Ticos are everywhere in Arequipa - but for how long?

There are officially more that 10,000 Ticos in Arequipa city, but according to one driver I spoke to there are maybe 16,000.

It sounds like an incredible number, but Arequipa is a large city and many people use the cheap taxis instead of having their own car. Everywhere you go you can see and hear the Ticos.

Ticos are small cars made by Daewoo in Korea. They were particularly popular in Peru as they were cheap to buy and run, as well as small and efficient, which is great for a city like Arequipa with many old, narrow streets.

Ticos with their company names on top!

Most of the Ticos you can see in Arequipa are working as taxis and are often painted yellow to identify that they are taxis. As you can see in these photos, they usually have big signs on top with their company name and lots of red and white tape!

Many Ticos have been customised by their drivers with stickers, slogans or even modifications to the bodywork to make them more cool!

But times are changing in Peru, more people have their own car and people expect better and safer cars. Many of these Ticos are quite old, and driving up and down the streets of Arequipa has shaken them to bits! So these old Ticos are gradually being replaced with other models like the Daewoo Matiz and other larger saloon cars.

Newer cars are replacing the Ticos.

Although newer and more comfortable models are replacing the Ticos, the Taxis will still have lots of character with the drivers customising them with stickers, sirens and installing shrines with the ‘Taxi drivers prayer’ on the dashboards!

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Tico

Guinea Pigs, traditionally called Cuy in Peru, are a traditional food.

Yes, people do eat guinea pigs in Peru. For thousands of years people have eaten Cuy as they are called in the native language.

Cuy come from the Andes, the moutains that run along the west of South America. They have been domesticated since at least 5000BC.

]]> http://www.anaperuana.com/2010/06/27/do-people-eat-guinea-pigs-in-peru/feed/ 0 http://www.anaperuana.com/2010/06/19/land-invasions-in-peru/ http://www.anaperuana.com/2010/06/19/land-invasions-in-peru/#comments Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:31:57 +0000 Ana http://www.anaperuana.com/?p=2120

First you need to build a ‘House’. It doesn’t need to be a palace!

If you travel around Peru, especially by bus, you will see many little huts in the deserts. It is easy to see that no-one really lives in them, so what are they for? Well the answer is simple – you are looking at a land invasion.

In Peru much of the land between the big cities is empty and belongs to the state.  When you look at it you wouldn’t think that anyone would want to live there because most of it is just desert.

In Peru, the laws allow someone to start living on empty land, to try and farm it for example. When they have been on that land for 10 years they can demand the government begins to supply them with services, like electricity and water.

But Peruvians can build a wall around some land and build a small house just to claim the land, knowing that if they wait they can eventually get water and electricity and start to build a new village and irrigate the land. Once this process starts the land starts to become valuable.

Land invasions - how to get your own piece of Peru!

Some of these land invasions are very well organised, with the houses laid out in a grid patter, with streets and some even have signs telling you the name of the new town!

So now you know when you see them, that these little boxes in the dessert will one day be farms and villages.

Statue of bulls fighting in Cayma district of Arequipa in Peru

Being an ex Spanish colony means that Peru has many traditions that come from Spanish culture. Bullfighting is one of them, but in Arequipa it is with a difference.

In Arequipa the tradition of bullfighting has been adapted so that two bulls fight each other, so it is more like bull wrestling.

Arequipa is surrounded by rich farmland and this became a popular event for country people and those from the town too.

The fight has many people placing bets on the outcome and cheering their favourite. It is popular enough to be broadcast on local TV channels.

The rules are simple the bull that runs away loses. The bulls lock horns, snort and push as hard as they can, twisting and trying to push the other aside. Eventually one will either become tired or give up and the other will chase him away.

The bulls are treated with care because they are not killed like in Spanish bullfights – instead they win trophies and become champions and are treated well by their owners. If the fight becomes too aggressive the bulls are separated before they really hurt each other. If the bull that wins keeps trying to attack the bull that is running away they have to lasso him and pull him away to end the fight.

The bulls can be very aggressive animals, a fighting bull with many trophies decided one day to attack a horse on my uncle’s farm. When he tried to stop the bull it attacked him too! The horse sadly did not survive. This is normal behaviour for bulls, it is in their nature to fight…  you can see sometimes in a field they will just decide they don’t like the look of another bull and start a fight – these bulls can be selected for fights because they are naturally aggressive.

But also sometimes, the bulls when they come together just decide not to fight – and nothing that the farmers can do will make them fight! I have sometimes seen this on television.

In Arequipa, there are sometimes fights with matadors, but the bulls are not killed.

