Peru Archives - Page 2 of 3 - In Search Of Umami

In the Peruvian Amazon

Going to the Amazon region in Peru we didn't know what to expect, except for mosquito bites and sweating like in a sauna. We also heard that people were way nicer than in other parts of Peru, warmer and more welcoming. The sweating part started already in the bus to Tarapoto which took 18 Peruvian hours (27 European hours). The change in people never came.
Arriving at the hostel we realized we were one of very few that came for the nature and not to take drugs (Ayahuasca ceremony is a tradition in the amazon but also a main tourist attraction for those who like to fly away). In Tarapoto except for close meetings with insects of all kind we managed to see monkeys, amazing butterflies and huge, hairy spiders. Obviously it wouldn't be me if I didn't fell somewhere and killed one of those hairy spiders with my hand...

From Tarapoto we traveled till the end of the road so till Yurimaguas, a tiny town where there is nothing special except for a cargo boat that would take us to Lagunas from where we would reach our goal Park Pacaya Samiria- the biggest protected area in Peru, second biggest in the Amazon region (20 000 km²). The cargo boat was just amazing, cargo and hammocks hanging everywhere, nice people, nice views, heaven. Only the sanitary of the boat was to say the least rustic. After 13 hours we arrived in dark, dark Lagunas as they only have electricity for a few hours a day...
To go to the park we had to have a guide so we asked around already in Yurimaguas for prices and there was one typical Peruvian answer from everyone we asked: they have an association of guides and that's why they all charge 150 soles per person per day..."But for you my friend 100 (or 110 soles) but in secret". On the next day after arriving in Lagunas we started our trip with our guide Alberto and his wife Jady. Married for 20 years, so they got married when she was 15 and he was 32... On my question of how they met, they only smiled...
With them we spend 8 pretty fun days enjoying the nature around us. We saw 5 types of moneys, birds, a sloth, otters, an anaconda and much more. Finally on that trip I started enjoying fishing. I remember when I was a kid and I was going fishing with my dad we were waiting hours in silence to catch ANYTHING. Here in the jungle, as soon as anything hits the water it is attacked by piranhas and other creatures which makes fishing extremely easy and fun for everyone. And with a stick and rope... That I'm not going to mention our fishing techniques like just throwing a spear or just swinging a machete blindly in the water. Even the net which had more holes than net was so successful that already while spreading, there were fish in it. Obviously we had a mainly fish diet those days with rice, pasta and the main ingredient in the amazon- banana. Many different kinds of it. But my absolute favourite was suri- delicious larvae from bugs taken from the inside of a palm fruit. Mmmm...
Normally everyone who wants to see the jungle goes to Iquitos, where one has to pay serious money and everything is organised. The locals call the kind of tourism that goes from Lagunas "tourismo de aventura" (adventure tourism). Couldn't be more true, starting from sleeping on the floor in huts (floor and huts are both an overstatements) and finishing on taking a shower on our canoe (because going to the water could mean the last shower ever) taking water from the river with a bucket and having manyyyy crocodiles looking at us. Alberto was also a man of adrenaline and so he took us multiple times to watch caimans at night when they are the most active. Totally living on the edge considering that I read wikihow, before going, to find out what to do if attacked by a caiman and there first fundamental advises were: don't go where you know there are caimans living and 2nd if you have to go then don't go into the water, no canoe. And there we were in our canoe, at night staring at them. Our dear Alberto spotted a hugeee black caiman of around 6 m, a beast and we started following him. At some point the beast stopped but we didn't because Alberto really wanted to go as close as possible (or rather impossibly close) to the point where the crocodile started hissing at us. At that point we were already begging him to paddle away, I was already seeing us being eaten with pleasure. We definitely had more luck than brain and the crocodile ran away, splashing water and fish at us. Wet and happy to be alive we continued to look around when Alberto caught one of the small crocodiles with his bare hands, he placed him between his knees and paddled further as he saw another one. Possibly he wanted to catch the other one as well but it was bigger than he assumed and when Alberto approached he got scared and ran away leaving us wet for the second time that night. And then I felt something was walking on top of me, touching it I realized that Alberto let the caiman that he had between his legs go and now he was running through me till the end of the boat. After some time I realized that I had a lamp with me which I switched on to see our caiman scared out of his mind. Alberto went like if nothing happened till the end of the canoe, grabbed the crocodile and said "foto??". And so we took pictures with this nice, not so little friend who decided to go against his nature and not bite us. On the last day of our trip maybe to redeem himself Alberto had a little suprise for breakfast. A crocodile.... In my mind I was just hoping it wasn't the same, friendly one that we met a few nights before...

