Mice, Moths (that look like bats), and, well, some BIG news

So the past couple of weeks have been anything but boring. I still don't know how the days go by so quickly, but they do and they sometimes leave my head spinning. So, we'll recap slowly -- to keep me from getting too dizzy.

I have a mouse. He's a little gray bugger and he's noisy. Every room in our house (at least downstairs where I live) opens up to our outside courtyard, which means that bugs and other creepy crawlies are common in our rooms. No big deal. But mice are different. You can hear them coming and going, crawling into the trash can, scurrying about and then settling in under your bed. It was freaking me out.

The first night I heard him, I ran upstairs to get help from Niki and Alvaro. Well, I was hoping for help from Alvaro because Niki is about as useless as I am when I comes to rodents. We scream and flail about when we see one. Alvaro isn't a big fan of them either but I think he realized that he was the only one home at the time with less fear than me and Niki, so we all went down to my room and while I sat on the bed (I didn't want the little bugger running over my feet), Alvaro and his broom did his best to flesh it out.

And every time it darted from one place to the next, Niki and I screamed and flailed about. I'm pretty sure Alvaro was losing patience with us, but eventually he got it to run out the open door. Whew. And then the two of them went back upstairs and I tried to go to back to sleep. And then the mouse came back. This time Szymon came in to help (he was out during the first episode). He picked up almost every piece of furniture and we couldn't get it to leave. I resigned myself to sleeping with a mouse under my bed that night.

It didn't come back for a day or so, but the next time it did, we had a little conversation. I told it to leave me alone and I'd do the same. He quieted down and staying out of my garbage for the most part. He still visits, but we're on better terms now and truthfully, it's not worth the fuss. Unless he brings friends.

What I initially imagined the mouse to look like...


What I imagine it looks like now that we're friends...


And then we had another visitor. I came out of the shower one morning to see a big brown sploch on the wall of our bathroom. I hadn't seen it when I first went in there that morning (probably because I was half asleep) and because I usually don't have my contacts in when showering, I really didn't know what I was seeing. All I knew was that it was big and that it didin't belong in our bathroom. It looked like a bat.

I dressed quickly and scurried out of the bathroom. I put on my glasses and went back to investigate. It was a moth. And it was HUGE. Yes, in hindsight I realized that it couldn't have been a bat, as bats sleep hanging upside down with their wings wrapped around them. This guy's wings were splayed out and he wasn't moving at all. I learned from Alvaro's dad (who's visiting for a while) that they're noctural and blind during the day, so it wasn't going anywhere until nightfall.

It was quite beautiful, but having it so close to my head every time I sat on the toilet was a bit unnerving. So I asked Syzmon to gently remove it, as the thought of it flying about in that little space while I'm trying to pee was more stressful than knowing there was a mouse living under my bed. So, he did and then brought it to my room to show me. I had him stay outside, but I took a few pictures to show you all that I wasn't exaggerating.



Ok, the BIG news...
No, I'm not pregnant. And no, I'm not getting remarried. But something big is brewing and I'll fill you in little by little as we go forward. Yesterday, I signed a lease on a little storefront. I am opening a restaurant!

Until we get the paperwork going, I'm not going to divulge much more because it's a unique idea for Cusco (and you never know who's reading). What I do know is that I am pretty confident it will work and I can't wait to dive in and start cooking!

My new little adventure!




We're off to travel again this weekend. This time, my friend Whitney and her boyfriend Jose will be joining us. We're going north up to Lima and then on to Trujillo, Chiclayo and the beaches in and around Mancora. And then we're crossing the border into Ecuador and finishing up our journey in Guayaquil. If luck is with us, we'll find a last-minute trip to the Galapagos, so our fingers are crossed. I'll try to post along the way, but that isn't always easy. I'll do my best!

We don't know how long we'll be gone -- 2-3 weeks, we're assuming -- and then our lease on the space begins 2/15, so we're jumping right in to building out the space, testing the tiny menu and preparing/hoping to open by April. You're all invited to come down for the grand opening -- and I promise the food will be GOOD ;)

El Viaje: Part 3 (la ultima)

Next stops: Ica and finally Lima! It's about a 10-hour bus ride from Arequipa to Ica and it hugs the coast pretty much the entire way. It's awesome. On our right were seemingly endless sand dunes and to the left was the Pacific Ocean. It never got old just staring out the windows.

Out the left window...