Here is a bullfight in Arequipa:

And another – no so good quality:

Here is a fight from Urabamba, Peru:

Cusco - Capital of the Inca Empire

Once the heart of the Inca Empire, at the centre of their universe they considered it ‘the navel of the world’. Cusco is an important stopping point on any journey to Machu Picchu, but it is worth some time to explore too if you visit.

Cusco (also spelled Cuzco) is a city located in Southern Peru in the Andes at 3,000 m (11,000 ft). It was considered to be at the very heart of the Inca’s world, where the four provinces of their empire met. After the arrival of the Spanish in 1533 the Inca empire fell apart and this great city of the Incas was gradually covered in colonial buildings, many of them built on the foundations of the Inca buildings and temples.

In 1950 a major earthquake hit Cusco, and damaged many buildings. Interestingly the Inca’s stonework, long believed lost was revealed in many places as plaster fell away. The Incas extraordinary skill with stone meant that their buildings were stronger, often with no stright lines that are weak in an earthquake and so they remained.

It was decided that many of the buildings would be kept with the old Inca stonework on view and in many streets you can see the strange combination of Inca stones and Spanish Colonial buildings merged together.

There are also many ruins nearby that are worth visiting, such as Pisac and Sacsayhuamán, where you will be impressed by the huge stone walls built by the Incas and their predecessors.

From Cusco to Machu Picchu

Of course, many people visit Cusco as part of a journey to Machu Picchu. You cannot travel directly to Machu Picchu from Lima or even Cusco, but from Cusco you can take the train to the village of Aguas Calientes (meaning ‘Hot Waters’ due to some hot springs there which can be visited). Then from Aguas Calientes you can get a bus to the tourist entrance for Machu Picchu. The train journey is about 3 ½ hours, travelling up over the hills outside Cusco then down the Urubamba river (Machu Picchu is at 2,400 m or 8,000 ft. – so is lower than Cusco).

If you have not organised a specific trip do not worry, many people will sell your trips to Machu Picchu or other sights, select carefully and ask for ID if you are not sure. Your hotel may be able to recommend someone. I have used a service through the hotel I stayed in and we got our tickets for the train, a hotel in Aguas Calientes and entry into Machu Picchu for a good price.

Travel to Cusco, Peru. Some helpful travel tips

Cusco can be reached by road or air from most major cities in Peru. If you are travelling from outside of Peru you will most likely need to fly to Lima and then get a connecting flight to Cusco. However many international flights to Peru arrive in Lima too late to travel onwards to other cities by plane or by bus. So you expect and plan to spend a night in a hotel in Lima before starting your journey to Cusco.

The bus journeys are very long and often involve sleeping on the bus. They are very affordable and saves a night in a hotel or hotel. A good choice for back packers who want to see the land close up.  See ‘Bus Travel in Peru‘ for more details about the bus services.

I recommend selecting companies with modern and well maintained buses, such as Cruz del Sur who also have comfortable reclining chairs to sleep in.

Bus from Lima to Cusco:
Cruz del Sur – operate two services each day. Journey times are about 21 hours (travelling overnight). Have an excellent 1st class section.
Ormeño – from Lima via Arequipa or Ayacucho – 22 or 24 hours respectively. (No online booking when I checked)

Bus from Arequipa to Cusco:
Cruz del Sur – at least one departure daily. Journey time is around 10 hours.

Flights to Cusco are more expensive but very quick and can show you some amazing views of the snow capped Andes and the deep valleys around Cusco. Be warned the journey from the coastal climate of Lima to the high altitudes of Cusco is so fast that your body may struggle at first to cope with the thinner air. Altitude sickness can affect tourists, although many just find they are breathless when walking. When you step out of the pressurised airplane you will notice almost immediately. Just do as the locals do and try the Coca Tea to ease your symptoms.

Flights from Lima to Cusco:
LAN Peru – several flights each day to and from Cusco, flights from Lima are approx 1 hour 15 minutes.
Star Peru – two flights each day from Lima to Cusco. Flight time is also 1 hour 15 minutes.

Flights from Arequipa to Cusco:
LAN Peru – You will need to change at Lima, which makes a combined flight of about 3 hours 30 minutes.

International flights to Cusco from Europe, United States, etc:
All international flights will connect through Lima, then onto Cusco with LAN Peru or Star Peru.

Flights from La Paz, Bolivia to Cusco:
AeroSur – From La Paz there is a 55 minute flight to Cusco. It is possible to fly AeroSur from Madrid to Cusco via La Paz.

