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June 2016

TOP 5 PERUVIAN DISHES

    My first backpacking trip to Peru was when I was 20 years old and an idealistic vegetarian on a $20 per day budget. That’s $20 per day for everything – transportation, hostel, sightseeing entrances, and food. Being a vegetarian anywhere is South America is a challenge but particularly when you are on a super tight budget. This all being said, my first introduction to Peruvian cuisine was very lack-luster and involved mostly potatoes (of which there are some 4000 varieties), avocados, quinoa (ancient protein-rich super grain), corn, and runny eggs. Needless to say I did not return home after my first foray to South America and rave about Peruvian cuisine (though I did rave about almost everything else). Oh how times have changed. I am no longer a vegetarian. I do not travel on a $20 per day budget. I have been to Peru at least a dozen times. I love Peruvian cuisine. Over the past decade and a half my love affair with Peruvian cuisine has become very potent but apparently, I am not the only one. Peruvian cuisine has recently received an immense amount of attention in the culinary world and is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Modern day Peruvian cuisine is a melting pot indigenous dishes combined with nearly 500 years of Spanish and more recently African, Japanese, Chinese, and Italian influence. Peruvian cuisine is varied in colour and texture, extremely fresh, and mildly spicy. From the seafood-rich Pacific, to the fertile Andes where potatoes, corn and tomatoes… Read More »TOP 5 PERUVIAN DISHES

    REASONS TO RISE EARLY WHILE TRAVELLING

      During my tour leading career I have been cursed at by group members for setting pre-dawn wake-up calls, I’ve encountered mini-protests within my group when informing them of departure time, and I’ve literally dragged people out of bed. Why? Am I a horribly sadistic person? Nope…in fact the opposite is true. It’s my desire to showcase a location in its purest form; untainted by hordes of people or extreme heat. So I’ve compiled a list of some of my favourite reasons to get outta bed ridiculously early while travelling: 1. BEATING THE CRUISE SHIP CROWD. The cruise ship crowd doesn’t get up and going before dawn, so you should. Get your butt out of bed early. Anyone who has visited sites such as Pisa, Santorini, or the Venice knows that once the cruise ships arrive, all pleasure you experienced exploring is immediately drained and panic sets in. My favourite quote from a cruise ship goer was at Ephesus in Turkey stating with a southern drawl, “Where are we? I don’t even understand why we came here…everything is just old and in ruins.” Yup. 2. HOT AIR BALLOONING. Whether it is over Luxor, Cappadocia, Bagan’s Temples, or the Serengeti, hot air ballooning at dawn is a surreal experience.  In the darkness of the early, the glow of the fire filling the massive balloon is an impressive site in and of itself. For me, the serenity at dawn rising above the vast golden-hued plains with hundreds of grazing zebra and wildebeests below in the… Read More »REASONS TO RISE EARLY WHILE TRAVELLING