How to get to Pacaya Samiria Park and how much does it cost?

Visiting Pacaya Samiria from Lagunas is a way cheaper alternative when compared to Iquitos. But it´s also a bit more adventurous when it comes to accommodation and sanitary which has it´s charm:)

The whole journey starts in Tarapoto. From there we went by shared car to Yurimaguas (20 soles each, 2.5 hrs). From there we took a cargo boat called Eduardo to get to Lagunas (30 soles each (around 8 euros), 13 hrs) . It was a pleasant trip and we were mostly chilling out in our hammocks. Except for those, there are other cargo boats going to Lagunas which are cheaper (20 soles p.p. (around 5 euros)) but it´s rather hard to say which one will leave the port that day. There is always a boat leaving everyday but the time is unknown:) there are also speed boats going in 6 hrs for 40 soles (around 11 euros)

Also accommodation in Tarapoto, Yurimaguas and Lagunas is cheap and there are quite some options to choose from even if for the last two villages there are not that many places online. Double room with private bathroom costs around 30-50 soles (around 8-14 euros).

When it comes to the trip, you can take a guide for as many days as you want, 2 days or 30 days all is possible. The park is huge so it´s good to have as many days as possible and the more days you go the cheaper price per day you can expect. Going for 8 days you can expect 100-110 soles (around 28-31 euros) per day per person but going above that you can expect 80-90 soles (around 22-25 euros) per day. Those prices include sleeping on the floor, food and guide.. all except for the park fee which is 20 soles (around 5 euros) per day per person. For multiple day stay there are discounts so for example going for 7 days you pay only for 6. Obviously for the park fee you don´t need to bargain, it´s set in stone. Which I can´t say about the prices of the guides (prices above are prices after negotiation).

Fine and not so fine dining in Lima

We knew already before coming to Lima that for us it would be only a food destination. This was made clear again as soon as we came to Lima that it was not for us... Lacking the beautiful colonial architecture or character of Cusco unfortunately what it didn't lack is the performances of the national sport of Peru- honking... Everyone's driving so a ton of people honking for no reason at all. Music for your ears. That I'm not going to mention what a challenge it is to cross the street having the green light, all the cars were not even slowing down just letting you know by honking how determined they are to kill you if you don't run away. City jungle.

Coming to a new place we always want to taste the local cuisine and that one starts on the streets. And so we started by tasting causas (kind of potato mash normally stapled in two layers and chicken or fish or veg in between) and ceviche (fish in cubes "cooked" in lemon juice). It was not bad and it didn't end up in diarrhea but it didn't blow us away. Far more poisonous was "El Barrio Chino" which is famous in Lima for chifa style of cooking so a fusion of Cantonese and Peruvian. The food we tasted over there was just horrible... Soooo soaked in fat that even KFC would seem healthy next to it and it didn't have any spice in it. As usual almost no veg just because rice and potatoes are vegetables enough... At least we didn't pay much for this food mistake.
Our hopes built up with a visit to Larco cafeteria (yep cafeteria of a museum!!!) which actually sold nice sandwiches and causas (well except for soggy French fries but you can't have it all).

