Chiclayo

After Trujillo, Arturo meet us in Chiclayo. His dad is from there (actually a little village outside of the city) and that entire side of the family is there. We were celebrating many thing...not only had Christian come back, but it was the first time that Arturo and his family went there for Christmas.

Of course, a visit is never complete without doing a bit of touristy stuff. We went to the famous Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán. This is an incredible museum which documents the incredible history of the area. The name comes from Lord Sipán, a lord who - although famous in his time - is now internationally known because of his tomb.

Sipán was a Señor of top rank and was buried accordingly by the Moche civilization which existed from 1 AD to 700 AD (centuries before the Incans). First, el Señor Sipán was buried with a plethora of jewelry and ornaments. Included in the over 400 jewels found in the tomb was a beaded necklace of gold and silver shaped into maní, or peanut kernels to represent the earth. To me, however more impressive (and shocking) is the other people in the tomb. He was buried with a woman who was apparently his wife and two other women, most likely concubines, a military commander, a watchman, a banner holder and a child. Oh, and also a dog. Some of the people´s legs were cut off so that they could not run from him - either in the transfer from one life to the next, or when they arrive to the next life.

(Yes, this story may sound familiar because I wrote about this a year ago when we went for the travel guide work...but it's so interesting I wrote about it again...)

We also visited the Mercado Monsefu Artesanias. We had fun trying on various crazy hats (I bought one - but not the 'lampshade' on my head in the picture) and then continued to tour around in the car, stopping for a delicious ceviche.

However, the big day during the trip was Christmas. Here, the holiday is celebrated on Christmas Eve with food and drink...but the food doesn't come until midnight when it's officially Christmas (and I'm so starving that I am looking at the plastic tree wondering how it tastes).

What follows is a series of pictures from the holiday. It included many photos, many drinks, much food, and many old family stories...

Christmas & Trujillo

Now that the holidays are over...now that I have been to NY and back to Lima...I finally have time to update my blog.

On one hand, it seems silly to now write about Christmas, but on the other hand, if I don't write it down now I'll regret it.

So, I'm going to write the basics and include lots of photos (this is what to expect for the next couple of blog entries.).

First, the Holiday Season began in Lima with the arrival of Arturo's brother, Christian, and his wife Emi, and 10 month old son Sebastian...it had been EIGHT years since he had come back to visit Peru so this was a big deal. Although, his arrival was almost dwarfed by the oh so adorable Sebastian. To celebrate his return, his marriage, and his baby, we began a series of reunions.

All were fun...but night after night did exhuast me.

Another special visitor was Arturo's cousin, Niko, that lives in Mexico. We stayed with him when we took a holiday there a while back so it was great to see him, too. Plus, his parents invited us to their beach house which is in an adorable little fishing village.

(There were also many get togethers that don't involve money....but that is for another email...this one is family only!)

Before I knew it, school was over and it was time to head up the coast with Arturo's family. He had to work so couldn't come with us - but met us on the 24th just in time for Christmas Eve.

In the meantime, Arturo's parents, Christian, Emi, Sebastian and I went to Trujillo for a couple of days. We got to see Fito, an old friend who I have met a couple of times.

We also did some sight seeing and enjoyed the small city which offers some spectacular archaeological sites, as well as well preserved colonial architecture. At Chan-Chan, Meche (Arturo's mom) and I stayed to watch Sebastian while everyone else went on the hour-long tour of the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America, built by the Chimú and estimated to be built around 850 (WAY older than Machu Picchu which was built around 1460). As we waited, we watched Sebas charm all of the tour guides and guards. It was the easiest babysitting job I've ever had!!

We also went to the cute beach town nearby where we enjoyed some delicious seafood...and a walk along the beach.

Then, we stopped by one of my favorite sights in Trujillo, the Cafe Museo. It's a cafe below the Museum of Toys and is so beatiful with old wooden cabinents and photos of famous people around the walls.

