Smoking volcanoes. White sand beaches. Untouched beauty. Exceptionally friendly people. Welcome to Nicaragua my friend, enjoy your stay. This is a beautiful country, with few tourists and heaps of culture. Oh and don’t forget the beer and rum, they definitely aren’t bad either.

One would be forgiven for having second thoughts at the Peñas Blancas border crossing from Costa Rica into Nicaragua. Hot, crowded and filled with all manner of people hassling you to buy immigration forms and exchange your leftover Costa Rican Colones, it is a harrowing experience. But a cool head and patience usually wins through in these situations.

But I am getting ahead myself. Our visit to Central America started in Costa Rica. An eye-wateringly beautiful country that both frustrated and surprised us. Expensive and lacking the heaps of culture we had become accustomed to in Peru, it was definitely something we struggled to come to terms with. The beautiful beaches, wildlife and amazing scenery did however redeem it to some extent. We just struggled to stomach the high prices of food and accommodation in return for the value we received. That being said, Costa Rica is considered the rich American’s playground and has definitely benefited from tourism in a big way. So after spending 10 days with Margarét’s family in thermal baths, on the beach, in cloudforest and in the mountains we hightailed it out of there and headed north to Costa Rica’s poorest neighbour and second poorest country in the western hemisphere after Haiti – Nicaragua.

Time for a quick history lesson. Nicaragua was inhabited by the Nahuatl peoples up until 1522 when the Spanish Conquistadors arrived. The Spanish, as was their custom of the time, destroyed as much culture as possible and in return brought Christianity, smallpox and European influences to this part of the world. The country only won independence back from Spain 300 hundred years later and it’s politics since then was dominated by the Liberals in the north and the Conservatives in the south. Nicaragua’s most valuable asset was its location. Up until the completion of the Panama canal, it was the quickest route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This meant that control over the region was very important to both the US and the British. The 20th century was probably it’s most tumultuous time. The country was ruled by the dictatorial Samoza family for 50 years and went from the wealthiest country in Central America during the 1960s to the poorest. When regime change finally came around in 1979, Nicaragua began to receive aid from China and the USSR which led to the US suspending its own aid to the country. A US-backed guerrilla war waged through the country for 9 years before a treaty was signed to end it. Today, Nicaragua is considered the second poorest country in the Americas after Haiti. It is also under the control of what is turning out to be another despot. Estimated to be worth roughly $400 million, President Daniel Ortega is busy filling his pockets while the gap between the rich and the poor increases.

Enough with the bad stuff though. As poor as Nicaragua is, it does have a lot to offer the traveller. Surprisingly, it is one of the safest countries in Central America. We hopped on a chicken bus after the border jump, to Rivas. A chicken bus is the cornerstone of Central American public transport and Nicaragua is no exception. Painted in wild and sometimes amazing colours, these American school busses are so named for their cargos on the roof. Chickens, fruit, vegetables. You name it, the bus will transport it. Need to move house? Just load your bed, wardrobe and dining room table on the roof and you’re off to your next villa on the beach. Passengers with large luggage get stuffed into the back of the bus through the door at the back. Our first bus was packed to the rafters. Margarét had to sit on an ice-cream seller’s stand and I think I accidentally squashed somebody’s sack of gigantic papayas.

We hopped off the bus halfway to Rivas as we wanted to catch a connecting bus to the beach village of San Juan del Sur. After waiting for 2 hours on the side of the road in the blazing heat and having broken Spanish conversations with a granny, who was waiting with us, we were on our second bus – flying through the green countryside toward the sea.

San Juan del Sur is a tiny fishing village with the most stunning beaches. Famous as a two-time location for the TV show Survivor, it is arguably Nicaragua’s most popular tourist destination. For me, it was a great way to cool off the wallet after Costa Rica and sit on the beach with a glass of Nicaragua’s finest rum (our favourite being Flor de Caña) or a Piña Colada – made with fresh coconut and pineapple – while admiring spectacular sunsets. The town itself has an “okay” beach but the best beaches only require a short and rather bumpy trip both up and down the coast. We took a short drive in a local taxi up to Playa Maderas, which is a famous surf spot for beginner surfers. A short walk away from the main beach there are tiny inlets with smaller beaches which are perfect places to escape other people and just relax under a tree. We weren’t here to surf, just to relax, swim and photograph the sunset. If I ever return to this part of Nicaragua I would rather stay near Playa Maderas than in San Juan del Sur, it is smaller and the beaches are better. There are however, less restaurants and shops which may not suit every traveller’s taste.

We could have stayed at the beach for the rest of our time in Nicaragua if we weren’t so itchy to see more of the country, so we caught a chicken bus out of San Juan del Sur to Rivas and on to Lake Nicaragua. Formed from two stratovolcanoes, the lake island Ometepe has been one of the highlights of our trip. Nicaragua is not very developed – Ometepe Island in particular. It boasts one very sleepy and a second rather active volcano. It is for all intents and purposes, a tropical island, just not in the sea. This is a fantastic place to do more of the Nicaraguan thing: sit back, relax and watch the sunset with howler monkeys setting off their throaty roars in the background and the odd flock of madly squawking parrots passing by. The island is untouched, unspoilt, and filled with nooks and crannies that could swallow weeks let alone days of your travel time. We stayed at the fantastic Finca Mystica, a guesthouse run by an American couple situated on the southern side of the island under the smaller of the two volcanoes, Volcan Maderas. Across the isthmus of the island runs an invisible line that divides the flora. Volcan Concepción and the north is drier and the slopes of the volcano are covered in dry forest. Volcan Maderas and the south are wetter and the volcano boasts some primary cloudforest. The fact that it is visually different from north to south makes the island great for trekking and exploring. The lake is also famous for its sharks, once thought to have been a unique freshwater species. Further research found out they were actually Bull Sharks which had navigated the San Juan Rio from the Caribbean into the lake. Sadly, the sharks are all but extinct having been fished out under the Samoza regime and their fins sold to the Chinese.

The biggest drawcard to the southern part of the island is it’s sheer peace and quiet. This is helped by some diabolical roads which force car and bus drivers to drive very slowly. Literally every few kilometers is a tyre repair shop and it took us nearly an hour and a half to drive in our 4×4 taxi the 20 kilometers from Moyogalpa to our guesthouse – of which half of the way is paved!

