Temporary Nomad

We’ve just left Peru after nearly two months in and out of the country. What a fantastic place to travel! We were truly sorry to leave.

Compared with Peru, Chile seems just a bit tame – I mean, you can even drink the water. And it’s a bit weirdly normal too. The climate feels just like Adelaide, the cafés and restaurants are very like Australian ones (even down to the prices, unfortunately. In Peru we’d almost stopped looking at the prices on menus), and even stranger, when we arrived at our hostel, there was a pile of Australian womens’ magazines by the bed. (You’ll be pleased to know that I’ll be touching down in Australia with a full knowledge of all the latest news on Princess Mary.)

But, before my memories of Peru fade, here’s my collection of Peru for the senses.

Peru

Sounds like:

• Shakira – I have heard her current hit every single day since arriving in Latin America. Sadly, this is not an exaggeration.
• Simon and Garfunkel – not just the ubiquitous El Condor Pasa, but also The Sound of Silence, which we’ve heard in numerous versions, including of course pan-pipes, but also even a Spanish version with new words apparently related to the Lord of the Miracles festival.
• Taxis – not only does every taxi honk its horn at you as it goes by, (usually also annoyingly slowing down in front of you just as you’re trying to cross the road) but in the evenings they also play a non-stop medley of car-alarm noises.

Smells like:

• Home – all through the Andes eucalypts have been planted to prevent soil erosion. As a result I’ve had the strange experience of walking along paths on an island in Lake Titicaca at 4000 metres above sea-level with the familiar smell of crushed gum leaves drifting up from underfoot.
• Urine – urinating in the street is unfortunately pretty commonplace in Peru, so the smell of urine is fairly standard. We were in Arequipa for Hallowe’en, one of their big street festivals. The street between our hotel and the main drag was absolutely awash with urine towards the end of the night, as everyone seemed to have decided it was the public urinal. We dubbed it “Wee Street” from then on.
• Exhaust fumes – the cars are old and spew out horrendous amounts of pollution. The cities are thus full of clouds of smoke at street level, though up in the mountains smog isn’t a problem.
• Toilet paper and more – like many countries, Peru’s sewers can’t cope with toilet paper, so this has to be disposed of separately in the bin provided. Result – quite smelly bathrooms even in the most upmarket establishments.

Tastes like:

• Sour – deliciously sour! Many of Peru’s main culinary highlights are based on sour flavours. Ceviche is a fabulous dish of fish ‘cooked’ simply by marinating in lemon juice, and the national cocktail, Pisco Sour, features the already sour white-grape brandy with lemon juice and a dash of angostura bitters. And that suits me fine.
• Cocina Novoandino – New Andean cuisine. Lots of alpaca in a local herb sauce on a bed of quinoa risotto with an Andean plum jus. In other words, nouvelle cuisine with local Andean ingredients – a very successful fusion.
• Coca leaves – in hot water as maté de coca, or just chewed raw or dried, coca leaves taste pretty much like lawn clippings, as Mike has related.
• Inca Kola – the ubiquitous Peruvian alternative to coca-cola, but in a much brighter shade of yellow – and bubble-gum flavoured.
• Fresh fruit – delicious fresh fruit juice is everywhere in Peru – pineapple, papaya, orange and strawberry and also lucuma, tomate de arbol, melon and the surprising tuna (actually cactus). Yum!

Feels like:

• Natural fibres – everywhere you go in Peru you’re constantly being encouraged to buy the locally produced textiles. And more than once we’ve had eager salespeople rubbing woolen items on their cheeks, or even our cheeks proclaiming “pure alpaca, baby alpaca”.
• Hot and cold – hot sunny days with UV ratings through the roof followed by nights approaching freezing – that’s the high Andes.

Looks like:

• Natural colours – those same salespeople who are in raptures over the natural fibres will also unfailingly emphasize the natural colours of the material. 24 different recognized natural shades of alpaca wool. No, make that baby alpaca wool.
• Brown faces – that strong, high-altitude sun gives a leathery tan to even the faces of babes-in-arms. (Though the babes are more likely to be carried in a bundle on mum’s back than in anyone’s arms.)
• Everything you can see at www.flickr.com/photos/nomadical/tags/peru/

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Image credits: Simon and Garfunkel, Shakira – Amazon.com; taxis in Arequipa – Road.it; eucalypts – Mike; Pisco Sour – Web de la Novia; novoandean food – Andina Restaurant ; papaya – Sabores del Peru; alpacas – Mike; alpaca wool – travel mongabay;