Then, before I knew it, it was time to get on the bus heading north to Chiclayo to go to Arturo's family for Christmas.

Which is another blog entry...

And it begins...

Last year, I thought the holiday season was busy, but this year I have just begun to understand exactly how busy it is. One word springs to mind to describe this: insanity.

Between my job, Arturo's job, my friends, Arturo's friends and Arturo's family, there has been a reunion (get together/party) every single night. So, having been in a constant state of near-exhaustion, I haven't updated my blog in a while.

The quick update is:

* Barbecue with some friends (love their pool and trampoline!)

* Shopping locally in Miraflores (love the Christmas book fair!)

* Girls' Night Out with Kim (pisco sours and dancing....fun!)

* English Department Meeting (leaving school behind and enjoying each other's company!)

* End of the Year Lunch at school (so bloody hot I thought we might melt, but still somehow very fun!)

* Bachelorette Party / Hen Night / Despidida de solteras (just as cheesy as in the USA, but very fun and my first night out, on my own, with only Spanish-speakers!)

* Annual Holiday Party with Arturo's friend from the colegio (including a first-ever gift exchange!)

The long update is that after EIGHT long years, Arturo's brother has come home to visit Peru from the USA. (so, yes, I do realize that we've been having more dinners and family gatherings as a result).

Next blog will be all about the oh so adorable Sebastian.

Here's just a little bit of a teaser.

He's pretty darn cute!!

APEC Weekend

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference was in Lima in mid-November. The city had been preparing for it for over a year...although I'm still not sure how prepared they were.

The best part was that we had Thursday and Friday off from work. We decided to stay local and enjoy the time...


ROCKCLIMBING

We started by stopping by my favorite place outside of Lima, Chaclacayo.

We drove around and gave Anna a mini-tour and then had some breakfast, enjoying the biggest glass of juice of juice I've ever seen.

Rockclimbing was fun. Anna definitely showed off her skills, but Arturo and did well, too -- we just didn't look as graceful doing it.

Dearest Nilo...

...he sat at the top and was in charge of the rope, keeping us safe while we climbed...

Plus, he brought snack.


Yeah, Nilo!


After climbing, we went back into the city (just a little over an hour away) and stopped off for food at Arturo's parents.

LATER THAT WEEKEND...

Maria, Anna and I finally got together after almost a year of talking about it. We went to a delicious seafood restaurant along the coast...yummy...Ladies Who Lunch...that's what we were for a brief moment in time...

The next day we got together with Javier and Tamara at their new apartment and then headed out to Pachachamac, one of the ruins about an hour away. We arrived only to discover that it was closed because of APEC (We later read that First Lady Laura Bush was there). But, we were not to be stopped on our fun day outside of the city and drove a bit further to one of the beaches. Tamara and I went for a walk along the beach - commenting on the irony that both Arturo and Javier, both from Peru, found foreigners as their parents...and both of those foreigners are Jewish.


Along the way to and from the beach, I decided to take some pictures to show people what's between Lima and the beaches.

Essentially, Lima is a desert, but it's also really humid. Once you get on the highway, heading south to the beaches, you'll see great hills of sand, crammed full of hovels where people are living...and factories...and painting claiming all kinds of political statements...and areas where trees have been planted on those sand hills...it's a different part and I wanted to share it.

Published!

A year after updating a chapter in the Fodor's Peru guide, it is published and out in the stores. Yeah!!

The most exciting part is that I am listed as one of the author's (of course, Arturo very rightly has commented that he helped me with all of the research and isn't mentioned -- he is right, and does deserve the credit so I am crediting him here and now).

If you want to see the book and my short bio, you can go to the bookstore and check out Fodor's 3rd Edition, in Full Color, of Peru. Flip to the back page to read my bio!! (It's for sale through Amazon, but you can't see this the oh so special page with my name on it)

I also want to share the story of receiving this book here in Lima. Random House sent me the book with FedEx, just like last year when they sent me the book I would be updating. However, this time, things went differently.

