Peru

Peru is another vacation country we knocked off our list while we were on our 17 day long adventure to Las Vegas, Hawaii, and San Francisco. When I knew we were going to be gone for two weeks, I was looking for anyway to sneak at the very least, a meal in. So I did some googling, and basically across the street from our hotel in Oakland was the Public Market full of various international food places. I settled on Peru. 

But, I wasn't completely sure we'd make it there, so I didn't teach the country ahead of time, instead we learned all about Peru when we arrived back home. 

Peru is a favorite of backpackers in South America. Peru has it all- coastline, mountains, rainforests, and deserts. (You can even go sand surfing!) It's an excellent country for wildlife viewing, with 84 of the earth's 104 known 'life zones' represented. The Amazon basin is home to pink dolphins, giant river otters, jaguars, primates, and over 4,000 types of butterflies. Peru is also home to 1/3 of the world's 8,600 bird species. 

Contrast to that, Peruvian cities provide a different look at the 19th largest country in the world. There you will find a blend of old and new. From cosmopolitian neighborhoods, to scenic Spanish-colonial centers and folk music clubs, Peru has lots to offer. 

Peru is the birthplace of the Inca civilization, and so our landmark was an easy choice. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is one of the most popular treks in the world. Machu Picchu is the site of an ancient Inca city, sitting at about 8,000 feet- high in the Peruvian Andes. The 'Lost City of the Incas' is one of the most famous sets of ruins in the whole world. 

Other fun Peruvian facts: 

It's home to the deepest canyon in the world, Cotahuasi Canyon at 11,000 feet deep. 

In Peru you can also find the Nazca Lines, 20,000 year old animal drawings  that are scratched into the desert floor. 

Paddington Bear is totally Peruvian. Sure, sure, he may be a London resident, but he is from 'darkest Peru'. 

Then there's some interesting food facts: 

Peru's Incan Indians first grew the potato thousands of years ago. (So, thanks guys! I love potatoes). They valued the potato so highly they used it as a measurement of time, related to how long it took a potato to boil. 

In other, not as yummy, Peruvian food news: They eat a whole lot of guinea pig. Like 60 million each year, which is just gross. 

And finally, Puente de Piedra, or the 'Bridge of Stone', may be made of stone- but it's also made from eggs. 400 years ago 10,000 eggs were used to stick the stones together, and it's still standing today. 

The boys made their Peruvian postcards. 

Unsurprisingly they all featured Machu Picchu. Calib's also had some backpackers. 

Peyton had some sand surfers in his. 

And Hayden drew dinner consisting of potatoes and guinea pig. We didn't eat guinea pig, but we did eat Peruvian Street Food at Paradita Eatery  in the Public Market in Emeryville (Oakland-ish). 

My Uncle Charlie, Aunt Patti and cousin Kayla joined us for dinner that night. So shout out to them for driving nearly two hours to come eat with us. I've roped a whole lot of people into this project at one point or another. 

When we saw Clint at Volcanoes National Park we were talking about our plans for our San Fran/Oakland day, and when I told him about it- he was like 'Jess and I ate there! Get the purple corn drink, it's really good.' He was right, I loved it. Asa did too. The boys hated it. It's not particularly sweet, and since I hardly drink anything but water, that's kind of how I prefer my beverages these days, so that might have been the disconnect. 

So, I'm just going to copy and past off the website, to show you what we all ate.  Peyton got: 

POLLO A LA BRASA

Mary’s Organic Rotisserie chicken marinated in our famous Peruvian seasoning. The meal comes with French fries and two sauces (Huancaina & Chimichurri).

He really enjoyed his, and ate the whole thing. 

I had the... 

Lomo Saltado 

Stir-fried beef tenderloin with tomatoes & onions in Pisco-soy reduction, topped with French fries and crema de rocoto

I thought it was good, but it turns out it was spicy. That creme de rocoto was no joke. Eventually Asa took the other half and he gave me some of his. 

Asa had the Aji de Gallina 

Stewed chicken in Peruvian aji-amarillo pepper & cheese sauce with potato, Botija olive & egg

He really enjoyed his, and he gave me a few bites, which I also really liked. Unlike my sandwich, it wasn't spicy and it had some serious depth of flavor. 

Calib went with the Paradita Ribs 

Inca Kola BBQ pork spare ribs, Peruvian rice & beans, salsa criolla

He also ate every last bit of this. 

Hayden went with a special of bacon mac & cheese. He didn't particularly care for it though. 

After dinner we did go over to another booth and get macaron ice cream sandwiches, which were amazing as well. It's a fun little place, we could have explored more international options if we had been there longer. 

Hayden colored in Peru after we did the lesson. 

108 down, 85 to go. 

Next Up: Djibouti