A description

Hi, in this blog I want to tell the story of two people I saw in the Cusco airport. Well, I smelled them first but then I saw them. This is the story of Chad and Brad. If you’re reading this and have been to Cusco, picture the American males that you see wearing ponchos around the main plaza. The kind with scraggly beards that look like they haven’t showered in four days. The kind of people that talk about being “woke” and “cultured” after their Peruvian visit when all they did on their trip was smoke weed they bought off a man in the street and walk around trying to pick up girls.

Have the picture in your head? Good. That is Brad and Chad. During my time in Cusco I realized that the only people that really wear ponchos are pasty-skinned foreigners. When I was passing through security to go to Lima, I was taking my computer out of my bag to go through the scanner when I smelled body odor. I looked over to see Brad, sporting his prized poncho, open-toed shoes, and a walking stick, arguing with an airport agent. The agent appeared to have taken a bottle of cheap liquor out of the smelly man’s bag

In the worst attempt of speaking Spanish I have ever heard I my life, Brad begs, “Amigo, por favor.” The agent shakes his head and throws the bottle away. Brad storms off, taking his scent with him.

Call me judgmental, but why does one under the age of 70 need a walking stick in the airport? Is it such a journey from the taxi cab to the gate? I guess so. I hope Brad is doing well. I also hope he’s figured out soap by now. 

A man and his iPad

Like many people, I have always wondered how chocolate was made. I had heard it had something to do with cocoa, which I knew came from a bean, but how a delicious liquid such a chocolate could be produced from a plant and not in some secret lab in the middle of China seemed crazy to me.

This is why I became so excited to learn that we’d be doing a chocolate making class. Finally, I’d get to learn the truth! I was a little disappointed when we didn’t actually make real milk chocolate, but I still found the class entertaining and interesting. I’m not really going to talk too much about it, however, since I feel it’s been covered well enough by other people already.

There is one thing I want to talk about though: an old man and his iPad. You see, culture is weird. This complicated system of human reaction is composed of millions of arbitrary rules. If these rules are not followed, it can see weird to others, or even infuriating. One of these such rules is that iPad are not for filming. I don’t know why, but its just weird to film with an iPad.

In our chocolate class, a man filmed the entire class on his iPad, which was rather strange. This, however, was overshadowed by the fact that he decided that it would be socially acceptable to film everyone in the class. I found it especially disturbing when he filmed Andrew alone while he was stirring chocolate. No one else was in the frame. Just Andrew. A stranger. I would like to end this blog by asking you to imagine the image of this man sitting down to flip through his photos after the trip and watching a two-minute video of a strange young college male stirring a bowl of chocolate. Bizarre.

An Ode To My Favorite Cafe In Cusco: Cafe Plaza

While in Cusco, I went to cafe plaza every day to do work and indulge in different juices, foods, and beer. This is a fan favorite because it is extremely reliable; the staff is friendly and the wifi is the arguably the fastest in the city. When I eventually return to Cusco, I know that I will make my way back to this cafe because the building is friendly (they play great music), everything is cheap, and the views of the plaza are spectacular. The second floor view of the center comes in handy when the parades are happening in the plaza because you can grab a cusqueña trigo and watch with a great view.

On the menu, I recommend any of the sandwiches (my favorite is the club), the taqueños with guacamole (a Peruvian classic), and the strawberry juice. Something interesting to note with this cafe is that you must spend at least 20 soles in order to pay with card. This means that you normally have to order more than one thing on the menu because everything is cheap.

In regards to coffee, I recommend any of the espresso based drinks. I found them to taste better and also be stronger than the other coffee based items on the menu. If you oder milk with your coffee, be sure to specify which kind because they have some weird types. Additionally, another fan favorite on the coffee menu is the chocolate baileys coffee. I think Logan ordered this drink every time he went to cafe plaza and it is a great drink to wind down with after a long day of work.

Space in Cusco vs Copenhagen

After spending a significant amount of time in both cities, I think it is pretty safe to say that Copenhagen and Cusco are absolute polar opposites in many ways. I love both of these cities dearly and I find the differences in cultures extremely fascinating and comical because they are so drastic. 

In Cusco, every where you walk you get pitched a service, whether that be a tour guide service or a massage service. The streets are pretty crowded and everything is high-density. Moreover, the streets are very narrow and there is little room for biking or driving around. In my time in Cusco, there were many parades in the middle of the plaza and things got loud at times. Furthermore, there were lots of color in the streets and people were engaging in small talk and were very friendly. 