...and the right


We stopped once for breakfast (chicken and rice) and then again for lunch (a sauteed seafood concoction -- not very good for being so close to the ocean) and continued on. We were about 45 minutes from our destination when our bus caught on fire. Yes, on fire. We were watching a film and all of a sudden the bus pulls over and we all look out to see what happened. And then we saw smoke.

Now, I'm not overdramatic. And since we'd already had two flat bus tires on our journey, I just assumed that this was another one -- with a bit of a smoking wheel due to the speed at which we were traveling. The Peruvian woman in front of us thought differently and was quite adamant that we all disembark. Ahorita.

It was a good thing we did. The fire under the bus was right next to the stairs to disembark, so we all had to jump through a good deal of smoke and heat. We watched in awe as the driver and his assistants threw water on the flames and tried to figure out what to do next. We were in the middle of NOWHERE.





Eventually, another bus headed for Ica stopped and they ushered me and Hum onto it. Apparently the rest of the bus was going straight to Lima. So, we settled in for the rest of the trip and made it to Ica by about 7pm. Got off the bus and didn't have a clue as to where to go.

I'd read in the German guy's (the one at the bottom of the canyon) guidebook that the area of Huacachina was cool, as the hotels surround a big lagoon. So, we got in a taxi and headed over. We checked out the hotels -- most weren't impressive for the price -- and asked the driver to take us back to the main part of Ica. Humberto had been to Ica once or twice and remembered that there was a REALLY fancy hotel called The Dunes and asked the driver to take us there. The wait to get through the gates with security was ridiculous and when we finally made it to the front desk we were greeted with barely a "hello" and a price list (450 soles/night!!). So we asked to see a room, which seemed to be too much effort for the staff to handle. After a little back and forth ("No, I will not give you my passport until I see the room"), a staff member grudgingly took us for a hike through the grounds to the available room. The grounds seemed nice, but it was dark, so we couldn't see much. And the walk took FOREVER. I couldn't believe how far away this room was and, when we finally go there, it was about as basic as it gets. Sure, it was fine, but this was supposedly a 4-star hotel. Not impressed.

So, we left. We drove about 200 feet down the road when this cute little hotel popped up in front of us called Casa Sur. We went in and asked about availability. They had a room, the staff was nice, there was a beautiful pool, wifi, breakfast and a great restaurant (we had 2 awesome meals there). And at the splurge of 150 soles/night we decided it was worth it. We stayed for 4 days.

Hum in our pool


The next day we made our way to the main square, found a laundry service in the mall (our clothes were starting to walk on their own) and looked into booking a tour to Nazca to take a flight over the Nazca Lines. It's been a long-time wish of mine to see them, but we couldn't get a flight. Well, we were initally told that we could (more than once by different agencies), but then when they actually tried to book one for us, there was none available. Lesson learned on this one. The next time we try to go to Nazca we book the flight a few weeks in advance.

So, instead we booked a tour to Las Islas Ballestas and Paracas for the next day. We awoke early and were picked up by Tony (who already had another couple in the car) and made the hourlong drive to the coast. I slept for some of it (the 80s music Tony was blasting lulled me into a stupor) and awoke just as we pulled up to the docks. We got in line with the rest of the tourists waiting to take a boat to the islands. And then we waited. And waited. And then we were told that the water was too rough to go and to come back tomorrow. Great.

So we headed to Paracas instead. Sand dunes everywhere and ending at cliffs that just dropped down to the sea. Rock formations that leave your mouth hanging open in awe and, down on the beach, seashells and stones so beautiful that I had to take a few back with me. We stopped for lunch at a cluster of restaurants on the shore and dined on the sandwiches we brought instead. We napped on the beach for an hour or so and watched the brave souls who waded into the chilly water. One girl ran in and stepped on a sea urchin -- she came out limping and crying, as it's prickly spines stung her feet. There wasn't a whole lot we could have done to help her, but we came over and offered some kind words (and I gave her a few oils to smell to relax her while her friends tried to remove some of the spines). Neither of us were successful.







Back to the hotel for some pool time and sleep. We got up early again the next morning and went back to Islas Ballestas (with the same couple and a large Peruvian family as well -- in a bigger car with a different guide). This time we got on a boat and motored off to see the islands!

You don't get off the boat. These islands are filled with hundreds of thousands of birds, penguins and a bunch of sea lions. The rocks are white because of the bird shit -- which, apparently, is a popular fertilizer and collecting it is a highly profitable (but dangerous) business. The sea lions were funny. They just found a sunny cropping of rocks and draped themselves all over them. They didn't seem that active (but I wouldn't be either if I had a a bunch of rocks to lounge on in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Well, the smell of bird shit might deter me a bit.