Sadly, we had to eventually leave Finca Mystica, their fantastic food, and Ometepe Island, as our time was running out in Nicaragua and we still wanted to see the two colonial cities of Granada and Léon. There are two ways you both “get-to” and leave the island: the big ferry and the little ferry. We were lucky enough to get the big ferry to the island but not so lucky to find a small ferry at the dock on the day we left. The vessel looked like it had been built – how should I put this – a long time ago and somewhat resembled an ancient wooden tugboat. It was about 50 feet long and had a passenger deck at the bottom and a bridge and lookout deck above. It was also packed full of people, including baskets of live chickens and a motorbike on the top deck. Safety features, such as life jackets, were not in abundance. Fortunately, it is made of wood so should something catastrophic happen, all you need to do is pick your plank and hang on until the cavalry arrives. The ferry pulled out of the dock in a puff of a black smoke. It also had a rather bad port side list. The water was flat and calm and the cloud-covered Volcan Concepción shrank into the distance. Once out of the wind shadow of the island, the water started to become more choppy and eventually we were rolling about in rather rough swells. There were a couple of panicky moments where we had to hang on quite tightly, but after an hour and a half we pulled into port safe and sound.

We shared a taxi with some Spanish tourists to get to Granada. Nicaragua is a tiny country and getting around is fairly quick and easy. Taxis will take you just about anywhere and within an hour of leaving the ferry in San Jorge, we were in the old colonial town. The first thing that strikes you about this place is how brightly coloured the buildings are. Sitting on the banks of Lake Nicaragua, Granada was an important port during Spain’s colonisation. For this very reason it was attacked numerous times by French, Dutch and English pirates trying to take control of the port city and ultimately Nicaragua.

Today, Granada is the home of the conservatives – one of the leading political parties in Nicaragua. It is also considered the main tourist hub and the city is undergoing somewhat of an upgrade. Freshly painted, colonial buildings line the streets and the stunning cathedral on the main square looks as though it was built yesterday. For us, we enjoyed walking around the city while taking photos. The people here are very friendly and quite often eager to have their photo taken. A visit to the market early in the morning copped quite a few stares but they quickly turned into smiles. If you have never been to a Central American market, then Granada’s is a great introduction. It is a hive of activity from sunrise to sunset and you can pretty much buy anything. It is also great to take advantage of the fantastic and cheap fresh fruit if you have a kitchen in your guesthouse.

Overall, I loved the laid back feeling of Granada. You aren’t pestered by beggars nor accosted by tour operators and just about everybody is friendly. That being said, you still know you are in a third world city due to the amount of litter lying in the street and the dirty water trickling down the gutters toward the lake. This didn’t detract from the place in any way, in fact it is a small, yet important reminder of the bigger problems this country faces.

After extending our stay in Granada for one more night – so that we could do a chocolate making course (more on this in another post) – we hopped on a bus to Léon, the intellectual capital of Nicaragua. There aren’t any direct busses from Granada to Léon so we had to go through the big, bad capital Managua. We were only in Managua for ten minutes while we switched busses but it wasn’t nearly as scary as all the internet forums and rumours make it out to be. The only bad thing I could say about those few minutes there, was that there were piles of rubbish lying on the side of the road and the traffic is a nightmare.

The shuttle bus to Léon takes roughly an hour and a half and passes giant, smoking volcanoes and the grey Lake Managua. Léon is situated within close proximity of a number of active volcanoes. Some of which are huge. Our first impression of Léon was that it was a bigger, hotter, more unkempt version of exquisite Granada. There are also fewer and lower quality accommodation options. Léon does however, have much more impressive activities and attractions in the surrounding countryside. The most popular of them is volcano boarding down the Cerro Negro. Cerro Negro means Black Hill in Spanish and it is a very young volcano. The black cinder cone sprouted out of farmer’s fields in 1850 and has been erupting regularly ever since. As active and dangerous as it is, groups of tourists are regularly taken to slopes of this volcano to slide at high speed down the sides – the most recent speed record being 85 km/h!

We opted to take the safe route and rather headed to Léon’s nearby Las Peñitas beach. Our hotel was situated in a sleepy village on the banks of an estuary and we spent our last few days in Nicaragua there, doing what we had been doing best: lying in hammocks and drinking Nica Libres. I think our batteries had been completely spent and we just wanted to do nothing.

Our last 2 days in Nicaragua revolved around preparing a plan to get to the airport in Managua. All those rumours and stories on the internet about not travelling through the capital at night didn’t help. Suffice it to say, we reached the airport just after dark, safe and sound, with very little complications or threat of danger along the way – except for some suspect overtaking maneuvers of our shuttle driver.

So how can I sum up Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a really beautiful, well organised country. Our visit however, was marred by the high prices and really bad value we received in return. What makes Costa Rica even more frustrating for a budget traveller is that their neighbour, Nicaragua, to the north is much cheaper, less touristy and just as beautiful albeit at the expense of more convenient tourist amenities. We really enjoyed Nicaragua. It has beautiful beaches. Relatively easy, always interesting transportation options. Tons of culture and some spectacular natural surroundings. But the one thing that makes Nicaragua special for me, is the people. The people have gone through such hell and are still looking for their identity, still trying to claw themselves from the depths of poverty despite their president’s best efforts to make himself as rich as possible at their expense. It’s a poignant reminder that whatever reality we live in, be it peaceful, free, safe or easy, it can be taken away from you at any second. This is the reality Nicaraguans and many other people in the world live with today.

(We will be posting more photos of colourful Nicaragua soon, in another post…)

We had forgotten to bring water with us. The bright midday sun was beating down and dehydration was a real concern, especially at 3200m above sea level. To make matters worse there were no taxis back down from the ruins to the main road which was a 6 kilometer walk according to the taxi driver that took us up. There was no other alternative but to suck it up and start hiking down the tiny, steep path back to the main road. We were visiting the ruins of Tipon outside of Cusco in Peru. Sharing the taxi with us were friends we had made at our hostel – Gary and Renée from Canada. Aside from visiting these fantastic ruins, the area is famous for a small, cute and tasty rodent – the guinea pig or cuy (pronounced koo-ee) as it is called in Peru. Now I know what you might be thinking and yes, a lot of us had them as pets and yes, it is basically a rat without a tail. But if you don’t try it, how will you ever know if you are missing out on a tasty bite-size pet?

