Backpacking in Peru

Lomo Saltado: Want some?

2009-03-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

What other great dish than "Lomo Saltado" uh?

No other dish delivers such contrasting and delicious flavors as this one does. It is a recipe with a little bit of everything. Rice, fries, and meat seasoned beautifully with white onions, garlic, fresh tomatoes, red peppers, soy sauce and parsley for the finish. Lomo Saltado is more than a mix of flavors, it is the result of the cantonese influence over the common ingredients found on Peruvian creole dishes. It makes you remember the meals your mother used to cook when little.

Food and traveling is a great combination, which lets you know certain cultures history. If you are more than interested and willing to cook this dish for yourself...

Here it is the recipe:

1 lb sirloin or tenderloin, cut into bite size pieces

1 small onion, cut into strips

1 large tomato, cut into strips

1 large hot pepper, seeded and cut into strips

- salt

- pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Place the cut meat in a bowl or dish, and season it with salt, pepper, a little bit of

olive oil, lime juice, and chopped garlic. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Sauté meat over high heat for a few minutes until meat is no longer pink.

Lower temperature to medium and add first the onion. Cook, stirring for 1

minute and then stir in the tomatoes and peppers. Cook until the onions are tender.

Add the red wine and the cilantro. Cook for one more minute. Serve with white rice.

What Airline should you use to get to your destination?

2009-03-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

If you are madly in love with the idea to travel this is the airline you should use, LAN. It is an airline from Chile, it offers the best of the best, great attention from flight attendants and the last on passenger entertaining solutions, so you will never want to go to sleep during your flight. Great selection of movies that just came out to theaters, a tonload of music albums from the first of the Fabulosos Cadilacs and the latest from Britney Spears. Besides you are like me that wants to fly with the people rather than with the snobs of first class, you don't need to pay extra bucks to get a nice seat with enough room for your legs to relax the entire flight. Food is awesome, is as if it were prepared by Jacques Pépin himself! Restrooms plenty, so you won't be waiting ouside crowding the aisle. Try LAN next time you want to travel to any South American destination, you won't regret it.

Thirsty? Drink an Inca Cola!

2009-03-16T00:00:00.001-07:00

I was so thirsty once I got off the plane that I didn't know what to do. Let's see, about to get to the plane they made me trash the only savior for thirst, my bottle of water. Now, If we talk about getting something to drink inside the plane, pleaseeee! that half filled little cup the flight attendant provides is not enough to replenish your vital organs, but subtle enough to make you want to go to the always occupied, useless, small, and shaky restroom. However, there's certain variety on what you choose to fill that cup, you can go either high roller with a vodka, whiskey, wine or water, orange juice, some soda, and Inca Cola. Come on, now we are talking big, yaaa big like Michael Jordan's feet. Inca Cola is the most famous and branded soda of Peru, known to be drunk by Peruvians since they wake up just to get started with a little boozie ouizie caused by the effects of the carbonated drink.

In reality, Inca Cola now branded by the Coca-Cola company, famous for that brown bubbly mysterious concoction, had its humble origins in Peru. It was invented by an English immigrant family, which started a small bottling company. They experimented with some local plants that mixed in the right amounts would give life to what is now the drink of high refreshing and thirst quencher power. Inca Cola started to have high demand due to how this family commercialized their product. They started to advertise Inca Cola with some indigenous figures drinking, enjoying it, which increased the appreciation the local people had for this soda drink.
Inca Cola is not like any other soda drink is unique in its flavor profile, just like the slogan says "There is only one Inca Kola and it's like no other." The weather helps to ingest this magical concoction like if it were water, just like Peruvians do. I hope you find an Inca Cola, try it, drink it and realize that Inca Cola is as good as it gets.

I have been away!

2009-03-14T23:49:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get a brand new domain, so theperubackpacker can leave the blogspot.com server and all the readers would be able to access to my content easily with a DOT.com. Seriouly, this have been the main thing that have kept me busy and stressed out!

I'll be changing the layout of the site once I get that domain. I think, I'll be using the new Worpress CMS, in case nobody knows what that means (CMS= Content Management System) which will enable me to have fuller and better control over all the options a real web-log site can have with all the extra jumbo mumbo.
Other thoughts: Come back soon!

Cost - Running low on cash? Don't worry...