We got back to the mainland and ate some more sandwiches for lunch (trying to save a little $$ here). The grocery stores in all of the cities we visited were much more impressive than the ones in Cusco. Cusco has the basics: bread, fruit, vegetables, cheese (but not much variety), Piqueo Snax, toilet paper, but not much else. It can get a little frustrating when you crave variety. The grocery stores in Aeriquipa and Ica had so much more selection that it was easy to buy food for the next day and actually enjoy it! We ate so well on this trip just from supermarkets that Hum had himself a little tummy by the end of the journey!

The next day we got on a 5-hour bus to Lima. They run every 10 minutes or so from Ica, so it was easy to just wake up when we were ready, pack, say goodbye to our lovely hotel and make our way to the terminal. The ride was easy and we made it to Lima by mid afternoon, went online at the terminal and found a hotel. We "splurged" again for something a little nicer as we only had 2 days here and would then be parting ways for a while, as Hum was taking a job up north in Piura for a couple of weeks.

Lima is cool. This was my second time here and I liked it just as much as the first time. We hung out in Barranco, a cute, bohemian neighborhood near Miraflores (another cute but more expensive neighborhood) and ate Middle Eastern food and lounged in a cool bar afterwards. Crashed back at the hotel, woke up late the next day, and found me a travel agency so I could book a cheap flight back to Cusco the next day and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging by the rooftop pool (it was chilly, but I got in this time) in the hotel.

The boy is addicted to pools



Hum and his boss drove me to the airport the next morning before making the day-long drive up to Piura and, after a 2-hour delay (I was flying Peruvian Airlines, so this is expected), I made it home by about 2:30 in the afternoon. Whew. What a trip!

El Gran Viaje Part 2

Colca Canyon for New Years. Well, Almost.
Those of you who know me know that numbers are not my strongpoint. Yes, I can count, but that's about it. But counting AND dates, and we're talking about a whole other monster.

I really thought I had my dates right during this trip. I don't know why I thought this, as I barely know what day it is back in Cusco, but I honestly thought New Year's Eve was on that Saturday, not Friday. So we left Arequipa for Chivay on Friday afternoon, thinking we'd hike into Colca Canyon (the deepest canyon in the world) on Saturday morning and spend New Year's Eve at the bottom in one of the oases. Wrong. We spent it in Chivay, the podunk town above the canyon instead. At least our hotel had Direct TV.

We still made the most of it though. The busride to Chivay (about 3 hours and rather uncomfortable because the buses are such crap) was through a beautiful wildlife preserve and the sunset was amazing. When we got to Chivay, our hotel options were limited but fortunately existent. It is one of the jumping off points to the canyon, so simple, clean hospedajes are available. We negotiated our room for 40 soles (about $13), down from 50, since it is the low season and there were lots of empty rooms. Hot water, a comfortable bed and Direct TV. We were set!

The bus ride to Chivay



We dropped our stuff and headed out. Like Christmas, every town in Peru has some sort of "New Year's market" where you can buy all the essential items for the festivities and Chivay was no exception. Per Hum's instructions, we purchased lentils and rice (you put a little of each in a small bag, tie it up and carry it with you for the year for good luck), grapes (you eat 12 of them, each with a wish), really, REALLY bad champagne (you write a wish on a small piece of paper, put it in the glass and drink it), and yellow underwear (don't ask, I really can't remember).

Dinner was cheap Chifa (Chinese food) and pollo (much better than the Chifa). We crashed back in the room by about 10 and Humberto woke me just as the new year began and we hasily put together all of the items to consume/make wishes on/wear/etc. And then I went back to sleep!

We awoke early the next day and took the cramped, 2-hour bus to Cabanaconde, another town at the top of the canyon where we began our trek down. We got a little lost, which took away some of our daylight time, but hopped on the backs of a couple of mules about 3/4 of the way down so that we could get there before sunset. We hired the same mules for the next day to get us back up the canyon -- I had no intention of trekking on this journey -- and I stuck to it!

The top of the canyon at the start of our trek



The canyon is gorgeous. It's very, very steep and the path hugs the canyon walls very closely. There isn't a lot of room to misjudge your steps, but if you don't have a fear of heights, you'll be fine. Hum has a fear of heights. And riding on the back of the mule didn't help.

On the way down...