Links:
LAN Peru airline – www.lan.com
Star Peru airline – www.starperu.com
AeroSur, Bolivian airline - www.aerosur.com
Cruz del Sur, Bus company – www.cruzdelsur.com.pe
Grupo Ormeño, Bus company – www.grupo-ormeno.com.pe
Peru Rail, trains from Cusco to Machu Picchu – www.perurail.com

Colonnades in the Plaze de Armas, Arequipa, Peru

Arequipa is where I was born. A city located in Southern Peru, with a population of almost a million people. Its cathedral and many of its buildings are built from Sillar, the local volcanic rock. This is why Arequipa is known as Cuidad Blanca – the White City.

It’s very easy to get to by plane or by road. You can fly from Lima to Arequipa in 1 hour 35 minutes. LAN Peru offers seven to eight flights a day. There are also many bus companies that travel from Lima to Arequipa which takes about 16 hours, usually overnight. Travelling bus bus is quite comfortable and cheap too. Cruz del Sur and Orltursa have a safe and confortable service.  Read: Bus Travel in Peru >>

The climate is  dry and sunny almost all year long with the exception of the summer months, from January to March that is the rainy season, but after the rain there is plenty of sunshine. The temperatures are very mild,  generally between 10 and 25 C. In the winter it can be a bit chilly in the mornings.

Arequipa is called the White City because of the traditional buildings made with volcanic rock, the architecture is very interesting. In the historical centre thare are many buildings of the colonial era all made in volcanic rock and they are a mixture of  European and native building techniques.

The Monastery of Santa Catalina it’s very interesting and peaceful, it was built in in 1580 and it has an area of 20 000 square meters. It is like a walled village with its own streets where once women who became Nuns entered and remained inside – but life was not so bad, only the wealthiest women were accepted and they had a very comfortable life with servants looking after them. For the visitor today, it is a fascinating place with many attractive features to photograph.

Outside Arequipa, but still in the Arequipa region the main tourist attraction is the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world, it takes 4 hours by car and there are many travel agencies that arrange mini tours according what the tourist want, some people want to do some trekking and another people just want to admire the canyon with the condors flying around.

There is another canyon called Cotahuasi that some people say is the deepest in the world , it’s a long way from Arequipa City but the views are very interesting for the most adventurous people.

Night life in Arequipa is very lively there are lost of bars and night clubs not far from the mainsquare, many tourists go there.

Links:
http://www.santacatalina.org.pe/

Holy Week is one of the religious dates venerated in Peru with great devotion there are processions, carpets of flowers, the aroma of incense, sorrowful hearts, slow pacing, grief-stricken by the death of Jesus, temples with candles welcoming devotees begging pardon for their sins. Just a few of the demonstrations of their faith.

Food is an important part of Easter, especially on Friday where eating meat is not allowed but people instead eat fish in a variety of preparations, my favourite used to be the typical Chupe de Viernes (Friday Soup) made with Crayfish, cheese, milk, potatoes and vegetables. People eat as well variety of desserts like Mazamorra Morada (Jelly made from starch and fruits and colured with purple corn) or rice pudding. On sunday it’s typical to eat in Arequipa the “caldo blanco or seven meats soup” made with beef, lamb, chicken, pork, charqui (dried meat), goats and potatoes and vegetables to celebrate that Jesus is alive again.

Very early on sunday morning the morning in my local square and in many parts across my city a puppet of Judas is burnt and he always makes a will that is usually very funny.

A Wong supermarket at Ovalo Gutierrez, Miraflores district of Lima, Peru

In Peru we have many companies that are based in a large town and do not have branches all over the country. Unlike the UK where you can find the same shops in most of the larger towns and cities, Peruvian towns and cities still have a lot of individual character. There are a few chains stores in Peru which I can tell you about.

One chain of supermarkets is called Wong, founded in 1942 by Chinese Peruvians (there are many Peruvians whose ancesters went to Peru 100 years ago). They started business in the San Isidro district of Lima which is one of the more wealthy areas and the second store is the one in the image above in the nearby district of Miraflores. There are now 14 Wong stores in Lima, which are very smart inside with all the staff wearing nice uniforms and helping you with your packing and even taking things to your car. They have a strong focus on customer service and make the customer feel important.

Wong also own another supermarket chain called Metro, which is cheaper and where you have to pack your own bags! There are now 17 Metro supermarkets in Lima.

The main competition for the Wong supermarkets is a company called ‘Supermercados Peruanos’, who own Plaza Vea and Vivanda supermarkets, a total of 52 stores across Peru. Compared to the Vivanda is more like Sainsburys while Plaza Vea is more like Asda. One difference someone from the UK would notice is that there are even long racks of car tyres in Plaza Vea – unlike Adsa – or even Aldi!

Another company you may not have heard of is Topitop. They are a clothing company started in 1983, that have stores in Peru, Colombia and Venezuala. They sell clothes for men, women and children, which they also make in their factories in Peru. Topitop also manufacture for other companies with export being a large part of their business.