2009-02-10T00:26:00.000-08:00

As always money makes an appereance, if there's no money,

people like you that wonders about what is like to travel to Peru cannot dream about even going there. But, don't worries there are always thousands of possibilities that can help to accomplish it. The first thing to know is the new sol (S/.) Spanish for sun, is Peru's new currency and it is worth 3 times of a dollar. Supposedly, one can eat with $3.US dollars, but it all comes down to what kind of food you are looking forward to try once your are down there. Dollars and soles can be used easily everywhere. Every place I went to in Peru accepted dollars, but if you are like me that likes to get in touch with the regional currency, you better exchange some money before going anywhere. Cambistas, as they are called in Peru, exchange euros and dollars on every corner of the city, commercial or tourist centers, and offer the best rates of all places.

If you wonder where to stay, Peru offers all types of places, from the most expensive to the cheapest. A comfortable double room could cost from $20 - $40.US dollars, theres also, camping which is usually free, but then safety may be a concern.

Another thing to realize is that, costs vary a lot according to Peru's weather seasons. The relation is the best weather higher prices which usually go up about 20- 30 percent. One thing to remember to bring along is some sort of student card. Places like museums and tourist spots among many other places, offer discounted fees to local and international students. I had to pay exhorbitant amounts of money just because I didn't think about that little detail (tourism + student= lower fees) Keep that in mind.

Chifa - Peruvianese Food

2009-02-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

I have taken a while to post something here. I have been working on the header of this site, so it has a better fresh look. However, here I am bringing you something to eat.

Chifa: name used to refer to the fusion of Limean and Chinese food brought by immigrants from Canton. Also, Chifa is a term used to refer to the type of restaurants in general that prepare this food. When peruvian people crave chinese food, they find any Chifa that brings them a mix of typical flavors from Peru and China. Chifa has gained popularity among the different types of food prepared in Peru and has even achieved international fame. Wherever there are Asian-Peruvians in the world, there is always a Chifa. These restaurants can be found anywhere, however if you are hungry you got to try some. chaufa rice, or fried wantan or chijaikai chicken are good choices, just pick any and bon appetit! (Check below recipe)

Chaufa Rice:

Ingredients:
1 kg (2.2 lb) of cooked rice
270 g (10 oz) of chicken or pork
3 whole eggs
2 chopped shallots or 1 whole red onion sliced
1 green onion- chopped
1 tablespoon of ginger
1/2 cup of soy sauce
Olive oil or any oil

Preparation:
Pan-fry (to sauté) the meat and the onion, then add ginger and season with salt and pepper to taste. Once meat, onions, and ginger are done, take out of the pan.
Cook an omelette with the three eggs, then sliced and mix it up with the other ingredients already cooked and the rice. Finally, add soy to taste and a little of green onion for that Asian flavor.

The first round trip to Perú

2009-01-27T15:49:00.001-08:00

Perú a western South American country that was home to the famous Inca Empire, and the largest state in Pre-Columbian America was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty which destroyed a great deal of what it was the Inca Empire at the time. However, the Spaniards never got to touch Machu Pichu, and now is considered one of the great wonders of the world. That's why I decided to take a plane and to get to know this lost civilization.

Barrio Miraflores - Lima

2009-01-25T13:24:00.000-08:00

Larcomar:

One of the most visited and transited districts in Lima, offers a great variaty of places to go to. Larcomar, La calle de las pizzas (The Pizza street), El parque Kennedy (Kennedy Park) to name a few. Larcomar is known for being the place where everybody meets. It is one of the bigger social Mall in Lima and right on the beach, therefore is nice to go in that summer wear, sandals, sun glasses and short pants. Oh, don't forget your tanning lotion if you feel like getting a little bit of sun. If you want to dance the two big discos Aura and Gothica offer a great selection of music, drinks and only the nicest and prettiest people.

La calle de las pizzas, well known for the street full of pizza restaurants, which spice up the night with some of the juiciest combos of all. You can have a drink, a pizza and dance some salsa.

If you don't know how to dance salsa, in El Son de Cuba there are some classes that are offered to clueless people like yourself and me. Feeling like drinking a Pisco Sour and a pizza? or maybe your are figuring out how your are going to get rid of that belly during your trip? Salsa dance could be the answer. However you feel like, Miraflores is the place to have some fun!