This is the complete opposite of Copenhagen, where everything is spacious and the bike lanes are just as big as the car lanes. Additionally, the culture is extremely reserved so it would be very odd for someone to pitch you a service in the middle of the street. Danes are also less inclined to talk to random people are are known for minding their own business, so small talk is not as popular. In regards to the parades and loudness (at times) of Cusco, this is not the case on the other side of the globe in Denmark. Everything is quieter and there is a lot less color. Danes usually wear all black or grey (to reflect the grey sky and cold weather) so it would be very uncharacteristic to see an extravagance of color in the streets.  

Chakruna Native Burgers: My Indulgence with Alpaca

Before heading to Perú, I knew that I needed to try Alpaca because where else in the world would I try alpaca? After hearing through the grapevine that Chakruna Native Burgers had a good alpaca burger (thanks Crosby), I decided to give it a shot.

At Chakruna, I ordered the alpaca burger with a side of fries and the juice of the day....And I've got to say, I'm pretty surprised by the taste of alpaca. I was a little hesitant that it would taste too gamey, but I instead found alpaca to be very juicy and it reminded me of eating lamb, which is one of my favorite meats.  Eating alpaca is one of the highlights of visiting Perú and I am very happy that I indulged.  The meal also came with an assortment of dipping sauces, which was great for dipping both the fries and burger. With these sauces, I made the risky move of dipping the alpaca burger in mayonnaise, which was actually pretty tasty (and I would do it again).

Also, the juice of the day, which was ginger based, was really great. Whenever I see juices with ginger in it, I am always inclined to order it because of the health benefits.

Overall, I would rank the alpaca burger an 9 out of 10. I don't really have a great ranking scale for alpaca because it was my first time trying it, but I would imagine that this is a 9 out of 10 burger. I would recommend this place and when I revisit Cusco, I want to try alpaca again because it was surprisingly delicious.

Ugly accents, major traffic, and Spanish conquest: Thinking about my hour-long cab ride and the fascinating conversation with the driver

Probably my favorite thing about Peru has been the people--no matter where you are, people are happy to talk to you for hours on end. Whether it be cafes, shops or cabs, I have had some fascinating conversations with some fascinating people. Today, I was stuck in traffic for an hour coming from the historic center of the city back to Miraflores, and decided to pass the time by talking with the driver.

The conversation--which took place completely in Spanish--started just like any other, with me asking if Willy was originally from Peru, and clarifying that I was from the United States but a student of Spanish. Seeing as we had an hour long ride ahead of us due to the traffic, I decided to pass the time by keeping up conversation. I continued asking questions about his life--how he liked Lima, how long he had lived there, etc.--and told him a little bit about myself. I also had the chance to talk to him about our class and our trips, which brought on a whole new stretch of conversation.

Willy decided to quiz me on my knowledge of Inca history, a quiz which I most likely failed. Still, he taught me a lot of things we had never talked about, and refreshed my memory of some of the things we did. I learned about a new language--Aymara--that is spoken by natives of the Andes region, like Willy.

At some point, he began talking about his love for Peru--the variety in climate across the country, the people, the diversity in the culture--and how he had no desire to travel anywhere else. He would keep saying "if I want to ski I can ski, if I want beaches we have beaches. We have everything here in Peru." His passion for his country was so fascinating, but his desire to never leave was something I had never heard before. I believe at some point I convinced him to visit India, but he was adamant about never going to the United States, a statement which brought on another string of interesting questions and responses. He believed that he wouldn't be accepted by people in the US, especially because he knew maybe 5 words in English.

We began speaking more about the Spanish language after I professed my love for it--the history, the cultural exchange, and then the accents. Willy's hilarious input was that Peru has the best accent of all Spanish-speaking countries. Argentine and Chilean accents sound ugly because of the Italian influence, Cubans tend to smush words together, and Spaniards, despite being the mother country of the language, just sound angry. His wise advice was that if I wanted to become a pro at Spanish, I should come live in Peru to develop the best accent possible.

He later spoke about his dislike for countries like the United States--developed countries that tend to control less developed countries, and ultimately make it harder for them to grow. He spoke about how ever since the Spaniards came to Peru, the system of government has been so corrupt, and he does not believe it can change at this point. Willy believes in Peru, and loves it for everything it is, but believes that the corruption makes it incredibly difficult for the country to develop further.

Overall the hour-long ride was very eye-opening for me. It was a great experience being able to learn so much from someone who could offer an authentic perspective. At the same time, I was able to grow my confidence in my ability to speak Spanish, and learned a few new words along the way.