All of that was just a starter for what we were really looking forward to.... Best restaurants in the world:) 3 of the 50 are in Lima so we absolutely couldn't miss that chance. Number 4 was not available unless we made a reservation two months before which we didn't. But fortunately we could visit number 14, Astrid y Gastón. The restaurant is situated in a nice old hacienda and just like usually it's not really well marked so unless you know it's there, you won't find it. We were both blown away by the design, really modern but kind of cosy, home style (And thank God cuz we were both under dressed not to say a bit hobo).

Their service was also spectacular, separate guy from tea, separate guy from water and all of them nice and saying "thank you" and "you're welcome" which is a nice change in the country where those words seem to be out of use. Unfortunately we were not blown away by the starters and mains, not that we didn't like them but they were not as delicious and tasty as we expected from nr 14 in the world. But God the desserts were just smashingly good!!! Firstly I had a Lucuma dessert, a symphony based on a traditional Peruvian fruit of that name which was just spectacular with fresh raspberries and splashes of sauce made with purple corn.

Jandirk went for a white peach dessert which was outstanding as well. Tempted we both decided to try another dessert and so I took the strawberry dessert with vanilla, yogurt and an absolutely yummy wine sauce:) Jandirk took a rich chocolate one with banana and caramel....-) still now thinking about these desserts makes us smile :))))

As Jandirk was not satisfied with only one fine dinning experience we decided to visit restaurant "IK" which was the most spectacular dining experience in our lives and by far. The restaurant looked spectacular, all green and full of plants with windows on the kitchen through which we saw a well oiled machine of working people and a beautiful, traditional mud oven. Even the tables were original with their projections of native ingredients of Peru like coffee, lucuma and Inca berry.

We went crazy with the 12 course tasting menu and o my God it was worth it!!! Everything starting from the service which was really good and fun... For example when I was going to the toilet they would take my napkin to bring a new one with tweezers (never too sterile). But the food, the art, the theater.... Unbelievable and worth every dollar that we spent on it. Every dish had a story, presented native Peruvian ingredient from a different zone either from the Amazon, coast or deep Andes and all of them had a story and taste... They were all one of a kind and absolutely delicious. And so we ate eatable leaves from a branch, spicy (finally!!) Amazonian ceviche, roasted Andean potatoes, Amazonian fish, Amazonian tomato salad, pork belly, corn and we even normally don't like corn, all of the ones we tried at "IK" were unbelievable. In the end we tasted a dessert made entirely from a cocao bean, all if its parts which you normally throw away. And it was an unforgettable, symphony and what food is all about, bitter, sweet, refreshing and simply presented in the bean shell itself.

Afterwards we still got a tree which represented a traditional Peruvian celebration called Yunza. Obviously it had something tiny and delicious like chocolates to eat:) after 4 h of the experience of our lifetime we went to our 6 dollars per bed 14 bed dorm :)) money somewhere saved, elsewhere spent.

How much does it cost to dine in Lima?
The restaurants we have visited and how much they cost

IK restaurant- unbelievable, decadent, truly delicious 12 course menu is 300 soles (83 euro) per person so in total we paid 730 soles (203 euro) for their tasting menu, two drinks, water and a little, delicious bread at the start
Astrid y Gastón- for their not so mind blowing starters and mains and absolutely outstanding 4 desserts we paid 600 soles (166 euro), starters between 48- 79 soles (around 13-22 euro), mains 48- 109 soles (around 22-30 euros), desserts 36-42 soles (around 10- 12 euros), they also have a tasting menu which costs around 110 euro per person
Larco cafeteria- good food in a nice, garden surrounding after a visit to the museum cost us 90 soles (25 euro)
El Barrio Chino- tasteless and almost poisonous meal in the Chinese district cost us 23 soles (6 euro)
Chifa Titi- less poisonous but still pretty tasteless dinner cost us 245 soles (68 euro)