So on our march down the hill from Tipon to the main road we remained on the lookout for the telltale broomstick and plastic bag denoting an enterprising housewife’s cuyeria. Suffice it to say and much to my disappointment we had missed the cut off time for lunch and had to march parched and sunburnt almost all the way to the road. The walk was not in vain however, as we struck gold just a short way before the bus stop. Part cuyeria, part baptist church we wondered into the restaurant and enquired about the status of their freshly roasted furry little friends. We were in luck, the woman had both grande and piqueña (big and small) cuys – oven roasted in their wood fired oven. We ordered two grandes and two large cusqueña beers for the four of us. After all, we didn’t know if we would like them and be forced out of courtesy to finish our meal.

It looked like this restaurant was a popular tourist spot as just before the cuys were ready, the chef came out and asked us if we wanted them whole or chopped into pieces. I like to not be able to recognise the animal my food comes from once it’s on my plate, so chopped up was the order for the day.

The cuy came to the table on a platter and was accompanied by rocoto rellena (stuffed peppers), some sort of pasta bake and roast potatoes. The head and feet had been discarded and we were left with the rest. Most people are probably wondering how it tasted. The short answer: like oily, herby roast chicken with a crunchy skin. I can’t say it was the most delicious thing I’ve eaten but it was tasty. The meat was a little too overspiced with the herb – Munya – the closest flavour would be a mix between origanum and mint – which was a little overpowering.

If you ever think of throwing a cuy barbecue, be warned, you are going to need a lot of critters. I would say the “grande” cuy that we received was just enough to feed one person. I am glad we tried it but the way it was prepared and the fact that it costs more than double any other kind of protein in Peru makes it a delicacy which I would not rush back for. Give me the ceviche any day and rather keep the cuys as pets.

Peruvian food is experiencing a renaissance. With such a diverse landscape, Peruvians are spoilt for choice for variety and ubiquity of ingredients. Ancient cooking practices handed down by the Incas combined with influences from Spain make it something different and yet not all too unfamiliar for the traveler. Here is a list of some of our favourites:

Soups

If you ever visit Peru, the first thing you will notice when you peek into a traditional Peruvian restaurant are the diners slurping away at a gigantic bowl of soup. Peruvian soups are varied and delicious. Most are a combination of flavours that can include mint, whole peppercorns, potatoes, yuca, sweet potatoes, rice, maize, fresh coriander and beans served in a rich stock. My favourites are Chupe de Camarones (freshwater shrimp soup), Sopa de Mariscos (seafood soup) and Caldo Blanco – chicken soup a Jewish mama would be proud of. Most Peruvian soups are broths and are generally very light but packed full of flavour. A local restaurant typically serves a two course meal consisting of a soup and a main dish. We loved these meals as they were cheap, tasty and filling.

Ceviche & Tiradito

Although it isn’t unique to Peru and is found widely along the coast of the Americas, ceviche most likely originated here. Made from raw, cubed white fish fillets, fresh coriander leaves, lime juice and sliced onions, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a dish that originated in Japan. Tiradito differs from ceviche in that there are no onions and the fish is cut differently and reflects the influence Japanese immigrants have had on Peru.

The raw fish is cooked by the acids in the lime juice and the best ceviche melts in your mouth. This was a dish I really wanted to try and I was not disappointed. The best ceviche we ate was at Sonia in Lima – a restaurant famous for it’s fresh fish. It was made from a fish called Lenguado which is a type of Sole. Boasting really fresh fish caught in the morning by the owner – who might I add, sits at the entrance to the restaurant mending his nets.

Common ceviche side dishes are sweet potatoes, toasted corn kernels, boiled corn on the cob and our favourite drink Chicha Morada.

A favourite by-product of ceviche is a drink called Leche de Tigre (Milk of the Tiger), made from leftover lime juice, herbs, chillis and onions of the ceviche. It is considered a potent hangover cure and is delicious.

Lomo Saltado & Chifa Food

Peru is crazy about Chinese food or colloquially known as Chifa. Walk the streets of any Peruvian city and you are bound to stumble upon a local restaurant serving up heaps of wok-fried noodles mixed with vegetables, salted beef, shrimps and soy sauce. The best Chifa meal we had was in Lima and consisted of a mountain of noodles, shrimp, salted pork, vegetables and thick soft noodles. Much like everything else in Peru, the portions are often so huge two people can share one.

Lomo Saltado is a Peruvian staple. Strips of meat marinated in soy sauce and vinegar, fresh tomatoes, onions and potato wedges are wok fried and served with fluffy white rice.

Chicharron

Chicharron or deep fried pork is a delicacy enjoyed by all Peruvians. Good chicharron is fatty and soft, bad chicharron is dry and chewy. The best places for chicharron are usually restaurants so full of people that the chef has to stand outside on the street with her boiling cauldrons of oil and mountain of fried pork alongside her. Chicharron is usually served with a red onion and lime salad which cuts through the flavour of the fat. It’s delicious but this kind of food on a daily basis will kill you.

While chicharron usually refers to fried pork, the Peruvians fry just about anything and and seafood is no exception. One of our most memorable meals was in Lima at an outdoor restaurant down an alley. We discovered the restaurant when we got lost on the way to the main city square. It was absolutely packed and in the middle of just about every table was a mountain of deep fried fish, squid, yuca chips and lemon wedges. “We want that”, I motioned to the waitress the moment we sat down. 30 minutes later and we had our own little mountain of fried fish and squid. It was so good I am contemplating my next visit to Lima just to eat it again!

Pollo Asado or Pollo a la Brasa

Although not typically Peruvian, pollo asado or spit roasted chicken is cheap, juicy and probably the most ubiquitous restaurant in any town or city. Our first run in with pollo asado was not in Peru but in San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, and every town and city after had at least one “chicken joint”. The servings of chicken range from generous to simply huge, the largest of which was at a restaurant in Urubamba in the Sacred Valley. We ordered a quarter chicken each and were given a plateful of french fries, a glass each of Leche de Tigre and then a gigantic piece of chicken and more fries. Suffice it to say we took half of the meal home as leftovers and it only cost us US$4 each.

