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Published: February 10th 2008
Da beach is dat way
Except there are tons of old crummy buildings in the way. Hmmm I really should keep these blogs up to date but I´m simply doing too much relaxing to get ANYTHING done. Seriously, the beach can really drain a guy of his ambition.
Anyways, I spent the better part of a week in Huanchaco, which was once a small fishing village. Now it´s a small village where people from the nearby city of Trujillo come to chill out. It´s summer holidays here now so the place was pretty busy.
I tell ya, the best way to meet people in South America is to have a guitar. Everyone plays guitar! I had so much fun hanging out with a group of locals whom I met on the beach. I really got a feel for the small town culture (and for the actual price of stuff). I think the best $1.30 I ever spent was on a big jug of booze in some side street bamboo restaraunt with dirt floors. Oh yeah, I´m talking about the Chicha. It´s a home made liquor made from corn and really it´s a nice drink. We drank traditional-style out of a wooden bowl.
What else has been good for me? Oh yeah, the food
of course. Ok so maybe for the first 10 days or so it was a glorious occasion to pass a solid stool....but now I think my guts have become accustomed and I just eat whatever I want. I was, and still am shocked at the terrible foods that are popular in Peru. I mean, yeah it tastes great but that´s because it´s been deep fried three times, the inside is full of syrup, and the outside is coated with sugar.
For once I´m actually craving healty food! However, the national specialty Ceviche is a real gem. Ceviche is raw fish cured in lime juice with lots of red onions. I tell you, that stuff is addicting. It´s served cold, usually with some kind of sweet potato-type thing or some bannana chips. Of course rice seems to be the main staple of the diet. Geeze, these developing nations and their ´´filler´´ food. Rice, rice, rice.
It´s actually tough to get lots of meat and vegetables. I can´t wait for the famous Argentinian steaks! Oh wow Peruvians have a knack for making delicious soups though. Just be sure to check the bottom of the bowl to make sure there´s no
The long walk to Chan Chan
Chan Chan is the ruins of a group of pre-incan cities. I guess they were looted by the Spanish in the 15th century. fish head in there. I have never eaten so much seafood in my life. My favorite dish next to ceviche is Arroz con Mariscos: fried rice with a lovely assortment of sea creatures. Anything from squid and octopus to mussles and shrimp. In Lima it was absolutely delicious but I haven´t been able to find the good stuff in these touristy summer places.
So far the accomodation has been hilarious. Where do all the toilet seats in Peru go? They must be made of ivory or something because someone feels the need to steal them from every establishment. I have paid anywhere from 4-11 dollars per night. As far as I can tell the more expensive places only cost more because of such luxuries as a tray installed in the shower to hold your soap, maybe hot water, likely clean bedsheets, and possibly and electrical outlet. If only I had a fan to plug in to it. It´s freakin hot here. In the place I stay now the owner is really courteous. He´s been working on rounding me up a pillow for the past couple days. (thanks for the hoodie Ryan and Si, it´s my new pillow!).
After
Sacrifices for the moon
In this section dedicated to the lord of the people they used to sacrifice llamas and even children. And then stupid tourists like me pay to see it. Huanchaco I had a brief stay in the city of Chiclayo. It wasn´t anything too special. At the moment I´m way up in northern Peru in a town called Mancora. So I guess I´m a blog behind but there will be more about Mancor later. The next blog will consist of stories about surfing, friends, language, latin music (arrrrggg!), and severely beach bum related topics.
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Mom
non-member comment
Right On!
Well, it was exciting to see some writings and pictures. The pictures look very dreary and not as beautiful as Asia it seems. Did your guitar fix up in the humidity? We expect some great latin music when you get home... Teehee Love and miss you, Mom and Sergej