Instead of receiving the book, I received a phone call from a holding center asking me why I had been sent "a book of maps." I explained this was a guide of Peru and, thus, there were some maps. I was then informed of an old law which is still in effect -- you cannot legally bring any maps into the country which have not been pre-approved by the Ministry of External Affairs. The idea of a travel guide didn't seem to really be understood. So, Arturo called the Minister's office and was told that I needed to write a letter explaining what the maps are and why I want them to be allowed in the country. Along with the letter, I had to include photocopies of each of the maps in the book. Photocopies from the book that the government was holding and I wasn't allowed to have. Hm...

Instead of trying to figure all of that out, I just had Random House mail out another book -- this time to Christian, Arturo's brother living in the States. He and his family are coming here in December and can just bring the book. Problem solved.

Then, I received an official notification from FedEx about what happened with the Ministry of External Affairs. I went to the FedEx office and, after a very long discussion and explanation, I realized that it isn't illegal to bring in maps of cities, zones, etc., just maps of the country as a whole (to be sure that the borders are correct). FedEx contacted the Minister's office to ask permission if the full map of Peru, at the beginning of the book, could be removed and then I could receive the book.

I called the next day to see what the Minister's answer was. FedEx informed me that there are 8 complete maps of Peru throughout the book and that, if I approved, the government could remove these maps and then deliver it to my house. I approved and finally received the book.

There are a couple of pages missing at the beginning, but the best part is that on the first page of each chapter, there is a big map of the area discussed in the chapter, along with a tiny little map of Peru, showing where that area is in the country. They cut out these tiny little maps (about 2" x 2") at the beginning of each chapter. It is hilarious to see the random cuts they made throughout the book.

Although there is a history of problems with borders on map, we have all agreed that there is - just perhaps - a more efficient way of checking this.

Anyway, it's all an adventure, right? And I am a published travel writer!!

Good stuff

It's been a busy, but good couple of weeks.

Arturo got a new job! He is now ejecutivo de negios at Interbank. Basically, he is an account manager whose job is to get businesses - those that earn beteween $1 million to $15 million annually - to sign up with the bank for financial services. Interbank is a Peruvian bank, rated as one of the 'Great Places to Work' in Lima and so far I would have to agree. Of course, there are pros and cons. Here they are, in my opinion: Pros...we'll have more money, Arturo will lose the boredom he felt with the hostel in the last several months...Cons: Arturo will not arrive home before 8:00 p.m. and I miss him, and he can't come to the States in January.



We're going to the theater! We went to the opera to see Madame Butterfly and are going to see Tony Kushner's En Casa/En Kabul (Homebody/Kabul) tonight. Since I've become slightly obsessed with the tv show Grey's Anatomy, it's good to return to a more intellectual and culture pastime.


Obama won!!! Yes, I voted...or I think I did. I mailed an absentee ballot off...who knows if it got there in time. And I stayed up until he spoke at midnight the night he won...and felt surprisingly emotional. I think for the first time in a long time I felt proud of my country.

Food, food, food! Eating just never seems to stop lately. We went out to eat Chinese food (not Chifa, Chinese-Peruvian fusion food) to celebatre Arturo's new job. You can see the kitchen in the restaurant so we decided to get our photo taken right in the kitchen. Also, I have begun baking. So far, it's just simple delicacies like banana bread and lime bread, but it's been fun and I look forward to continuing.


I'm meeting new people! My friend Kim invited me to a "Women & Wine" party and I met tons of new people (along with great food and wine). Most of the people work at Kim's school, but there were some other people, too. I thought it would be nice, but it was way more fun than I ever expected and I can't wait until our next gathering in December!


School is almost over! Final exams begin on the 27th of November and then I just have to coast until December 19th. Then, I am off until February 16th. Yeah!!!!