Rocoto Rellena

Another Peruvian speciality, Rocoto Rellena are rocoto peppers (super spicy, large chillis) stuffed with meat, rice and covered in cheese. They are normally served as a side dish.

Secco de Cordero & other stews

Our first Peruvian meal we had was not in Peru, but on our first night in Buenos Aires. We ordered a plate of ceviche and a plate of Secco de Cordero – lamb slow cooked in a fresh coriander and lemon sauce. The ceviche was okay, but the Secco de Cordero was tender and delicious. The flavours reminded me a lot of Lebanese food – the lamb, the coriander and the lemon juice are all used abundantly in Levantine cooking.

Roast Meats

Roasted Guinea Pig and roast chicken are but a few of the many types of meat roasted by Peruvians. At a quinta in Cusco, we received huge hunks of roast suckling pig and roast spare ribs. This was a meal that left me full for nearly two days! Food is roasted in an oven resembling a clay pizza oven and they are definitely not shy with their portions.

Peru is definitely one of the most pleasantly surprising food destinations I have visited. It doesn’t stack up to South East Asia (Malaysia & Thailand are very hard to beat), but the variety and flavour of the food is very good. Compared to the parts of South America we visited, it is definitely a fantastic place to experience new things and stands out as a highlight food-wise. From the very first moment we set foot in the country we had realised this. Visiting the markets makes it even more clear. If you go to Peru and you don’t experience a Peruvian market first hand, then you have definitely missed out. We tried to visit a market in just about every city we visited and the most impressive of the lot was the central market in Arequipa. It was clean and had a huge variety of food available that you could sit and eat at the counter. Cusco’s San Pedro Mercado wasn’t too far behind, with Lima’s being the least impressive of the lot.

Most people would shy away from the local restaurants and eat in tourist places but we found the only times we got sick from the food were when we ate in tourist restaurants. Peru has a bad reputation when it comes to health standards and I would say from what we saw, it probably fits somewhere between India and South East Asia. We ate breakfast and lunch in the markets on a regular basis, as well as locals-only restaurants and street food stalls. Something which we were told was asking for a tummy bug, but we were fine. Some food for thought indeed.

From the very first moment you arrive in this city you feel a sense of adventure. It is different – very different from anywhere else, yet somewhat familiar. The street food vendors hawk bits of meat on a stick, others sell slices of juicy giant pineapple. One has a bag full of freshly roasted cuy’s (guinea pigs), their smiling faces mirroring the smiling face of the traditionally dressed woman negotiating a price with a customer. The smell of the offal section in the market hits you like a wall. Cow’s heads, pigs testicles – it’s all here. Waitresses yell the day’s specialty to passers-by as hungry patrons slurp their sheep’s head soup. In the centre of the market is a religious shrine surrounded by flowers and candles. Switch the statue of St. Mary with a Buddha and you could be in Bangkok. Switch the statue of the Buddha with one of Ganesha and you could be in Delhi (minus the meat of course).

The streets outside the Mercado San Pedro hum and buzz with activity. The constant stream of beat-up, old taxis fly by, rattling over the cobblestone streets. In the corner, stands a baroque-style, Spanish church. Built from Incan-cut stone. It’s red colour helps it blend in with the other buildings. It’s like walking through a 16th century European city. Beautifully preserved and wearing the scars of its history on the outside with pride for all to see.

We came here to see this. To learn about the last throes of the Incas and to see their legacy which is going through somewhat of a reawakening among Peruvians.

Cusco was once the seat of their empire – the navel of the world. At its height, the Inca ruled the largest empire on the South American continent and one of the largest on earth. And yet, our knowledge of them is very limited. Much of their history was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors and the little that we do know is sparsely recorded in Spanish chronicles. The Incas started out as a small tribe in the city-kingdom of Cusco. In 1438, they began a rapid expansion into surrounding clans conquering and assimilating them until most of the Andes in Peru and Ecuador were under their control. After further expansions, the Inca empire covered all of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, a large portion of Chile and small parts of Colombia and Argentina. This is an area roughly the size of Western Europe, brought under their control in less than 100 years.

The Incas were more assimilators than conquerors. Many of their skills and knowledge was adapted from the cultures that they incorporated. And yet, they had no formal scheme of writing nor did they use the wheel. Their language, Quechua is still spoken today and in some parts of Peru is the only language.

So why are the Incas so fascinating? So alluring? I think it’s more to do with their downfall than anything else. In 1526, a man by the name of Francisco Pizarro, sailed his way down from Panama to Peru. Seeing such a prosperous kingdom and hearing stories and legends of the treasures the Inca emperor possessed, Pizarro sought royal approval from the Spanish king to conquer the region. Upon his return, the empire was in civil war and severely weakened by smallpox brought over by the Spanish in the first place. And so with just 168 men, 1 canon and 27 horses, Pizarro systematically brought the empire under Spanish control. Before long, they had almost wiped the Inca culture out entirely. Tearing down their buildings, only to build their own on top of the foundations. Today, all that is left of this once mighty civilization is the Quechua language, some traditions, the ruins of their buildings outside of Cusco and their foundations within the city.

Our nine-hour, overnight bus trip from Arequipa arrived at 6:30 in the morning. Cusco is very different from Arequipa. The most immediate difference was the state of the roads. Arequipa felt like a well looked-after, mid-90s apartment. Cusco on the other hand felt more like a rustic old farmhouse in the country. The air is thin here, 3400m above sea level. The first thing you notice is that walking around is an effort, climbing the steps to San Blas and up to some of the ruins above the city is quite the workout. Something I wouldn’t suggest doing unless you have acclimatised properly.

The streets of central Cusco are fascinating. I would rate it as my number one city for people watching and taking photographs. You do however, need to be mindful that the people aren’t your private models, and some may get annoyed if you stick a camera in their faces. On the other hand, they are quick to smile, warm and friendly. Many are descendants of the Incas or a mix thereof and are very proud of their country.

