I was completely lost. Not directionally lost (it would be an accomplishment for even me to lose my bearings in a three-street town), I was lost in the chaos, the madness, the anything-goes that is the Virgen del Carmen Festival. I dug into my homework research to make some sense out of it all, but nope, textbook knowledge doesn’t apply today in Paucartambo. [Continue reading...]

As my time in Lima draws to a close, it’s time to expand a coffee addict’s coffee shop round up. In case you missed the first take, make sure to check out part one here. As Lima begins its slow and steady expansion of its café culture, more coffee gems are bound to pop up. Until then, check out these new noteworthy addititions. [Continue reading...]

Following the advice of La Guía de Gastón, a restaurant directory book written by famed Peruvian chef, Gastón Acurio, we taxied off to Restaurant Fuji, a sushi bar in Miraflores. The Lima night air was tepid, and completely blanketed with its usually evening garúa. We stepped out of the taxi and onto a lush patio garden. Instantly, we were transported to a place not-so-Peruvian and undoubtably Japanese. [Continue reading...]

If there is one thing us volunteers of Karikuy have in common, it’s our love of fresh, aromatic espresso based drinks. Unfortunately, coffee in this form is hard to come by as Limeños opt instead for instant Nescafé. The reason? Peru’s best coffee is exported — In 2009, Peru exported 4.8 million bags equalling 580 million dollars worth of coffee. That, coupled with Peru’s poor coffee growing infrastructure makes it almost impossible for coffee growers to fully respect the art of coffee making. But that’s changing as landowners and industry affiliates are creating cooperatives and becoming educated about the importance of coffee quality. [Continue reading...]

Tariy 2009 – Day 7.
I woke up excited knowing that tonight I would be reaching the culmination of my trip by arriving at Máncora. I had spent the night in Trujillo, having spent the previous day exploring its culinary delights. Having spent some time in Trujillo the previous year, I was more then ready to set out and explore the new.
I headed out of my claustrophobic, albeit budget hostel room and into the warm autumn breeze of Trujillo. Once again I found myself ducking for shade as the day heated up, I had a couple of errands to do before heading for Chiclayo, Piura and on to Máncora. After I had picked up breakfast (egg roll with juice) as well as my laundry I headed for the Linea bus station [Continue reading...]