Peruvian Protests: Agriculture and (No?) Gender Equality

One thing that really took me aback was how frequent protesting occurred in the Plaza de Armas and the area surrounding. There were two particular protests I had the chance to observe, and both demonstrated to me the importance of peacefully fighting for what they believe in in Peru.

The first protest we encountered was on our walk to Ollantaytambo. It was a peaceful collection of probably 100 locals who seemed to be protesting agricultural corporation work near the ruins. Falconi explained to me that people will protest all over the world, and Peru is no exception, for people strongly believe in both the sacred nature of Inca ruins, and the possible destruction of culture and human rights as the rise of corporate agriculture grows. Other prominent topics are labor rights throughout the South. This particular protest seemed to be about agriculture in the South around ruins. The protesters were all wearing traditional clothing, and seemed to be mainly above the age of 40, an organized group of adults. It was clear that this was an organized well-thought out protest, because they had a well-printed banner, and a collection of predetermined chants. The men and women directly following the banner seemed to be the leaders, though it was unclear if an organization was supporting this protest or if a community organizer had headed it. They walked from the outside of the city of Ollantaytambo into the city center. This was particularly interesting to me because we could still hear their chants while standing on top of the Inca terraced ruins- an otherworldly experience of being in the ancient world but hearing all of the frustrations of people in the modern world. As we looked around the top of the ruins into the valleys surrounding, you could see the modernization process taking place and the agriculture and farms creeping closer to the ruins.

The other memorable protest was in our last day in Cusco. I was walking in the Plaza de Armas and noticed a huge conglomeration of people standing on the steps of the cathedral, in a sea of the colors pink and blue. I walked closer and sat down on the benches in the Plaza facing the cathedral so I could observe the event, whatever it seemed to be at the time. I realized quickly that the group of hundreds of people were all adults, again probably over the age of 40 or 50. The women were dressed in traditional clothing with pink accents, often pink hats or holding pink banners. The men were also dressed in traditional clothing, but with blue accents. The signs they held said things like: enfoque de género (crossed out)/enfoque de familia (bolded); congreso: saquen la ideología de genéro en Perú; aqui estoy para defender mi familia: NO a los poderes supranacionales con agenda globalista de ANTIFAMILIA; ideología de género NO va! El gobierno quiere homosexualizar nuestros niños; firmes y adelante #conmishijosnotemetas; and gobierno no puede imponer ideología. All of these signs made clear the protest regarded teaching gender education in schools in Peru, and that these parents’ opinions were that it detracted from family values and that kids should never be forced to learn about gender. Some stronger opinions were that by teaching these things in school, their children would become homosexuals. This was another very well-organized protest, with security in place, and a walkway leading to the cathedral in the Plaza where thousands of international tourists would see them each day and the government’s attention on such a large plaza. It seemed like a great way to voice their concerns, while ensuring that they are doing it in a place that will likely get attention. I did love to see that no matter the opinions being voiced, there did not seem to be any violence or fights in any of the protests we encountered in Peru.

Beach Day in Lima

Ah, finally in Lima. I'd been looking forward to traveling to Lima for the entirety of our trip in Peru because I knew it was on the coast, and I love coastal cities. As a native of a very landlocked state, I love the opportunity to visit the ocean and take in its presence. As soon as I heard that we had a free day today, I knew that I wanted to spend it at the beach. 

As I was prepping my beach day bag, I asked my friend if we should bring our laptops in case we wanted to do some work. She said she didn't want to risk getting sand in them, so we left them at the hotel. Then we got out google maps and were on our way– only an 11 minute walk. But when we reach our "destination", we were standing on a very high cliff and the ocean was far below us. We were at the beach, but not on the beach. It was beautiful, but... inaccessible. After concluding that there was no safe way to get down there on foot, we called an Uber to take us the rest of the way. 

Upon arriving, the beach was beautiful… but it wasn’t what we were expecting. For starters, we were the only people there– at least in our area. Secondly, there wasn’t any sand– only rocks– so I guess we could have brought our laptops after all. After walking a little further down the coastline, we found some surfers who were enjoying the water. But it still wasn’t anything close to the American-like beaches we were expecting. Still, we laid our towels on the smoothest rocks we could find and took in the sun and the ocean breeze. 

In retrospect, we probably could have found a sandy, slightly more populated area of the beach if we knew where we were going and what we were doing. But that’s part of the fun of traveling and exploring a city on your own. You use what you know and make-do with what you have. But if I were to return, I’d ask a local (Hint: Falconi) how to best enjoy my beach day experience.