Hungry Mouth

Festival Peruvian Style 1

Our second day in Cusco, before heading up to Machu Picchu, we hired a taxi driver and a guide to show us the Inca ruins in the vicinity of Cusco, in particular the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Around 11am we arrived at the town of Pisac and stopped for a 15 minute look at the market. Whoops! Three hours later we reluctantly left. July 16 was the major holiday for Pisac and much of the Peruvian state of Cusco: The Festival de Las Virgenes de Carmen. Some teaser pictures with explanation to follow:

Camel: A Tasty Treat

All international travelers to Peru are forced to arrive via Lima, the only international airport in the country. We spent one quick night in Lima and flew to Arequipa early the next day. Arequipa is a lovely colonial desert town surrounded by snowcapped volcanoes, one of which, El Misti, is still active.

The following morning we embarked on a two day private car tour to Colca Canyon, the Grand Canyon of Peru. As we left Arequipa, we began to climb into the Andes foothills, eventually crossing a pass at an altitude of over 14,000 feet. We adopted the Peruvian cure for soroche (altitude sickness) and drank lots of Mate de Coca, a delicious light green tea made of coca leaves. We also bought a bag of coca leaves to chew on...included in the bag was a greyish piece of soft rock, some sort of salt that supposedly activates the altitude protecting qualities of coca leaves. Unfortunately, neither the tea nor the leaves had any inebriating effect!

As we climbed into the mountains through high desert we began to see flocks of the camels that are native to these highlands; alpacas, llamas, and vicunas.

Alpacas and llamas were domesticated by the native Peruvians long before the arrival of the Conquistadores. Alpacas were raised for their extremely fine (and very expensive) wool. Llamas were raised primarily as pack animals though their wool is also harvested. Vicunas resisted domestication and we were fortunate to see a wild flock of them.

Late in the afternoon we arrived at an attractive eco-lodge, our home for the night. It is quite cold at 12,000 feet so we were pleased to be greeted with the offer of a delicious hot drink which consisted of coca tea, orange juice and rum. For dinner I took the plunge and ordered alpaca to the distress of my traveling companion who is a vegetarian.

The alpaca consisted of a very thin steak, deliciously seasoned but horribly tough. A few bites was enough. One interesting note; several people assured me that alpaca was absolutely cholesterol free. How can that be? Lean, yes, but I thought all meat had some level of cholesterol. ALso note the French Fries and green beans served with the meat. These made frequent appearances on our plates and were quite delicious. The fries almost rivaled those of Greece, but Greece retains the edge due to frying in olive oil.

After a warm night's sleep buried beneath 3 thick alpaca blankets, we headed early to the Cruz del Condor on the edge of Colca Canyon. And yes, we saw many Andean condors. What a great way to celebrate my birthday!

Peru

I ended my last post with a question, "Will I have the nerve to eat one of the Peruvian national dishes, cuy, roasted guinea pig?" The answer is my traveling companion would not let me. But I did eat Alpaca Steak. Tasty but tough.

In all honesty, Peruvian food was disappointing....but that was in large part due to the fact that I didn't dare eat fresh vegies. Luckily, the French Fries were excellent everywhere.

I had planned to dine at a few of the finer restaurants in Lima but both coming and going my flights were so delayed that I had to go without eating.

So much for the gourmet feasts I was planning to regale you with.

Peruvian food is Spanish food with the addition of the animals that were domesticated by the Incas long before the Conquistadores arrived: Llama, Alpaca, Guinea Pig. Plus a few uniquely Peruvian vegies such as potatoes and corn.

But I admit I was surprised. I just assumed Peru would be a corn nation like Mexico but it isn't. I never encountered a bread made of corn meal a la tortillas. Fresh corn was thrown into stews but mainly corn was served dried as a snack in bars: Peruvian corn nuts. The corn nuts were much softer and fresher than the ones we encounter here. But no corn bread. Breads were wheat, mostly unbleached white flour and very different. They were round, about 3/4" thick and 5" in diameter, and often somewhat sweet. On a couple occassions we encountered breads that were thinner and not sweet....I much preferred those. Not much rice either.

I have like 2000 pictures....but have not downloaded them yet. Just want to make a post so you know I am still here..,lots more to follow including fantastic pictures of the Festival de Las Virgenes de Carmen in Pisac, Peru.

Pie for breakfast, anyone?

Prior to leaving for Greece, I read that breakfast there consists of a strong cup of coffee and a cigarette. That didn't concern me much as I am not typically a breakfast person...I don't eat eggs. But it's a funny thing. When I am on the road, and jumping out of bed at 6 am to go birding, I find I develop quite an early morning appetite. So imagine my joy when I discovered that pie is the national breakfast food of Greece. Sweet pies, yes, but even better, savory pies. Spinach pies, cheese pies, cheese and spinach pies...the baker pictured earlier served a fabulous ham, cheese and tomato pie that literally made my knees weak. Pies are the perfect breakfast food for the busy traveler. Just buy one and eat as you go. If it cools off, it still tastes good.

