winifredcreamer

Wari, Peru’s First Empire

We couldn’t pass up a visit to the ancient capital of Peru’s oldest empire, Wari. The site is northeast of Ayacucho and not difficult to find. The site is huge, covering 1800 h (about 4,500 acres). As a capital city, Wari was home to rulers, priests, bureaucrats, craftspeople, and farmers. Circular spaces were probably forContinue reading “Wari, Peru’s First Empire”

Ayacucho’s Artisans

One of our goals in Ayacucho was to look at some of the crafts that the region is known for. There are ceramics, weaving, embroidery, metalwork, saddlery, retablos (tableaus of religious and secular life), and silver filigree. I’m probably forgetting something. There is also at least one artisan from Sarhua, a villlage about three hoursContinue reading “Ayacucho’s Artisans”

From the Sea to the Mountains, Paracas to Ayacucho

We have wanted to visit Ayacucho for a long time and finally left Lima headed south. It’s a very long drive and we decided to break our trip in Pisco. We couldn’t find any reasonable hotels. We tried Paracas where there are two categories of hotel, cement box and deluxe resort. Taking advantage of theContinue reading “From the Sea to the Mountains, Paracas to Ayacucho”

Fiesta Weekend 2018

This year the Fiesta of the Virgin of Lourdes is once again the biggest weekend of the summer. People return to Barranca from all over the world to visit family. I’ve met people who live in Austria, Israel and the US all back to visit and enjoy the summer and participate in the festival. ThereContinue reading “Fiesta Weekend 2018”

Good Neighbors

Good neighbors are a treasure. First Berta comes by with a box of fresh strawberries. These are always perfect, because they are from her daughter and son in law who are growers. They were delicious with brown sugar and lime juice. The doorbell rings and Leila comes in, holding a beautiful straw hat painted withContinue reading “Good Neighbors”

A Week of Whimbrels

There is always something new on the beach. I’ll post weekly with what’s been going on. This week we determined that there are at least two whimbrels on the beach, and possibly four, two pairs. These fanciful birds are long-beaked shore birds, a bit smaller than their cousins, the curlew. Bird guides list them asContinue reading “A Week of Whimbrels”

Beach Days

Even when the day dawns bright and the mist burns off rapidly, the hot sun on the wet sand produces billows of mist all morning. People are setting up their umbrella while big puffs of fog roll by like ghost tumbleweeds. Once the sun comes out, all kinds of people come to the beach. SomeContinue reading “Beach Days”

How to Make Paella

The main event at a recent housewarming was paella made by two Spaniards. These are experienced paella-makers, and they came prepared.They used a portable gas burner with three concentric rings of flame, perfect for a paella pan. Sauteeing the initial vegetables and seasonings in the big paella pan. At subsequent points, more liquid wasContinue reading “How to Make Paella”

New on the Street

My horizons are a bit smaller in Barranca than elsewhere, since my universe is my neighborhood. It was pretty exciting to have a new food truck cafe. A pleasant Colombian couple is selling coffee drinks and the back of their van has two beautiful old-fashioned looking expresso machines. The two wear traditional Colombian outfits andContinue reading “New on the Street”

Bringing In 2018

We had a wonderful New Year’s Eve considering that at noon on Dec. 31 we had no idea what would happen. A couple of conversations later and a quick trip to the store we were set. (Jonathan shopped while I stood in the long line. Serendipity smiled, and he turned up just as I gotContinue reading “Bringing In 2018”