to trade hats (he didn’t) while his drunk friend insisted on dancing with me. They drove 6 hours for the festival. I didn’t ask, but I suspect they will be sleeping in the square tonight.

Matt and his new friend. And hat.

At some point this weekend there will be fireworks, which are launched from these rickety structures. Actually, many of them aren’t launched, rather they will wildly spin on the structure. It is really cool to see although a bit mind boggling to have fireworks set off in the middle of town. The first time we saw one of these structures, we thought a float was being built. It is unclear when the fireworks are, but I am sure we will hear them. 🙂

Fireworks Tower

Fireworks in the Square

Earlier in the week, I came upon a scene that appeared to be a product expo of some kind. New tents suddenly appeared on the perimeter of the square and contained booths with what appeared to be regional products, including cuy, flowers, corn, potatoes, beans, textiles, and honey. There were crowds of people taking photos and some booths were giving out literature (not to me as I clearly wasn’t the target audience). Nothing was being sold at that time although later that evening I saw one or two of the textile booths selling their wares. I couldn’t stay long as I had to get to my volunteer gig, so I didn’t exactly figure out what was going on. Most impressive were the different varieties of potatoes and corn.

Potatoes, corn and beans

You say potato…

Corn, beans and grains

Chit-chatting

Root veggies, corn, beans and grains

I don’t think they are being sold as pets.

It is very difficult to find good pots here as they are either small or flimsy, so I went native with this one from the fair. For $16 the price can’t be beat so I didn’t even have the heart to barter. I made chili in it today for the Green Bay Packers party we are throwing on Sunday – tasty!

Traditional pot

I finally had my churros. A few nights ago, Renzo’s Pizza, one of the vanishing restaurants that Matt has wanted to try, was open for the first time since we moved here, so we went there for dinner. It was horrible – the crust was okay and toppings were fine, but the sauce was some awful brown sauce. We couldn’t identify the taste, but it was bad. I really miss Lalli’s Pizza in Wauwatosa! So as a consolation we stopped at the fair for churros. They were delicious.

The fair lasts through Sunday, so I am sure we will check it out again this weekend. Who knows what we will find!

Throwing Culinary Caution to the Wind

Posted on September 2, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Celebrations, Food, Peru

Sunday afternoon Matt and I returned to Baños after spending the afternoon in Cajamarca and discovered a festival in our town square. We checked it out and deduced that it had something to do with sugarcane.

Cutting the Cane

Should a Drunk Guy Have a Machete?

Machete Action

Cut Cane

Sugarcane Alley

Like most things here, it was unclear whether the festival was winding down or starting up: some shops were closing while others were being built out of pails of cement, wood poles and tarps. Today we learned that the festival had just begun and will last all week. Apparently it draws the farm folks and is looked down upon as a lowbrow event, but we thought it was a hoot.

View of the Festival

Ubiquitous Fruit Stand

Erecting a Stand

Taking a Break

Our Wisconsin roots run deep and as soon as we saw all the fried fair foods, we decided to heck with intestinal distress, let’s eat! Our first selection was a fried elephant ear type item with some sugarcane syrup (when asked if I wanted it sweet I answered with a big yes – I was going all in). Matt then decided to have some sugarcane juice. Well, I saw how those glasses were being cleaned and decided I was not partaking of that treat!

Juicing the Cane

Tapping the Juice

Matt Enjoying His Cup ‘O Cane

Instead I bought a package of cut sugarcane, which you chew to and then spit out the stalk. Delicious, if not very ladylike! We passed on buying the huge stalks of sugarcane as we do not own a machete. We also passed on the sugarcane syrup. While it was very tasty on our elephant ear, we now realize why the farm ladies root through our garbage for our plastic bottles. Perhaps we can bring our own bottle to be filled…

These ladies were very friendly and I bought my cut sugarcane from them.

Back to the fried yumminess. Matt ordered a papa rellena but wisely passed on the salad that accompanied it. I had one bite and had to order

Papa Rellena

my own and even asked for the ají sauce to go with it. I am becoming quite a fan of the pepper sauce. A papa rellena is mashed potatoes that are filled with savory items (in this instance chicken, peas, corn and egg), seasoned with cumin and other spices, shaped into an oblong and fried.

