Takin it in....

Well its our 2nd of 5 weeks in peru and its about 7 weeks since we left Los Angeles. So far we have managed to use everything we bought with us (except the rain covers for our packs.. but thats a good thing). Our Spanish has improved being in Peru, we got lazy in Costa Rica because everytime we spoke in spanish people would respond in English... not helpful! We definately have the basics down and finally decoded the Peruvian menu last night with help of the dictionary and guide book.. although that does not guarantee you will get what you expect.. People that have studied English speak it really well, a lot of people in the tourist industry speak a small amount.. there have been a few communication breakdowns when my bad spanish meets a peruvians bad english.. but we usually hack our way thru and come to some sort of understanding (i think). It was good to know that Australia has left its cultural mark on Peru.. a couple of local surfers on finding out I was Australian gave me a hearty "aussie aussie aussie, oi oi oi" and "bloody wanker".. glad we could contribute ... out in the water the local surfers are generally friendly although my Spanish is limited to "how long have you been surfing".. "do you surf much".. "i wish there were more waves".. the beaches are nice but not as nice as Costa Rica where we were greated daily by postcard perfect beaches..
The people in general are friendly, though we often get stares in the bigger costal towns as we are the only tourists around normally.. and I think they are wondering what we are doing in town as its the low season right now.
The food for the most part is really good, breakfast is cheap and pretty much the same as Guatemala and Costa Rica (eggs, toast, coffee, fresh fruit drink).. the coffee varies widely, but we usually find a place with espresso.. yes we are from Seattle and quite the coffee snobs.. just cant stomach instant... milk here comes in a can, I am not sure I have seen fresh milk in the super markets either. We have been lucky and found a few Vegetarian resturants that have been just divine.. but we have not had much traditional peruvian food.. Ceviche is pickled or cured fish/seafood, sounds a bit dodgy to me.. and they eat Guinea pig and lots of meat.. we did break down and have Pizza Hut in Lima after our movie.. as the cheese here is not regular "cheddar".. The beers are generally Pilsen, quite cheap by the bottle and the local licour is Pisco which is quite revolting..
Getting around we usually take overnight buses for the long distances (8hrs), its not very fun arriving in a new town at 5am.. combi vans for shorter rides.. taxis and tuk tuks round town.. no meters so you have to haggle with the taxi drivers.. buses are very comfortable in the bus-cama used on longer rides. Although we have a few rather long travel days in the not to distant future..
The archeology here is really well preserved by the dry desert environment.. we have been doing a bit of a chronological tour of the Pre-Incan ruins as we head up the coast.. And in general the Museums are really good too.. we usually get an English speaking guide and are the only 2 on the tour so can ask lots of questions without looking like dorks. The Peruvians are just now starting to take a real interest in their Pre-Incan history and a lot of the sites are still covered and in need of escavation.. I am currently reading Conquest of the Incas and the early Spanaird conquestors visited (looted) a lot of the sites we are visiting which is really cool.
-bonza..