Trek to Choquequirao

Going to Choquequirao, the Inca city, I was expecting amazing nature. At least tarantulas around me, condors above me and cacao trees next to me. Big nothing when it comes to that. The nature was not getting more exotic than horses passing us by. But reaching the first campsite at least I got an exotic "toilet", no words can explain how "different" the toilet was, only a picture (posted under). And the way to it was also an adventure on it's own.... The woman from the campsite wanted us to take a shower as well... It was a bucket of water and walls could be made with foil stretched between a few sticks... The funniest part was that the shower was just under the campsite so that you could see the person showering from your own tent... Free show. Obviously we passed on that entertainment.
Further trek was rather disappointing until we reached the check point in Choquequirao. Immediately we saw the ruins scattered on the mountains and we went flying to the campsite closeby to build our tent and start exploring. Firstly we went to extensive terraces and water temple just next to us. By far more impressive than Machu Picchu. Choquequirao has been known since at least the 17th century by the Spaniards and it has been mentioned many times. Also Bingham visited it before he discovered Machu Picchu and still the site was not excavated until the 1970s. Now only 30-40% has been excavated and that is already bigger than Machu Picchu. And we felt like in an Indiana Jones movie, all alone on the ruins and on each terrace we could see further buildings and terraces overgrown by vegetation. Incredible!!! Super excited we barely could sleep waiting for the next day to come to explore the ruins up on the mountain above us. And so on the next day we were busy exploring temples, squares, priest houses, workshops and most impressive: hugeeeee terraces with figures of llamas on them. On few terraces there were small llamas with mama llamas. All of it just partially uncovered.... No wonder Peru wants to build a cable car as an alternative to a two day trek to attract more tourists and more dollars... Making it a new Machu Picchu. Now it is only visited by few, maybe 20-30 people a day. Choquequirao was everything for us that Machu Picchu wasn't: mystical, without people trying to sell you cheesy gifts, big Americans with their huge cameras and fat wallets. Simple, beautiful and unforgettable.
And so was our trek back... We needed to go exactly the same way as we came and waking up early we already started walking back at 5.30 a.m. At around 10 a.m. we were already what seemed to be half way. There cheered by a local guide we decided to walk up the mountain to do the whole route in one day. According to him we would be done within 4 hours leaving him our big backpacks that he would take up by horse... After 4 hours we were nowhere near the end. We were almost in tears, covered in sweat and bites in full son walking up a mountain... Ready to give up... After 7 hours we finally reached the top and promised ourself never to trust Peruvian time estimations...

Mini guide for those who would like to do the trek:
1. The whole trek cost us a total of 658 soles so around 189 euro for two of us for 4 days. Most of it we spend on:
-250 soles (around 68 euros) on transportation to the view point from Cusco and back (on the way back we overpaid to get to Cusco faster which cost us around 50-60 soles more)
-135 soles (around 37 euros) on food - nuts, noodles, milk in powder, pasta etc.
-190 soles (around 52 euros) Renting equipment- tent for two people, two sleeping bags, sleeping pads, little kitchen with utensils, walking sticks
-56 soles (around 15 euros) on entrance ticket to the ruins (37 normal ticket, 19 with student discount)

2. First day we left Cusco at 5 a.m. and we arrived to the viewpoint at 10 a.m. (first taking a bus to Curawasi, then shared taxi to Ramal, then private taxi to the viewpoint). From there we walked to Playa Rosalina in 3.5 hours and then 2.5 hours to Santa Rosa Baja where we stayed for the night. Second day we started walking around 6 a.m. and it took us 2.5 hours uphill to get to Marampata. From there it was an easy 1.5 hour walk to the Choquequirao campsite where we stayed one and a half day. The forth day we left the camp at 5.30 a.m. and walked to Playa Rosalina (4.5 hours) and then we walked all the way to the view point (6.5 hours) without our big backpacks. Not recommended to do that in one day. We were destroyed in the end of it.

