zuzuzu72

The traffic lights here are a bit of a laugh. When red man is standing stoic arms and legs apart reminding you to move no further, has had his turn, little green man appears, he is in profile and above him another round light indicates the seconds remaining in which one has time to cross. When green man first appears he takes of like a sprinter on hearing a starting gun, only in slow motion, as the seconds count down his pace picks up and he starts to jog, 23, 22, 21, he is keeping good time 15,14 13…… the jog turns into a vigorous sprint, 9,8,7…….he is running like the devil himself is chasing him 3,2………its like Carl Lewis on steroids after drinking a gallon of expresso. Bang! gentle unwavering red man appears again just ... read more

The Festival of St Peter and Paul came to a close with an exhibition of La Marinera, The National Dance of Peru. Also as an introduction to the dancers several acrobats put on a rather confusing yet amusing performance which includes play fighting and a strange display of flirtation. On this occasion it was the children who put on the show in their wonderful outfits and beautiful footwork. This dance is a special part of Trujillo tradition and children begin to learn at a very young age, indeed some of the competitors were as young as 6. I wrote a piece on this dance a while back so for those who are interested this is the rough history of Marinera. A dance full of romance and flirtation. Marinera is one of the most beautiful complex dances ... read more

I left Ireland over 20 years ago, only coming home for holidays and a few short (but extended) periods throughout those years, I love my country and I am very proud to be an Irish native. Having traveled quite extensively to both English speaking countries and non-English speaking countries, I have found that even all these years later native english speakers often have trouble understanding my accent. I am from the north of the country and my accent remains very pronounced although years of people not understanding a word i am saying has caused me to slow down, when I speak and I go to use Irish slang, I quickly correct myself and put it in terms that the person will understand. I think anyone with a strong accent or is from an area of any ... read more

Magda had come down the coast not just to see me but to get supplies for her school, Her soles went a lot further in Trujillo than they did in Mancora and of course we were due a visit. We went into the city to get the never-ending list of things she needed and I love the hustle and bustle of big cities especially markets, we went to them all. The main wholesale market area of Trujillo is a zoo, Handheld trucks and bicycles with large loading boxes on the front,One must be alert at all times or you will get knocked over or at the very least a sore ankle, money changers, touts, drug sellers, vagrants dirty children and all manner of street venders and shops, everything sold in bulk and at lightning speed, transactions ... read more

A few years ago I had been spending some time in the beautiful beach town of Mancora, a backpacker paradise in Northern Peru. I hadn't been there long when I met a young woman named Magda, I was immediately taken by her positive energy, endearing charm and wicked sense of humor, we quickly became friends and started spending our paradise holiday, doing yoga (attempting would be a more accurate word when describing my efforts) Vigorous walks on the beach and generally hanging out. As I got to know her better, her story and connection with Mancora became clear, she was on a mission. A few years previous she had paid a fair amount of money to volunteer with a program to teach local children English. It wasn't long before her excitement turned to despair as she ... read more