He got down to the bottom just fine (after about a thousand "Tengo miedos") and we chose one of the oases to stay in for the night for 20 soles per person, including dinner. There was a pool, which I imagine would have been very nice during the day with the hot sun blazing, but just a little too cold for my taste at 7pm at the bottom of the deepest canyon in the world. That wasn't enough to deter Hum, so he jumped right in. I cheered him on from the sidelines.

Dinner was simple. Soup, pasta. Nothing special and certainly not worth 10 soles if we weren't at the bottom of a canyon. We ate with a German guy, a lady from Arequipa and 2 girls from Sweden (I think). It was nice, but we headed off to bed early, knowing that our mules would be waiting for us at 6am.

The oasis



Our grass hut was cute. Just a bed with lots of blankets and no electricity. The door didn't lock, and we had to use a large stone to keep it shut. We used a candle to find our way back to the room and spent part of the night listening to all of the animals shuffling about in the night. I slept surprisingly well.

Our hut


The journey up took about 2.5 hours by mule. Knowing how slow a trekker I am, this was a good option -- it would've taken us all day if we went by foot. And I would've been rather grumpy by the end. Instead, we got to enjoy the views (when Hum wasn't clinging on to the mule for dear life with his eyes closed) and made it back to town in time to catch another overly crowded bus back to Chivay.

Back up the canyon...





We made it to Chivay by lunch, bought our bus tickets back to Arequipa for 11:30pm and then went back to the hotel we spent New Year's in and asked to use a room for "the day" -- which we used until about 10pm -- for 20 soles. Not bad. Our plan was to head to Ica next, but the only major stops from the terminal in Chivay were Arequipa and Lima. Lima was further down the journey for us, so our only option was back to Arequipa. But we had about 12 hours to kill until then.

No big deal. While Chivay is a little podunk, it has one thing going for it: Hot Springs!! Woo hoo! And these were some of the nicest hot springs I've been to in Peru. They were laid out like swimming pools -- very hot ones -- and each one was a few degrees hotter than the last. We soaked away most of the day in one of the medium-hot pools and eventually headed back to town to shower and grab dinner (crappy pizza at the town's crappy Irish pub) before heading back to the station to wait for our bus.

The bus ride was cold and terrifying. We bundled in the sleeping bag, but it wasn't enough. It was COLD. We also stupidly chose to take the front seats on the second story of the bus which meant that our nighttime view was of our bus going at breakneck speed hugging the cliffs of the canyon for the first hour of the drive. We made it back to Arequipa by about 3:30am and booked our tickets for Ica for 6am. Bus stations in Peru are kind of fun. There are tons of mini restaurants and shops to buy food, souvenirs, use the Internet (when it's open) and various other services. Most things were actually open when we got there (except the Internet place -- damn!) and so we got some tea and a little food before I fell asleep on the floor of the terminal while Hum watched our stuff and read.

On to Ica...

El Gran Viaje: Part 1

The day after we got back from Christmas weekend in Sicuani, Hum and I headed out of town for a little adventure. I had been kind of ashamed of the fact that I'd been living in Peru for the past 6 months and, other than Lima, hadn't visited any other cities in the country. Sure, I'd at least trekked to Choquequirao, gone to Machu Picchu and spent a good amount of time in the Sacred Valley, but to actually venture out and see more of this amazing country had somehow escaped me. Well, no more. I'm now well acquainted with much of southern Peru (and bopefully will be making friends with the north soon, too).

We started with an overnight bus to Arequipa. It's about 10 hours and for 40 soles (about $13), we had a pretty comfortable semi-cama (half bed) seat with enough legroom to feel less like a sardine and more like the cheap backpacker that I am. We were also entertained with the Spanish version of "Eight Below" and "Death at a Funeral" (the Chris Rock version, not the funny, British version). Our first flat tire of the trip happened about 3 hours into the ride and that took over an hour to change. Typical.

We awoke to find ourselves about 30 minutes outside of Arequipa and I was shocked by how different the scenery was. Living in and around Cusco all you see are green mountains and valleys. It's lush and beautiful. The land around Arequipa is also mountainous in a way but it's all dry, arid land. The only color is beige and it's so vast. Fortunately the altitude is lower so bigger breaths of air were easier.