Getting lost in the central part of Cusco is a real adventure. The tiny alleyways are lined with the foundations of once mighty Inca buildings. The precision with which they built their solid stone buildings is astounding. Each stone was cut using bronze-age techniques. A hole was bored into the rock, a wooden wedge was driven into the hole and then water was poured onto the wood allowing it to expand and crack the stone free. Each stone is unique and slots in with its siblings perfectly. In some cases, it is impossible to even wedge a piece of paper between them. To increase the strength of some buildings, the stones were interlocking using a system of male and female stones. Instead of using mortar, stones were glued in place using bitumen. Walls tapered outwards as they approached the ground to increase rigidity further. This masterful style of engineering meant Inca structures could withstand the most powerful of earthquakes. And all of this was done without iron tools, nor the use of the wheel. It is with little surprise that people from all over the world come to Peru to see the Inca architecture.

One of the best sites to visit is the temple of Qorikancha. This structure was considered the very centre of the Incan empire and the name translated means Sun Temple or Temple of the Sun. The building is thought to have been a place of worship for the Incas. Judging by the precision with which it was built, it most certainly was a very important structure. The stone-masonry is incredible and there are many examples of how each stone was slotted into place to fit precisely with its siblings. Before the Spanish destroyed the building and built a church and monastery on top of the foundations, the inside walls of the temple were covered in huge plates of gold which channeled the light of the sun through the building. You can still see the points upon which the gold plates were attached. In fact, a lot of the gold used in the many cathedrals in Cusco came from Inca temples and palaces. Today, Qorikancha is a weird hybrid of Spanish and Inca architecture. The church of Santo Domingo and the Santo Domingo Convent sits on top of part of the foundations of the Inca temple. Around the sides of the old monastery courtyard, some of the Inca structure has been restored and is on display to visitors. There is also a great collection of 16th-century artwork from the Cusco school of art. To me, I find some of the artwork a bit grotesque and macabre but it does have an important place in Peruvian culture as it was used by the first converted Incas to tell stories of the saints in the Catholic church as well as the battles the Spanish had with the Incas.

Apart from visiting Cusco for its magnificent buildings, the food is also a big draw-card. The areas around the city are some of Peru’s most fertile. This is probably one of the reasons why the Incas settled and flourished here. Like the Colca Valley near Arequipa, the staple crops are maize, potatoes, onions, wheat and barley. It is also situated roughly 100km from the jungle which gives the market an incredible variety of different vegetables and fruits. The most famous delicacy of the area is what many people would regard a pet – the Cuy or Guinea Pig. If you ever visit Cusco, you need to at least try Cuy. It tastes a lot like the brown meat on a chicken, flavoured with Munya (a type of aromatic herb, not too dissimilar from oregano) and roasted in a clay oven. Another fantastic experience we had was eating in a traditional Peruvian Quinta for Sunday lunch. Quintas are large family run restaurants which are usually situated outdoors in a courtyard. The food is basic, tasty and comes heaped upon your plate. They are very popular with middle-class Peruvian families, who visit them in their Sunday best after the mid-morning church service. The menu in a quinta has about 5-6 dishes on it. It is also reasonably priced and good value – just make sure to skip breakfast if you decide to eat in one.

Cusco’s main square, the Plaza de Armas, is an electrifying sight. Due to strict building regulations and as a testament to the pride the people have in their city, it is perfectly preserved. On two sides of the square sits the imposing Church La Compaña de Jesus and Cusco Cathedral. The other two sides of the square are lined with curio shops, travel agencies and restaurants – albeit disguised to fit in with the rest of the architecture in the square. In the centre of the square is a dramatic water fountain with a statue of Tupac Amaru – the last of the Inca emperors. The centre of the square is also lined with magnificent gardens of flowers. The Plaza de Armas is not the only square in Cusco, there are several in the centre as well as a number of churches and cathedrals (we counted 10 from the San Blas hill).

The San Pedro market is one of the great experiences of Cusco. It is an assault on all the senses and we were drawn to it like a magnet. If not for glimpses of the “just plain weird” then for the fresh fruit juice and strong café pasado. Some of the aisles are dedicated solely to potatoes or avocados. There is even a rather smelly section for offal with oddities such as beef snout or sheep’s brains on display. The most popular section is the Caldo de Gallina or chicken soup section where 3 or 4 rows of people sit and gulp down huge bowls of soup throughout the day. Many just stop off for a quick snack on their way to work or on their lunch break. The Peruvians, like their Inca forebears, don’t do things in half measures. As you walk the aisles, the ladies with their tall, white top-hats yell out their wears. Some leaning over the counter in front of them handing out samples of cheese and olives.

We stayed in Cusco for quite some time at El Tuco guesthouse run by Coco and his family. A comfortable good value spot with generous and friendly hosts. Cusco is a bustling, vibrant city, full of culture, history and colour. The diesel fumes, aggressive taxi drivers and uneven sidewalks do wear the nerves thin, but the sights, sounds and smells definitely make it worth it. To recuperate from the chaos we headed out of the city into the Sacred Valley.

Right from the very first moment we stepped off the bus in Arequipa, Peru felt like home. The bus terminal was jam packed. Colours and smells assaulted the senses. Chaos in every direction as people hustled through the door past hawkers and taxi touts. Disoriented we headed for the exit and took a taxi straight to our guesthouse. Peru is a much poorer country in comparison with Chile or Argentina and this was most evident when we hit the urban sprawl of Peru’s second largest city – Arequipa, which is famous for it’s white volcanic stone buildings and monolithic volcanoes – which can be seen from just about any angle in the city. The most notable difference between Peru and Argentina and Chile is that Peru has a much richer, more visible culture. It’s food is superb and the people are more open and friendly to tourists. Arequipa was also a great place to kick off our visit to the country. As large as it is, the main attractions are situated within a 10 block radius from the central square – the Plaza de Armas. Founded in 1540 on a pre-Incan settlement, the city has some fantastic examples of Spanish-colonial architecture, beautiful churches and a generally laid back atmosphere.

The country is made up of three distinct regions. The dry, desert-like coastal region in the west. The high Andean plains running up the centre that eventually give way to the Amazon jungle in the east. Arequipa is situated in the dry zone halfway between the sea and the Altiplano. On one side of the city is the desert and on the other, is the dramatic backdrop of volcanoes, El Misti, Chachani and Picchu Picchu. The location of Arequipa lends itself to some devastating natural disasters – some of which have virtually leveled the entire city. In fact, an earthquake as recent as 2001 caused great damage, leaving many of the beautiful churches in a state of disrepair. Thankfully, Arequipeñans take a lot of pride in their city and you would be hard-pressed to find any evidence of the catastrophic event in the buildings today.

When we arrived in Arequipa, we immediately noticed the amount of food being sold on the streets. This was a good sign and reminded me a lot of South East Asia. This is in stark contrast with Chile and Argentina. Where Chile has very plain, bland food and Argentina has little variation, Peru has just about anything one can imagine. A visit to the central market in Arequipa was a revelation. Fruit and vegetables are stacked to the ceiling. There is a section solely for potatoes – of which Peru has some 4000 varieties. A section for meat, chicken and fish. Even a section for offal. One side of the market is dedicated to lunch and breakfast. On our forays into the market we ate some of Peru’s most famous foods. Ceviche: raw fish cooked in lime juice, served with copious amounts of coriander, roasted corn kernels and red onions. Rocoto Relleno: chilli peppers stuffed with a meat and cheese filling. Chicharron: crispy deep fried pork served with a salad of red onions and peppers and a spicy chilli sauce. Even the ubiquitous roast chicken was succulent and delicious. A favourite, and a meal we went back for over and over, was the Ceviche Combinado at Cevicheria El Oriental. It was a mixed ceviche containing tiny fish fillets, squid and mussels accompanied by a thick potato and bean gravy, fried rice and a sweet potato on the side. The meal also included a free cup of Chicha Morada, a drink made from purple maize which is boiled in pineapple rind, cinnamon and cloves. Lime juice and sugar is then added to finish it off. The whole meal cost us S7 each or around $2 and the ladies behind the counter refilled our plates a few times too, without our even asking, mid-spoonful!

Arequipa is known to Peruvians as the Ciudad del Blanco – the White City. The buildings are built from a particularly porous, white volcanic stone mined nearby. The dramatic cathedral on the Plaza de Armas being the most spectacular of these buildings. With two huge towers, stretching nearly 40m into the air the cathedral is probably the most photographed building in the city. Inside, the cathedral is no less beautiful with colonial era paintings and marble statues of the 12 apostles. It is one of the few cathedrals in the world that is allowed to fly the Vatican flag.

The streets around the central plaza are lined with beautiful, old stone buildings. Built from the same volcanic rock as the cathedral, today they house banks, museums, hotels and restaurants. During the Spanish colonial rule they were ornately decorated, stately homes for rich Spanish businessmen. One of the most famous of Arequipa’s sights is the Santa Catalina Convent. Taking up a whole city block, it was once the home to 120 Dominican nuns and is a city within a city. The nunnery was built in 1580 by a rich widow, Maria de Guzman, and was for nuns who came from very wealthy homes. In the myriad of rooms and chambers, this is evidenced by the rather large living quarters for each nun which included a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, sitting room, servants quarters and separate entrances for servants and nuns. The nuns lived in absolute solitude and were not allowed to even speak to visitors face-to-face. Their lives however, were rather lavish and to become a nun in the monastery families would need to pay a dowry of approximately 2400 silver coins or in today’s terms US$150 000. Everything they needed was to be found within the walls of the nunnery, including a vegetable garden and guinea pig farm.

In 1871, the pope sent Sister Josefa Cadena to reform the monastery. She sent all the riches of the monastery back to Europe and freed all the slaves and servants. The nuns were then forced to become more humble and give up their riches.

Today a small portion of the convent is still used by a group of 40 nuns. They are under a less strict set of rules and are allowed to even leave the convent into the city outside. The rest of the building is now a very well looked after museum and one of Arequipa’s main tourist attractions.

Another attraction Arequipa is famous for is the Ice Princess – an Incan mummy affectionately known as Juanita. In 1995 an American archeologist called Johan Reinhard was studying Incan ruins at the top of Peru’s many gigantic volcanoes. At the time, a volcano near Arequipa, Sabancaya, was erupting and this gave him the opportunity to study the top of neighboring Ampato volcano as the settling ash had melted it’s snow cap. When Reinhard arrived in Arequipa, he was told by a local guide that he had spotted something that looked like a mummy lying on the side of the volcano’s crater on his last expedition to the summit. Reinhard jumped at the news and put together a team to scale the 6300m mountain. When he reached the summit he was astonished at what he found. A bundle of cloth, no bigger than a large dog had rolled 60m down the side of the crater after it had been dislodged by earth tremors in the eruption. It was the frozen remains of a 12-year old girl. The only part of her not in pristine condition was her face, which had been desiccated by the sun after her shroud had been damaged from her plunge into the crater. She had been frozen in her tomb for nearly 600 years, ironically the last time Sabancaya had erupted, so she is in fact not a mummy as she was not strictly mummified. As a human sacrifice it is incredible that she was taken to the peak of a six thousand metre volcano, where the temperature is between -20 and -30 degrees celcius.

Juanita wasn’t the only sacrifice found on Ampato. Lower down the slopes the archeological team discovered 3 more mummies over the next 2 years. Due to how well the mummies are preserved, we are able to get a glimpse into the lives of the Incas, especially the sacrificial ceremonies that were held at the top of these volcanoes. The children that were sacrificed were chosen by the Incan priests for their purity. They were also fed a high protein diet, in some cases for up to a year before their deaths. In the case of Juanita, she was virtually perfect. Her teeth, bones and skin showed no signs of disease, lending more weight to the fact that these children were considered worthy of the gods. The families of the children were given high esteem and rewards and in the case of Juanita, may even have been royal themselves. The sacrificial party would start their journey from Cusco – the Incan capital and trek vast distances to get to the base of the volcanoes. Ampato is roughly 240km from Cusco and the route possibly crossed the 2 deepest canyons in the world, running along the Andes. Once at the base of Ampato they would have had to climb from an altitude of 3500m to 6300m. Depending on the time of year, the last 1500m would have been covered in thick ice and snow, where the temperature would have been around -25 degrees celcius.

At the top of the volcano the Incan priests prepared the area for sacrifice. The child would have had great difficulty staying awake due to the high altitude and freezing conditions. Bags of coca leaves were found on her body as well as in the vicinity. Analysis of her stomach contents shows that she ate a meal of vegetables 6-8 hours before her death. She was also partially drugged with coca and other herbs. CT scans of her skull show that she died from a heavy blow to the head caused by a blunt object. This was generally the method used to kill the other sacrificial mummies too.

Juanita is important to archaeology because the Incas had no form of writing, which leaves most of what we know about them to Spanish chronicles and interpretations of their ruins and artifacts. As she was frozen and not freeze dried like many other mummies on these volcanos, her body is virtually perfectly preserved. DNA studies have shown that she can be associated with a tribe that lived in present-day Panama.

The visit to the Catholic University’s Museum in Arequipa to see the ice maiden in her frozen glass case was both fascinating and bone chilling. It was also a pertinent reminder of how advanced the Incas had been as they were able to travel to and survive at such high altitudes. Every time I looked up at the volcanoes surrounding the city I was reminded of how important these landmarks were to the people that lived near to them and still are today. The rivers are fed by their glaciers. The rock is used to build cities. The soil is incredibly fertile due to their eruptions and their anger is personified in earthquakes and gigantic ash clouds. The Incas were willing to do anything to appease the gods that lived there.

Arequipa is a great place to visit. The food is good. The museums and churches are very beautiful. There are fantastic activities in the area, such as volcano trekking, mountain biking or river rafting. Most people come to Arequipa as part of the route from Cusco through to Lake Titicaca and onto Bolivia, but I could see many wanting to spend extra days just enjoying the sunshine and soaking up the atmosphere of an ancient Peruvian city.

“You like Lady Gaga?”, came a heavily accented voice from the front seat of the airport shuttle.
“Ummm, well, not really”, I replied, unsure of how to answer the question without offending.
“Sarawak loves Lady Gaga”, he replied. Very strange indeed.

This was the last place on earth I would have imagined I would have been asked this question. So far, with little idea of what to expect, Borneo has shredded any misconceptions I had about the place.

We left Bali feeling a bit gloomy with a bitter taste in our mouths due to being charged a $20 airport tax and then having to sit in an overpriced, dreary departure lounge. When I say overpriced, it makes any other airport I have been in look really cheap and it is only compounded further by the fact that Indonesia is considered a poor country. On arrival in Kuala Lumpur, and after a hellish bus ride from the airport, we checked into our hotel and immediately hit the street for something to eat. It was midnight and the only open places to eat were a small cluster of street vendors selling Tom Yam – the Malay version of the popular Thai seafood soup Tom Yum. You know you have arrived in Malaysia when you have your first meal – it was hot, spicy and full of flavour – simply delicious.

My memories from the last time I visited Malaysia started to flood back. If you don’t consider it one of the best food destinations in the world, then you are wrong. During our 2 days in Kuala Lumpur, we ate like royalty. Chicken rice for breakfast, the biggest Chinese buffet for lunch and to top it all off, a superb traditional Chinese meal from a well known restaurant down the road from our hotel near KL Sentral. We met up with our friend Chee Ming, who is Malaysian and we just let him order the food. It was incredible. Steamed fresh fish in ginger sauce, salted pork sausage with tofu and a really amazing noodle dish of which I cannot remember the name. Accompanied with a strong Chinese tea and Guinness Extra Stout. The food in Indonesia was dull and overpriced in comparison. Although, I don’t think I could eat this every day as it is rich and very fatty.

You are probably noticing the Chinese theme here. The reasoning behind it is that we will be spending a lot of time in India in the coming months, so we are avoiding Indian food in Malaysia and we were a little tired of the Malay staples of Nasi Goreng and Mee Goreng, which is in abundance in Indonesia.

We were only in Kuala Lumpur to apply for our Indian visas and to see a potential client, so our stay was fairly short. Before we knew it, we were on our back to the airport to fly to Borneo. I know very little about Borneo. Images of virgin rainforest, sweltering heat, muddy roads and misty mountains are what I had expected. Instead we were greeted by an ultramodern airport and a bustling city – the city of Kuching, the capital of the state of Sarawak. Borneo is divided up into four sections, the largest of which is Kalimantan, a state of Indonesia; Sarawak in the west and Sabah in the east are both states of Malaysia, with the tiny country of Brunei wedged between them. Kuching is set a little way inland on the Sarawak river. A brown, fast flowing mass of water that is quite impressive from the air. It is a modern, bustling city with high rise buildings, wide clean roads and a reasonably affluent population. It is quite laid back with a large Chinese population. Especially around the waterfront area.

The main tourist attraction in Kuching is the waterfront and this is obviated by the multitude of luxury hotels in the area. As I write this I can look up out of the window from my budget hotel at the 15-story Hilton. Despite this, the area does have a lot of Old World charm. There is a lot of evidence of the White Rajahs in the colonial buildings and forts. The roads are lined with old-style, Chinese shophouses, most of which are either selling curios, Chinese goods or are Kopitiams – coffee shops. We stopped in one to have a traditional breakfast of Wonton Mee and Beef Taiwan Mee, accompanied by strong, creamy coffee. We are definitely getting used to having noodles and chilly for breakfast of which this was one of the best we have had so far. It is very weird how every now and again you notice something so out of place, it makes you stare in disbelief. On the wall of this kopitiam, chock-a-block full of Chinese diners was a dog-eared, old poster extolling the virtues of Dr. Nortier’s Rooibos Tea – all the way from none other than the Cedarberg in South Africa. I don’t want to even start to try and figure out how Rooibos gets all the way from the mountains of the Western Cape to the island of Borneo, let alone how it can cost less in a café (R3.50 a cup) than in the country of its origin.

If you ever visit Kuching, then you are in for a culinary treat. It has some of the freshest, most delicious seafood I have ever seen. On our first night here, we made our way to the Topspot Food Centre. Perched on top of a 4-story parking lot, you will find a buzzing set of outdoor seafood restaurants selling the freshest seafood ever. Everything from Black Snapper, through to Stingray through to giant Tiger prawns (at least a foot in length!). There are cockles and crabs all cooked with fresh vegetables in giant woks. In comparison with the more rudimentary hawker centres in Kuching, it is a bit more expensive, but the quality shows. Feeling adventurous we tried Umai, a Sarawakian version of Ceviche – raw fish mixed with chilli and lime juice. The mixture was divine. We then had a plate of fresh King prawns, grilled in butter and garlic – probably the best prawns I have ever eaten!