We then bought some bread and cookies from this woman.

Baked Goodies

We ended it all with another package of cookies. Those weren’t very good so we threw them out. We came home about 7:00 but the fair lasted until at least 2:00 am, or at least that is the last time I woke up from the music. Neither of us suffered ill effects from our unhygienic gluttony and we didn’t get around to having the cotton candy Matt wanted or the churros I wanted, so we may just have to tempt fate and go back to the fair this week.

Tasty Treats

Dog 2, Kerry 1 (sort of)

Posted on August 20, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Peru

I am afraid of dogs. I know, we had Ky and my family and friends have dogs and I am not afraid of them, but the sad truth is: I am afraid of dogs. And I now live in a place where stray dogs are everywhere and no leash laws exist for the dogs that do have homes. As anyone who walked with me in Wisconsin knows, I was ruthless in chastising dog owners whose dogs were running wild because invariably the owner was carrying a leash, but just didn’t think that his or her darling needed to be restrained. No such luck here so I need to adjust my thinking.

At first, it wasn’t so bad because Matt and I were together and I could casually maneuver to put him between me and those canine teeth. Matt likes dogs, so he either didn’t notice or didn’t care. There were times where I would make us cross the street if the dog looked particularly scary to me, generally meaning it was big or had German shepherd or pitbull looks. I know, I know, Ky was a German Shepherd mix, but fear is not rationale (don’t get me started on clowns). Within a couple of weeks, I could recognize the dogs in the neighborhood: two black labs by the hardware store, the pitbull mix that trots around the neighborhood and is often by the little green space a few blocks away, the fluffy, little, curly-haired, mixed-breed siblings, the list goes on. These dogs pretty much ignore us and I managed to walk around them with only minor heart palpitations.

So I was feeling pretty good about my dog issues when Matt started school and I was on my own. I went for my walks and practiced yoga breathing and silent “nice doggie” mantras. At times, I likely looked drunk or incredibly confused as I would crisscross the street to avoid scary looking dogs. But I thought I had progressed well in conquering my phobia.

Scary blue-eyed dog

Then I set off on the best walk in the area, on the bike path to Otuzco. Matt and I had walked this route the prior weekend and I loved it. The paved path runs along a river and the road has little traffic. If it weren’t for all of the garbage in the river, the scenery would be breathtaking with the mountains, river and farms. It still is very picturesque and it is nice to walk without worrying about sudden holes or the amount of diesel in the air. The dog population didn’t appear greater in this area, so I had none beyond my usual worries as I walked along.

Dog and Trash

My goal was the bridge, which is about a 4-mile, round trip walk. On the way out I noticed a few excavating sites on the opposite side of the road and didn’t give them much thought. On the way back, a truck was backing out of one such site and a worker and a scrawny dog were on the path in front of me. I watched the truck, walked past the worker and dog, and YIP YIP YIP! SNARL SNARL! SNAP! The little shit bit me! Okay, it wasn’t really a bite, no skin was broken, but it was a nip that meant business. I screamed and looked at the guy who impassively stared at me and said nothing. Needless to say I scurried away, looking over my shoulder in fear of pursuit. I then decided that arming myself was necessary. Not sure how much that will help as I have no aim and can fit rocks slightly larger than pebbles in my hands. Score: Dog 1.

Ammo

My confidence was shot, and I stuck to the diesel clogged Atahualpa path the rest of the week. But I vowed that I had to try the bike path at least once a week to conquer my tormentor. The additional downside was that I again feared every dog I saw, even the ones in my neighborhood who I had learned to … tolerate, and I set off on walks with my ammo.

So the next week I again set off down the bike path. I got a great aerobic workout because my heart was beating so fast the entire time that I thought I was going to puke. About 100 feet away from the site I was clutching my rocks, doing deep breathing and peaceful visualization when the dog raced to the top of a rock pile the edge of the site and started growling and barking at me. A worker yelled at the dog, but I was done and did a quick about face and hurried away. Score: Dog 2.