Saga Falabella store in the Cayma district of Arequipa

Saga Falabella is a department store, maybe the best comparison in the UK is John Lewis or Debenhams. They have everything from clothes to washing machines to kitchen ware. They originally began in 1953 as the Peruvian division of the US company Sears, as Sears Roebuck del Perú S. A. and was later renamed as SAGA. During the economic problems of the 1980′s Sears pulled out and 10 years ago a Chilean company bought the company renaming it Saga Falabella. They now have stores in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Colombia.

You will also see Bembos, a Peruvian fast food company selling mainly burgers that started in 1988 and now have 30 outlets all over Lima. Bembos are 100 % quality, McDonalds or Burguer King are not competition for them.

InkaFarma is a Chilean owned chain of pharmacies that sell medicines, shampoos, nappies and things like hair dyes a bit like Boots. InkaFarma also have telephone ordering with delivery men that go out on scooters to peoples homes. They have expanded very rapidly in the last few years and you will see them everywhere. Other chains are Boticas Fasa and the Peruvian owned (still) Boticas Arcángel which is also all over Peru.

There are small chain stores in some cities,  for example in my city there are two El Super (small supermarket, like the Co-Op) one in the city center and in another in Cayma district near my house or Artika Ice creams with three stores in Arequipa or Pollos a la Brasa El Pollo Real (Roasted Chicken with fries) that have at least three restaurants in Arequipa.

One very good example is  small Chain Store Estilos that you just find in Arequipa, they sell the same stuff like in Saga Falabella, they have three shops in Arequipa and they are still in business because their customers are very loyal to them because they are a local company. And there are many examples like that in Arequipa.

Some links for you to explore (open in a new window):

www.ewong.com
www.vivanda.com.pe
www.plazavea.com.pe 
www.topitop.com.pe 
www.sagafalabella.com.pe 
www.bembos.com.pe 
www.inkafarma.com.pe 
www.boticasfasa.com.pe 
www.boticasarcangel.com

Dancers performing the Marinera Arequipena

There are many typical dances from Peru and they have indigenous, hispanic and african origin. Typical dances are danced in school, Independence day and in many another occasions.

One of the most typical one is the “Marinera” that is very popular in the North of Peru, the woman wears a long dress that I imagine has its origins on spanish flamenco dresses and she dances without shoes, she wears traditional hand made earrings. the man wears a suit and a kind of big belt in his waist. The marinera represents flirting between them and it’s a bit difficult to dance, kids learn to dance from a very early age.

Marinera Arequipena - many areas of Peru have a variation of the Marinera

There are another dances very simialr to marinera like Tondero or another kind of Marineras from another parts from Peru.

The Huayno is a dance from the mountains from Peru, the origin of this dance is from Inca and Pre Inca time and the costumes are very colourful.

The Huaylash is another dance from the mountains from Peru, the costumes are very colourful, it looks a bit like a funny tap dance and it’s a representation of agricultural tasks.

The Diablada is a typical dance from the Southern Part of Peru, it started like a representation of the evil and the good spirits during colonial times and then developed into a colourful dance with costumes with evil heads.

There are many Afro Peruvian dances, called “negroides” , that began in Colonial times when the Spanish brought slaves to South America. A wooden box with deep sound when hit is the rhythm instrument for this type of music with guitars and another instruments for melody.

There are many more dances like some from the Amazon Region of Peru and I could say that every city has a different dance. Dances are taught everywhere and they are still very alive in the culture of Peru.

Peruvian Style hats on sale in the street in Southampton

I have noticed many people this year wearing traditional style Peruvian hats. In Peru we call the hats  ‘Chullos’, pronounced like ‘Chul-Yoes’.

In Peru they are often very colourful, as traditionally people living in the Andes liked to have bright and cheerful colours in their clothes. People in the UK prefer more subtle colours and these hats are in darker and plainer colours but are still very like the Peruvian hat you would see in the mountains.

Of course in Peru we have woollen hats mainly made from alpaca wool, which is still produced in the traditional way with heard of alpaca in the mountains. The wool is then dyed and knitted with patterns like llamas, flowers and traitional patterns. You can buy these in the markets for a good price (even the ‘tourist price’ is good value). Hand made hats and gloves are common but they also make them with machines too. You can tell by how fine the knitting is. If you go to Peru alpaca hats, gloves, scarves or even a poncho make great affordable gifts - they are very warm! I bought some gloves for people here in the UK last time I went to Peru and they were pleased to have them for the winter. Also you will be supporting the local people and economy, which does not always benefit from the big hotel and tour companies.