To my surprise most of the pies were not made with a filo dough crust. The crust was more like a croissant, or Danish pastry crust. I miss Greek pies.

Gyros Shock

I was certain I knew what Gyros was; a huge cone-shaped piece of pressed mystery meat that spins on a vertical spit. Wrong. That's just an Americanized, watered down, tacky version of something wonderful.

In Greece the gyros meat is not ground and pressed. It consists of real meat, either thinly sliced pork steaks or whole chicken breasts . . . The only similarity to what is served in the US is the vertical spit and the way it is carved from the sides.

Gyros is Greek fast food. The meat is encased in a flat bread (similar to a pita but without a pocket). Ususally, there is a dab of Tzatziki (garlic or cucumber yogurt sauce), a few slices of onion, maybe a tomato slice, and French Fries all wrapped in white paper! Yes, the fries are in the sandwich. A few gyros stands also added catsup and mustard. Odd.

Gyros is the delight of the budget traveler. An order typically costs less than 2 euros and is quite filling. One warning: be sure to specify "gyros peda" when ordering. If you don't mention the word "peda" (bread), you will receive a much more expensive gyros plate.

Greek Anti-War Graffiti

I was quite amused yet saddened by this building on the outskirts of the village of Eressos. Certainly the Greeks are outraged by the war in Iraq. The unfortunate torture scandal broke while we were in Greece and every headline, every news show, every front page expressed scathing disgust with USA's current leadership.

Traditional Baking in Greece

On our first evening in Skala Kalloni, a fishing port village on Lesvos, I saw a sign for a bakery which pointed down a dark alley. Early the next morning I headed for the bakery to see if they had anything for breakfast. The bakery was actually below street level by several steps. I descended the steps and entered a very small room, probably about 10X15 ft. Inside the elderly baker and his young assistant were busy shifting breads around in the wood-fired stone oven with long-handled wooden peels.

I was very excited to actually see one of these ovens in action. All over Europe they are quickly becoming just a memory. As the old bakers die there is noone to replace them. The younger generation of bakers typically go for the modern electric oven, and the bread suffers as a consequence.

In the background of this picture are the long wooden troughs where the bread is placed to rise.

Fresh baked croissants.

The breads were delicious. It was nice to see that the baker was training a young apprentice. Maybe in this village, at least, the tradition will continue.

Oh...and let's not forget breakfast. The Judge likes sweets so I got him a chocolate croissant. The baker took a fresh croissant, shoved it onto a metal tube poking out of a large device clamped to one of the tables, cranked a handle and chocolate cream filled it. I like savory so I had a choice between Spinach Pie, Cheese Pie, and Ham/Cheese/Tomato Pie.

Eat your Greek vegies...

This is an example of a vegetable platter meze (appetizer) we were served in a small taverna in Sigri, a small fishing village on Lesvos. Each vegie was cooked separately and then marinated in an appropriate dressing. Tasted as good as it looks. (This was the same place I had the octopus salad pictured previously).

As in many Greek tavernas, there was no menu. The server simply took us to the kitchen and showed us the food. Sometimes we actually looked into the cooking pots. In this case, they had a refrigerated case with the food on display.

I ordered fried small fish for my lunch.

The Judge had veal stew.

We sat on the patio.

The taverna owners were proud to tell us that they were among the 200 people who remained in the village each winter. Many people fled the rough weather. I was shocked at how low the population was given that Sigri is one of the major cities on Lesvos.

By the way, all that food plus wine cost about $20...one of the more expensive meals we had in Greece!

A Greek Way with Octopus

At almost every seaside village restaurant on Lesvos we saw octopus hanging from clotheslines to dry. Prior to drying, it undergoes a rigorous treatment which we were fortunate to observe one afternoon while sitting outside a taverna in Mytilini. An elderly fisherman, standing in water up to his knees in the harbor, laboriously tenderized octopus. Holding the octopus by a few tentacles he smashed it against a rock with great force over and over again...about 15 times. He then laid the octopus on the rock and took hold of a flat mallet, rather like the bottom of an ore, and hammered the octopus repeatedly. He then massaged the octopus against the rock for a few minutes. He repeated this with about a dozen octopus over the course of an hour. He then took his catch and headed off. Given the price of octopus, I hope he made a decent day's wage.

Here is the octopus salad I ordered in Sigri. It could have used a bit more pounding.

Three Little Pigs: the Athens Meat Market

Warning! Go no further if you are squeamish. Not for vegetarians!

The Athens Meat Market is fascinating. Don't miss it. As I wandered down the aisle I wondered how anyone distinguished between one booth and the next, they all seemed to have basically the same products. I was bothered by the lack of customers but it was mid-morning. Hopefully they are hopping early in the day. Check out my photo album in the left column.

Three Little Pigs: