A Day In Ayacucho And Onward To Huaraz

On the day I was to leave Ayacucho, I had one of my most pleasant days on my trip with Alisa, Carlos and their two sons who live at their hotel, La Crillonesa.

On my way out in the morning, they invited me join them for breakfast with a German guest at the hotel's former small cafe which now served as their kitchen and living room. After finding out that I was leaving that night, Alisa wanted to make a local Quechua dish, Puca Picante for me to try. I enthusiastically accepted and offered to help cook and wash-up as this was a real opportunity to learn Peruvian home-cooking.

It was a wonderful morning as I happily minced garlic, chopped onions, washed pots and pans, took notes, cooked over the stove and joked as their 10-month old baby wandered around in his walker in the kitchen. A woman walking by and seeing us busily cooking away, even dropped in and asked us what was on the menu and when we would be serving lunch! I love it.

Alisa sadly recalled her father's "disappearance" when she was four years old, as he was taken at gunpoint by Shining  Path members while walking in Ayacucho and was driven away. He was never seen again and Alisa remarked they didn't have a grave for him as his body was never recovered. Alisa explained her father was killed because they were wealthy. Alisa and her family then moved to Lima and later to Florence, Italy before meeting her husband (over five trips) and returning back home to Ayacucho to start a family.


From Italy, Alisa developed a love for cooking and her cramped but cosy kitchen shows it. Stainless steel countertops, racks for spices and wine glasses, decent pots and pans and a well-used blender and small food processor. Alisa and her husband even provided meals for their employees at the hotel. Equally kind, Carlos, a biologist at a local university bought a Chilean wine us and their oldest son, excitedly coming back from school settled in for a long lunch of a traditional Inca meal and conversation.

Puca Picante consists of sun-dried red chilis, minced peanuts, purried red onions, shredded "red" potatoes and bay leaves infused in a thick sauce and smothering over chunks of boiled potatoes and chicharron (pork). This is served over some garlic rice which is first boiled with sauteed garlic, drained and some oil added, and then covered with a plastic bag and pot lid to simmer. Deliciously tangy, slightly spicy and very peanut flavored.

Carlos then took the German girl and I around the city, to an archeological museum and viewpoint, and then the whole family saw me off at the bus station. It felt like I was suddenly adopted by this Peruvian family. Unbelievably genuine hospitality.

I took the overnight bus to Lima and after seeing the hazy and cloudy sky (which was likely smog) and eating a soggy chicken empanada for breakfast, I decided to push on for another 9-hour bus ride to Huaraz, northeast of Lima. Huaraz is a small town surrounded by the impressive Cordillera Blanca mountain range. It is also the starting point of many treks through mountain passes, glacier lakes and 6000+ meter peaks.

What better way to celebrate coming to a new place then... to eat Chinese food or known as "Chifa" in Peru. I suspect "Chifa" is the Spanishized version of a Chinese greeting or words for ¨Eat Rice?¨ or possibly fried rice (Chow Fuan). The Peruvians certainly love Chinese fried rice and soya sauce stir fry (Lomo Saltado). Although there were no chop sticks or Chinese tea served, there were many consistent things eating at the Chinese restaurant here and at home. Good food at cheap prices, portions are huge, soft drinks are over-priced and the washrooms were terrible. They even use the same glowing ¨radioactive¨red sauce for their sweet and sour pork and deep-fried wontons!

I have not had any Chinese food for five months. It was great to eat ¨beef and broccoli in black bean sauce¨ again and admittedly, I thoroughly enjoyed the MSG overload. I´ll need the strength as I am  trying to arrange for the Santa Cruz or the longer Huayhuash trek through several mountain passages, and checking with the many tour agencies around town is exhausting. Off to shop around the agencies...