Arequipa is beautiful. It's almost like a tropical oasis. We arrived early in the morning, got in a taxi and made our way closer to the main square with the hopes of finding a budget-friendly place. We popped in and out of a few 100+ sole/night places -- nice, but pricey and as I was just about to check out another hotel, Hum spots an inconspicuous sign for a travelers' hostal. We climb the flight of stairs and enter this open-air, tranquil space. Rooms are 50 soles/night (about $17) and they're big, have cable TV and hot showers. The outside terrace was perfect for lounging and the bed was comfy. We dropped our bags and crashed for 2 hours. No matter how much sleep you get on a bus, it's still not enough.

Our hostal


We woke up in time to find some breakfast and check out some of the city. The main square is gorgeous -- Arequipa is called the White City because of the beautiful white volcanic stone that was used to create its beautiful colonial architecture -- and because it's not overrun with tourists like Cusco, there was a tranquility to the main square even though it was full of people.

In and around the main square




We booked ourselves a city tour for the next morning and just poked around town for the rest of the day. Humberto lost his phone (the second one in 6 months) so we had to get him a new one. That brought us to a different part of town and a whole new bureaucratic experience. Going to the Claro offices is like going to the DMV in the U.S. You take a number, you wait an excruciatingly long time and then stand in front of an employee who couldn't care less whether she helped you or not. Totally like the DMV. It took us an hour and a half but we eventually left with a new (piece of crap) phone for Hum.

Arequipa is a beautiful city. According to Hum, it's a relatively weathy town because it has a lot of industry. Many things are manufactured here, allowing a greater majority of the inhabitants to afford more. That means the shopping here is pretty damn good. Grocery stores carry more interesting items, there's actually a couple of shopping malls and movie theaters. All in all, it seems like a nice place to live. I still love the charm of Cusco, but its only industry is tourism, which means that unless you work in that field, your main option is to feed off the tourists by hawking bad massages and shoe shines. It's a problem here and I wish Cusco had just a bit more industry to help its people more.

When the mudslides shut down Machu Picchu last year for about 6 weeks, Cusco's economy nearly fell apart. So many people were out of work and I remember hearing that crime was at an all-time high. I was here during that period and still fell in love with the place, but I saw the hardship firsthand. Many shops and restaurants had to close, leaving a large percentage of Cusquenians out of work. The city recovered when Machu Picchu reopened, but it was slow, as many travelers found other places to visit instead of Peru, fearing that Machu Picchu would stay closed longer than it did.

Cusco is back in full swing now, even during the "low" season, which is now through the end of February. That means business is good for me, but it also meant that it was time to take a little break and finally do some traveling while the influx of people is as low as it will be all year.

City Tour
The city tour the next day was OK. Not great (and entirely in Spanish) but nice enough. It was a 4-hour excursion in and around the city. We visited a few places for great views and photos and all in all had a nice time -- but glad it was just a half day.

Some photos on the tour




The food in Arequipa is good. It was nice to get away from the white rice and potatoes (although I'm sure it's in abundance there, too -- there were just other options as well!). We fell in love with the only Mexican place in town, Tacos and Tequila and ate there twice. Good stuff and new for Hum. The nightlife is also good. We found a couple of bars with good live music to while away the evenings.

On our last day, we visited Hum's 95-year-old grandmother. She was very sweet but only wanted us to stay for a short time as she was tired. Fine with me. I'm not big on the whole family thing, but I have to admit, I love Hum's. We splurged on some excellent ceviche before making our way to the bus terminal to continue our travels. The next stop: Chivay and Colca Canyon.

Selena's Ridiculously Awesome Curry Recipe

Ok, so it took me over a month to get my act together and post this. For the record, Selena sent me the recipe quite a while back and I just never put it up. But don't let my laziness deter you from cooking this up on one of those cold winter evenings I know you're all suffering through in the Northern Hemisphere right now (if it makes you feel any better, it's chilly and rainy here today -- and this dish sounds like the perfect thing to eat). Now if only I could convince Selena to come over and make it for me...

Ingredients:
3/4 sweet potatoes
1 large onion diced
1 large red pepper diced
Some spinach thinly chopped
1 tin of coconut milk
2 cloves of garlic
1 tso chopped ginger
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
4 tsp curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp tumeric
salt & pepper
cashew nuts

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Boil until almost cooked through. Be careful not to overcook them as they will fall apart later.
2. In a separate pot fry the onions with all the spices. You can add as much or as little as you want of each. Add the garlic, ginger and pepper and fry some more.
3. Add the cooked potatoes, the coconut milk and a half a cup of water.
4. Leave for 15 mins on a low heat. Add the spinach and leave for another 5 mins.
5. Just before serving add the cashew nuts.
6. Enjoy!