Peru

My Favorite Peruvian Places & Experiences: Arequipa and Lake Titicaca

My Favorite Peruvian Places & Experiences:Arequipa and Lake Titicaca This post accompanies my LIVE YouTube broadcast on 28 March 2021 …

Chinchero to Urquillos: All downhill…

Chinchero to Urquillos: All downhill…When Yiqian and I were ready to leave Chinchero, we asked directions for the path that …

Quest for Fiber: Chinchero Textiles

Quest for Fiber: Chinchero TextilesI had been wanting to visit the Centro de Textiles in Chinchero for quite a while …

Huchuy Qosqo: Hiking up…up…up

Huchuy Qosqo: Hiking up…up…up …and then down…down…down Since I moved here to Calca, I have been eyeing some zig-zag trails …

Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Causa

Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Causa Panchita’s Causa Last year when Rebecca (my daughter) and I visited Lima, I had the opportunity to have …

Quest for Fiber: Colores! Colores!

Quest for Fiber: Colores! Colores!Since I arrived in Calca, I have been trying to find a natural dyeing workshop to …

From Coca to Coffee and Cacao: Part 2

From Coca to Coffee and Cacao: Part 2 This is the second post in a two-part series about my excursion …

From Coca to Coffee and Cacao: Part 1

I have recently updated this post with better and more up-to-date links. However, this excursion took place in April of …

Growing Salt: The Salineras

Growing Salt: The Salineras Crossing the Urubamba River Last year, when I was staying in Huarocondo near the Sacred Valley …

Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Calca’s Traditional Market

Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Calca’s Traditional Market A few years ago, I had a romantic notion of going to Mexico for a few …

Quest for Fiber: Revisiting Arequipa’s Fiber Mills

Quest for Fiber: Revisting Arequipa’s Fiber Mills Last year, when I was in Arequipa, I wrote about my disappointment in …

The Cheese Shop

The Cheese Shop I have now arrived in Huarocondo, a small village 37 km northwest of Cusco. It is really …

Smoothies? You ain’t Seen Nothin’

Smoothies? You ain’t Seen Nothin’ The Juice Ladies of San CamilloOne of the highlights of the San Camillo market in …

Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Tamales! En Peru!

Shopping…Cooking…Eating: Tamales! En Peru! One day a couple weeks ago I asked my host, Adela if she knew how to …

Comprando en los Mercados y Tiendas

Comprando en los Mercados y Tiendas * * Shopping in the Markets and Stores I went shopping one day this …

How to Get your Hair Washed and NOT go to the Movies in Peru!

How to Get your Hair Washed and NOT go to the Movies in Peru! Okay, my Spanish is lousy! One …

Choquequirao Hike Part III: Down and Up—Again!

Choquequirao Trek Part III: Down and then Up—AGAIN It rained most of the second night of our Choquequirao hike, and …

Choquequirao Trek Part II: Images of the Past

Choquequirao Trek Part II: Images of the Past Choquequirao means “cradle of gold” in the Quechua language. After another filling …

Choquequirao Trek Part I: Getting There

Choquequirao Trek Part I: Getting There Since Rebecca arrived, we have been busy experiencing travel and I have to apologize …

Return to Arequipa to Meet Rebecca

Return to Arequipa I returned to Arequipa on Monday in anticipation of Rebecca’s arrival this week. I had a free …

Trueno Y Relámpago! Thunder and Lightning

Trueno Y Relámpago! Tiempo Real!* * Thunder and Lightning! Real Weather!Almost every afternoon or evening, we get a violent thunderstorm …

Celebracion de 60 Compleanos en Isla Amantani

Celebracion de 60 Compleaños en Isla Amantani (Or How I Spent My 60th Birthday) For the weekend of my 60th …

Islas! Islas!*

Islas! Islas!* * Islands! Islands!For the weekend of my 60th birthday (March 22), I decided to take a little tourist …

Quest for Fiber: Translating Tom Sawyer

Quest for Fiber: Translating Tom Sawyer I made another excursion to the Sunday market in Acora where the Alpaca ladies …

The Arches of Chucuito and a Hike at 4100 m!

The Arches of Chucuito and a Hike at 4100 Meters The tiny pueblo of Chucuito (about a 30 minute combi …

Quest for Fiber: The Alpaca Ladies of Acora

Quest for Fiber: The Alpaca Ladies of Acora I have not been very successful in my search for raw alpaca …

Quest for Fiber: Sometimes You Just Have to ASK!

Quest for Fiber: Sometimes You Just Have to Ask! I have been wanting some lana de alpaca (alpaca yarn), but …

Revisiting the Festival of Candelaria on the Shores of Lake Titicaca

Revisiting Candelaria—On the Shores of Lake Titicaca I never seem to get tired of listening to Andean music. Today, I …

Quest for Fiber: Alpaca and Acrylic and Títeres

Quest for Fiber:Alpaca and Acrylic and TíteresThis post is written especially for my fiber-loving friends. As many of you know, …

I am in Love: Posada Santa Barbara

I am in Love: Posada Santa Barbara 2021 Update: I see that you can now reserve a room for Posada …

Estoy en Puno!

Estoy en Puno! I am spending the week in the Puno area to scout out a place to live for …

Courage?

Courage? This blog entry is especially for all those people who have commented to me about how brave I am …

Nuevos Soles for New Soles*

20 Nuevo Soles for 2 New Soles* * The title is a play on words: The currency in Peru is …

Fiesta del la Candelaria in Arequipa

The Fiesta de la Candelaria in Arequipa The Fiesta de la Candelaria is a festival in honor of the Virgin …

Quest for Fiber: Quechua Weaving

Quest for Fiber—Quechua Weaving I visited Michell’s mill today where they have a museum, Mundo Alpaca, dedicated to alpaca fiber …

Food: Chapter 2–Chinese-Peruvian Fusion: It’s Nothing New

Food: Chapter 2—Chinese-Peruvian Fusion…It’s Nothing New Adela’s Lomo Saltado Last night at dinner at my guesthouse, Adela made a traditional …

The Benefits of Coca

The Benefits of Coca Last Sunday, Blanca, Manuel’s sister showed me her package of pulverized coca leaves that you can …

A Ship in the Harbor is Safe…

A Ship in the Harbor is Safe… This blog is a bit embarrassing to write, because I have to admit …

Food: Chapter 1–Avoiding McDonalds in Arequipa

Food: Chapter 1–Avoiding McDonalds in Arequipa A lot of cool things happened to me today, but I will save most …

Estoy AQUI!

View of Volcano Misti from my guesthouse in Arequipa Estoy Aqui! After waiting 10 hours in the Lima airport—on the …

Cathy is Going to Peru

Cathy is Going to Peru! In two weeks I am off to a new adventure. In October, I sold the …