A weekend of eating and camping

Last weekend was an adventure filled journey from the pacific coast in Lima to the hills in a nearby village. First I went to Mistura, a giant food festival in Lima, located right on the water with some fellow volunteers to check out the delicious food vendors from all over Peru. The festival was extremely well organized and filled with opportunities to try free samples of food delicacies such as chocolate, olives, honey, nuts and fruits from around the country. The festival was also divided into the different areas of Peru, so you could buy dishes from the Amazon rainforest, Northern Peru and the Andes for example. We ate an incredible dish from the rainforest which included fish, mushrooms, cashews and onions with coconut rice- que rico! We also ate anticucho- beef heart (it was a little too meaty for me!), a delicious tamale and picarones (donuts) made with Quinoa flour. I wish that I had had room in my stomach for more!

After returning to Huaycan that evening, we set out for for our camping adventure. We went to a camp site that some friends had been to before that was a couple hours from here but definitely off the beaten track (there were a lot of potholes on the road up the mountain!) After crossing a rickety bridge over a rushing river, we found ourselves in a valley, alone with just the horse grazing nearby and...electricity?! It ended up being pretty easy camping because there was a light and bathroom. We then made a campfire, roasted marshmallows and made Peruvian adapted S'mores. Most of the night was spent dancing around the campfire instead of sleeping...so the next morning was a tough one! It was really nice to be in such a rural, natural and peaceful setting and escape the dust of Huaycan.