Over the weekend, farmers and fishermen from the areas surrounding Kuching descend on the city to sell their wares. The market is huge and the quality and freshness of the goods is unrivaled. You can buy just about anything, from Leopard sharks to eels to lamb to every kind of vegetable you can think of. There are pet shops selling puppies and goldfish and in one corner of the market exotic orchids and jungle plants. You can pick up cheap Chinese knifes, toys and clothes, even antiques. The market buzzes with the ebb and flow of people searching for their favourites or a bargain. The market starts on Saturday afternoon and ends roundabout midday on Sunday. If you want some great food then the hawker stalls on Saturday evening are a must, where you can get a whole spit-roasted chicken for RM14 (US$4) or a whole fish, roasted on a stick for RM10 (US$3)!

So you are probably wondering why I envy the people of Kuching and Sarawak? I think it is because life seems so much simpler here. It is fairly remote but not completely cut off. The food is incredible, the atmosphere is laid back and there is a general feeling of content.

Next week we head off to find a jungle and experience a bit of the nature of this mystical island. Hopefully, we’ll see and get to photograph some Orangutans and some other interesting wildlife.

I haven’t written about Ubud (Oobood) as yet as it’s one of those places that makes you lazy, and in a good way. 45 minutes drive from Denpasar, Bali’s largest city, it is known as the island’s cultural centre. On the approaches into central Ubud the streets are lined with hundreds of craft shops producing and selling paintings, statues, furniture and clothing. It is quite unbelievable how many crafts are practiced here and the results are quite stunning. That heavy, dark, Balinese furniture you see in fancy department stores back home probably had its origins somewhere in this area.

Most tourists come to Ubud on a day trip from the busy South of Bali. Thankfully, most of them stay in the central parts of Ubud and keep the annoying taxi drivers busy. The main streets in central Ubud are lined with glitzy restaurants and cafés and there are few bargains in the air conditioned shops too, but if you venture down a side street or alleyway, you’ll be greeted by glimpses of typical Balinese life — children playing in the streets, women preparing offerings and many third-world dogs guarding their patch of pavement. Some of the side streets lead to rice paddies, neatly arranged and meticulously looked after. The rice here is called sawah, and is grown in a few inches of water. Everywhere you go there are drains and aqueducts channeling water through the streets to the paddies.

When we first visited Ubud a few weeks ago, we stayed in central Ubud, on a charming street called Jalan Kajeng, but after two nights we couldn’t take the building noise next door and moved to the rice paddies about ten minutes walk further up the road. We had a really great room with a view over a few paddies that were busy being harvested. All the work is done manually and from what we could tell, a family of four was responsible for the paddies in front of our place. Two of them cut the bundles of rice and handed them to the other two, who beat the grains off into a basket. It is back breaking work and the family worked from about 9am in the morning until 4pm in the afternoon with few breaks in between. It took about a day to clear a field half the size of a rugby pitch. The rice grains are then put in sacks and taken off to be sun dried, before having the husks removed resulting in the rice we see on the shelves in our supermarkets. We felt quite privileged to be able to witness this process and the workers were as curious of us as we were of them. Quite often I would find them staring right back at me while they took a few minutes break.

Ubud is also the place we first got introduced to Balinese coffee, also called Kopi Bali. The coffee is very finely ground and instead of filtering it, you put a heaped teaspoon in a cup of boiling water, stir and wait for the grinds to settle. The Balinese drink it by the gallon with a lot of sugar, but we prefer it with a little bit of milk and less sweet. You also learn very quickly not to take the final sip from the cup, unless you want a mouthful of coffee grinds.

Ubud is also great for simply strolling around and checking things out. My favorite place so far, is to visit the central market early in the morning. The food section of the market is a 3 story affair with fresh meats, spices and vegetables in the basement, fruit on the ground floor and clothing on the first floor. Visiting very early in the morning meant a tourist wasn’t in sight and we got to see and photograph a lot of the local Balinese busy with their day-to-day activities. One thing that astonished me, was the ability of the women to carry giant baskets filled with watermelons, papayas and pineapples on their heads, up and down flights of stairs. The variety and quality of the produce for sale is astounding and the din generated by people buying and selling is quite an experience.

We stayed in Ubud for about five days before leaving to see the Sideman Valley and then moved on to the northeast of the island. We then returned to Ubud four days ago, and hired a quiet villa in the western parts of the area, popularly known as the yoga and hippy area. The place cost us about $40 a night and included two bedrooms and a pool. Most importantly, it is quiet and tucked away from the traffic, insistent taxi drivers and day-tripping tourists. On the way to dinner, we walk on concrete pathways through rice paddies and villas and down our little street we have a spa and an art workshop, where scores of men, six days a week, prep wooden boards for painting. The area is also popular with artists and writers that stay for up to a few years at a time.  The place is perfect for us to get some work done, before we move on to our next destination.

I can highly recommend a visit to Ubud if you ever come to Bali. It is less hot than the southern parts of Bali, and we’ve been lucky enough to have a bit of evening rain to cool things down. It is also very easy to get around — just mind the death trap drain covers — and has a fantastic mix of good food, serene natural surroundings and concentrated Balinese culture. It has definitely grown on us and we can fully understand why so many people end up coming back and staying for an extended period of time. In fact, the villa we are hiring is owned by an Australian who stays here for five months of the year.

We need to be out of our place on Monday morning, as the owner is returning. So we’re unsure where to head next. Highest on the list of possibilities is to head to the island of Java, west of Bali. Java is the home of some of the most beautiful volcanoes, the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and ancient Buddhist temple of Borobodur. It is also home to 120 of the 200 million people that inhabit Indonesia. The other option is to go east and visit the neighboring island of Lombok. We will however, be returning to Bali to housesit a friend’s place for two weeks before we leave Indonesia for Malaysia and Singapore, where we need to get our Indian visas.

Best things we’ve seen, done and eaten in Ubud:

• The central market
• Made’s Warung in Penestanan – the food is excellent, cheap and the setting is beautiful
• Watching rice harvesting in front of our guesthouse
• Barbecued duck and fish on the side of the road
• Naughty Nuri’s for grilled ribs and martinis
• Gede, our housekeeper’s banana pancake breakfasts
• The moss covered buildings, statues and temples
• Rice paddies