Week three I again faced the bike path. Same routine: rocks, deep breathing, positive vibes. I made a point to greet anyone I passed thinking that perhaps they would come to my aid in the event of an attack. About 200 feet from the site of doom I saw two women walking toward me. Heck, they looked just like me but Peruvian: my height, capris, sneakers, and baseball caps. I watched with interest how the mangy cur would react to them and …nothing. Emboldened (unless the dog was prejudiced and didn’t like Americans) I strode toward the site, looking out of the corner of my eye. No dog! The workers were there so I nodded and waved to one and carried on my way to the bridge. Of course, I had to walk back past the site and again, no dog. Score: Kerry 1 by forfeit.

So it is now week 4 and I have yet to get in my bike path walk. I have time… and rocks!

Note: Before my animal lover friends take me to task for the rocks, know that I don’t wish the dogs ill and don’t really want to throw rocks at them. But if my choice is throw rocks or get bit, I’m gonna throw the rocks. And don’t tell me you would do differently.

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.

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!

Juice Stand

Steak and Fries

Lunch Menu

Peruvian Condiments

Food Part 1 – Cuy (Don’t read while eating. Really.)

Posted on August 5, 2013 by kdwyer27 under Food, Peru

On Day 12 I ate rat. Okay, it really was guinea pig, which is a Peruvian specialty called cuy, but it sure looked like a rat.

The taste was fine, not like chicken as I expected and with some nice creole-type spices, but the presentation was such that I don’t intend to ever eat it again and in fact may have a nightmare about it. Matt, who had had been gunning to try it and actually bought it, couldn’t eat it and I thought he was going to throw up as it sat on our table at the Mixtura Cajamarca (the Cajamarca Food Festival).

Cuy is on the menu of just about every restaurant in the area and is offered two ways: fried and stewed. There was no way I would have tried the fried cuy as those look like flayed bats but I ignorantly thought stewed would mean the meat was off the bone and chopped in little pieces. I knew something was up when Matt was walking back to our table with his plate in hand and a peculiar look on his face. And there it was: a half (we think, we did our best not to look too closely) stewed guinea pig, complete with little nasty claws and a prominent rat-like tooth. It was worse when we went to turn it over in the hopes that the other side would look less rat-like and then saw its little head and ear.

Matt was done, but I picked away at the edge of it, trying to not look at it, to get a little taste. I succeeded and called it quits after about 1/8 of a normal sized bite.

Then it sat on our table until the guy clearing plates came by. He was very friendly and concerned that we didn’t like it and asked if the taste was too strong or meat too tough. How do you explain to someone that his national dish is revolting to you without being rude? The best I could come up with was that I couldn’t look at the tooth, which gave him a good laugh. I think he was relieved later when he cleared our dessert plates and saw we had eaten every bite.

Apart from the cuy, we enjoyed the Mixtura, which is a fundraiser for the neighborhoods of the city with the proceeds going toward the Carnival parties. Each neighborhood makes a typical Cajamarquena dish and your entrance fee ($9.35) allows you an appetizer, entrée and dessert, which you eat in a covered pavilion while enjoying music from a band. I had Caldo Verde, or green soup, for my appetizer. It is a broth-based soup with the “green” coming from fresh parsley and possibly other herbs. It has potatoes, fresh cheese and boiled egg. Really delicious.

Caldo verde

Matt had fried, stuffed potatoes, which were sliced potatoes pan fried with various spices and some unidentifiable meat that he believes were chicken innards. The potatoes were tasty; I passed on the innards, but Matt likes them so he ate them. Our other appetizer choice was a huge ear of boiled corn with a generous slice of fresh cheese. After the cuy fiasco, I got us the Parrillada, or grilled meat plate, to share. The plate contained a very thin filet, a red sausage of some kind, boiled potato and cooked carrots. The potato was presented cut in half and each half had a different green sauce. Both were good although one was quite spicy. The Parrillada was a much better choice for us than the cuy! Other entrée options were fried cuy, roasted hen leg, grilled chicken, Chicharones, which is a common pork dish that is cut up stewed chunks of meat served over huge kernels of corn, or fried trout. Our dessert options were various cakes, gelatin, figs with honey or some gooey, fruity tart. We each opted for a slice of cake; both were very good: moist with a wonderful chocolate flavor. Matt’s slice had a caramel frosting and filling and mine was maraschino. A delicious end to the Mixtura.

Kerry On!

An ex-pat, ex-lawyer's view on the world

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