Jeff and Brij take cooking lessons

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This morning started off early for us.

We arrived at El Fogon shortly before 8am and we waited for 10 minutes and thought we had been stood up by our Peruvian waitress/friend, Ruth.

Ruth arrived with her friend Jessica and we went to the meat market. Words really can´t explain this place. It was loco! I have never seen so many dead animals in my life! Of course it was captured on video- pigs were hanging upside down, along with goats, guinea pigs, butchered cow, etc. It was unbelievable. We bought 1 kilo of meat for $1.50- how do they make money here?

From here we went to another vegetable market, that was cheaper with clothes, shoes, belts, hats, dishes, etc. We sampled some roasted pig and some soup that was supposed to taste great. It was the most horrible thing that we have eaten in a very long time. We also sampled some excellent fruit called Tuna (the fruit of a local cactus)and saw so many photogenic people. Again, all on video.

We spent the afternoon cooking in Ruth´s house learning the right ingredients to put in our favorite dishes we have tried so far. It was a great cultural experience.

Not that we are master Peruvian chefs but we are on our way to opening Anchorage´s first Peruvian restaurant.

Afterwards, we went to some Pre-Incan ruins and walked around a bit.

It was wonderful to have this experience but we need to saddle back up on our bikes and explore the mountains this upcoming week.

Jeff

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