Queso helado? That’s cheese ice cream! Well, I never.
Wherein does my cheeselove come from? In the U.S. we practically worship amber waves of cheddar and mozzarella mountain majesties, so there’s that patriotic peer pressure. And, although I’ve lived for 15 years in San Francisco, veganism — locally, one…
Something about this city doesn’t click
Who’s to decide when a city has really pulled together, gathering at least a few of its cultural tendrils into a civic identity that can cause visitors to feel connected to something vital and foreverafter refer to it as unforgettable?…
A plaza for people watching and conspiracy plotting
You don’t promenade in Arequipa, Peru’s Plaza de Armas. Not exactly. People wander about the main square, drifting from one group to another. They catch up with friends, kvetch about the cost of corn, plan vast conspiracies — it’s hard…
Jarred hearts, dead nuns, and a spring bride: Arequipa’s Santa Catalina Convent
I’d been led to believe that a visit to Monasterio de Santa Catalina (Santa Catalina Monastery) in Arequipa, Peru would be a serene, beautiful experience. Sure, sure. Except for the presence of death everywhere. Other than that, yeah, total bliss.
Peru’s finest petting zoo. No…wait.
There’s more to getting lunch at Arequipa, Peru‘s largest market than just showing up and finding the most popular and promising food stall. You really need to be careful which route you take through the market’s many aisles. What you…
Today adobo, tomorrow the world: The best adobo in Arequipa, Peru
A town in which the traditional Sunday brunch is a bowl of spicy pork stew is a town I can get with. I just hope that the adobo in Arequipa, Peru is actually good. I don’t want to get with…
Jesuits and Catholics have their day
There are two things to do on a Sunday in Arequipa, Peru. One is to soothe your hangover with a bowl of adobo arequipeño, a spicy pork stew. The other is to go to church. So I do as the…
Sh*t just got real…istic in Arequipa, Peru
Nothing like wandering the streets of a new-to-me city and seeing this: This nightmare isn’t some Pan’s Labyrinth be-hoofed creature come to haunt the streets of Arequipa, Peru. It’s Peruvian folklore, rendered large and hyper-realistic.
Eating guinea pig: A pet at home, dinner in Peru
An old saying begins, “If you love somebody, let them go.” If you’re traveling to Peru and you’ve had a guinea pig as a pet, a more fitting expression may be, “If you’ve loved something, put it in your belly.”
Missed opportunity at El Misti volcano
I’ve always wanted to hike a volcano. There’s no source for this desire of mine that I know of — no suppressed trigger from my childhood, no daredevilish dream needing realizing, no genetic memory of mountaineering in my family tree….