3. We didn't buy water, we had purifying pills but if you want there are plenty of places selling water (2.5 ltr water bottle for 12 soles, so around 3 euros)

4. From the viewpoint you can rent horses for the whole way, we didn't, we walked with our backpacks except for half a day, the last day, when we paid 20 soles (around 5 euro) for bringing our bags to the viewpoint

5. For navigation we used Maps.Me and GPS in our smartphones

6. We had plenty of bug spray which didn't help us but we are afraid to think how we would look like if we didn't have it

7. On all of the campsites you can buy water, inka cola, cola and snacks and often also cooked meals. Only on the Choquequirao site there was nothing to buy

8. To camp on most of the sites you need to pay 5 soles (a bit more than 1 euro) per tent, except in the Choquequirao campsite where it's free. The campsites are Chiquisca, Playa Rosalina, Santa Rosa baja, Santa Rosa alta, Marampata and Choquequirao so plenty to choose from.

9. You really need at least one day to explore the ruins because they are huge and quite far away from each other

If anyone would like to do it and something is not clear or there are unanswered questions, let us know:)

You can download the map here Choquequirao.kml or here Choquequirao.kmz.
You can use Maps.Me to open the files on your smartphone or google my maps on your PC.

Cassava a la Huancaína

October 8, 2015May 4, 2017
by JD

Cassava is a native South American vegetable that I never knew what to do with, even though I saw it quite often in Dutch supermarkets. The answer came from the Peruvian cuisine... delicious deep fried cassava with a creamy, spicy sauce. Here is the recipe. Yummy 🙂

Cassava a la Huancaína for 4 people (as a starter)

Ingredients:

1 kg Cassava
4 Chillies
20 peanuts (unsalted)
1 small onion
3 cloves of garlic
few leaves of parsley
30 ml whole milk
8 crackers
Oil for deep frying

Recipe:

- Peel the cassava and cook until it is a bit soft (like cooked potato) +/- 25 min
- Cut the cooked cassava in pieces (around the size of Belgium fries) removing the core
- Deep fry the cassava until golden at 180°C

For the sauce:

- Chop the garlic, onion and chillies finely
- Saute the garlic then add the chillies and the onion, fry until soft
- In the meantime crush the peanuts to a paste and put them into a food processor, add 8 crackers, add the sauted garlic, chillies and onion mix, 30 ml of whole milk and the parsley. Blend until smooth

Dip the fried cassava in the sauce and enjoy 🙂

Pisco Sour & Passion Sour

October 8, 2015May 4, 2017
by JD

Peru is definitely famous for its cuisine but it has more to offer... Pisco Sour. Absolutely delicious and easy to make! It's based on pisco which is a brandy produced in the wine regions of Peru and Chile and it has quite some lime juice (that's why it's called pisco sour). It contains egg white which sounds really weird but that what's make it creamy, special and yummy:)

Pisco Sour recipe for one:

90 ml Pisco (or Grappa)
30 ml Lime juice
30 ml Sugar Syrup*
1 Egg white
5 Ice cubes
1 dash Angostura Bitter (normally added as a garnish. But without it, it tastes exactly the same)

- Mix in the blender Pisco, ice cubes, Lime juice and Sugar Syrup until all the ice is crushed.
- Add the egg white to the blender and mix again until foamy.
- Serve and enjoy immediately 🙂

Passion Sour recipe for one:

90 ml Pisco (or Grappa)
30 ml Passion fruit juice (or Maracuja)**
30 ml Sugar Syrup*
1 Egg white
5 Ice cubes
1 dash Angostura Bitter (normally added as a garnish. But without it, it tastes exactly the same)

- Mix in the blender Pisco, ice cubes, Passion fruit juice and Sugar Syrup until all the ice is crushed.
- Add the egg white to the blender and mix again until foamy.
- Serve and enjoy immediately 🙂

*To make a Sugar Syrup (if not possible to buy):

- Add 1 part water to 2 parts sugar stir and heat up until the sugar is dissolved.
- Let it cool down and the syrup is ready.

**To make the Passion fruit juice:

- Blend one passion fruit and sieve out the seeds.

Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu

To get to Machu Picchu you can take a train, walk or do many of the offered treks. Only money is the limit. To go for the Inca trail, which is the most famous way, we would need to book in advance, sell a kidney (or two) and let an old man drag our stuff through the mountains in sandals (animals aren't allowed to carry everything). So that was not an option. By train it seemed just not that special and we wanted to make some effort before coming there. And I wanted to sleep in a tent, just because I have never done it before and I have always wanted to try:) and so we went for the Salkantay trek. It was probably the most beautiful walk in our life!!!

In our group we had three Peruvians who were not really interesed in meeting us, so the usual here in Peru, but at least they didn't want to sell us anything either. Luckily we also had a really lovely Australian-New Zealand couple who were just amazing companions in sweat, rain and pain. First day we walked through an old Inca canal to reach our first campsite in Soraypampa with an amazing view on snow peaks and glaciers around. I was really excited to sleep in the spot, Jandirk was a bit less excited just because he doesn't like tents in general and he definitely likes them even less in freezing weather. Shivering but he survived.
On the next day we reached the Salkantay pass just next to the sacred Inca mountain- Salkantay. It was just amazing, the feeling of accomplishment and satisfacion and the surrounding of snow and glaciers. Just unforgettable. And then going down the climate changed drastically. Out of the sudden we were in the "cloud forrest" full of butterflies, wild plants, orchids and.... bugs. I was absolutely sure that our 40% DEET would make me invisible but there were really many bugs who managed to get me, on their (I hope) suicidal mission.
Through the next days I felt just like in a botanic garden, bananas, passion fruit, avocados, coffee beans everywhere!!! And plenty of suicidal bugs too. On the 4th day we reached the Llactapata ruins on a mountain. There are many theories of what it was, maybe an astronomical observatory or ceremonial spot. But what we know for sure now is that it has an amazing view on Machu Picchu! Absolutely surreal!!! From there we convinced David and Janelle (our fellow couple) to walk with us to Aguas Calientes, the village just next to Machu Picchu. It seemed more of a fair way to get there walking then by train, and way cheaper too. Since walking is (still) for free (rumors say it won't next year) the road is not really a road just stones next to the railroad. But it was still a really nice hike with amazing companions. We reached the village sweaty, dirty but excited. After a cold shower in Aguas Calientes (the irony of the name "Hot waters") we passed out to wake up at 3.50 a.m. to start lining up for the first bus (after a 5 day walk around 2000 steps in an hour didn't sound like an appealing way to get to Machu Picchu). At 5.30 the first bus took off with us on board. It was a free roller coaster ride that made us all wide awake. Up and down, through a rocky, bumpy road and with the speed of light we got there within 20 min. And we lined again this time in front of the entrance.
Honestly I didn't expect much of Machu Picchu. I thought it would be crowded and overpromoted. So I was pleasantly suprised when we entered. Covered in early morning fog it looked mystical and just ingenious. Perfect rock constructions closed between Machu Picchu mountain and Wayna Picchu mountain. Agricultural terraces, temples, houses, storage places everything looked out of this world. And even lamas on the terraces looked just in place. Even the crowds were not that overwhelming as the people just spread everywhere and around 1-2 p.m. most of them disappeared. Probably their bladders were not as strong as ours. There are no toilets on the site because it's sacred (I'm sure the Incas didn't pee or poo at all there) so you need to get out which is quite a long walk and then re-enter and you are only allowed to do it twice. Also you can't eat there so that might be another reason for the early evacuation of the majority. We decided to put our needs on hold which was not as much of a challenge mostly because we were sweating all of our liquids away. Especially while climbing more than 2000 steps to get to the top of the Machu Picchu mountain....
From the top of it we saw how dense the vegetation covering the surrounding mountains is and it wasn't such a shock anymore that the Spaniards haven't found it but we were still shocked that in 1911 when Bingham discovered the site there were few families living there and even farming....
After an exhausting but great day we packed ourselves on the train and then bus back to Cusco. Me already with ideas for new treks, Jandirk in hope to say goodbye to sleeping in tents... At least for a while:)