I cried

Posted on August 27, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

While Patricia was out this morning the baby woke up, so I put her next to me while I was working…

Baby listening to rock and roll music

I played some Beatles music on iTunes to keep her entertained.

“… Someone to love,
Somebody new.
Someone to love,
Someone like you.

Love, love me do.
You know I love you,
…”

And I cried…

Darn rock ‘n roll music, without it I would still be living in the suburbs, working my butt off at a job I liked only for the money, every day one day closer to death 🙂

Prevent brain loss – move to Cusco

Posted on August 25, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

A new study claims obese people have severe brain degeneration.

“A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today. “

So why would living in Cusco make a difference? The report continues that…

“The main cause, experts say: bad diet, including an increased reliance on highly processed foods…”

In other words, if everything you eat has “high fructose corn syrup” in it, you might want to consider spending a few months in Cusco. Food here is fresh and delicious. Gringos in Cusco lose weight, lots of it.

Typical Andean food

Papa rellena

Posted on August 14, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

We are by no means experts when it comes to cooking typical Peruvian food, or comida criolla, but yesterday our papa rellenas actually came out looking good.

Homemade papa rellena

Papa rellenas are typical Peruvian food, served often at the local restaurants that offer daily specials known as “Menu”.

So how do you make papa rellena? Again, I’m no expert, but basically you make mashed potatos and roll them around some ground beef and vegetables like peas, carrots, peppers – all cooked and cut into small pieces, of course. Then you fry the rolled potato in a pan to make it crispy brown on the outside, yummie!!

Don’t try frying them in a deep fryer, just take my word for it 🙂

Bautizo

Posted on August 12, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

Some pictures of Brianna’s baptism (bautizo) at Seminario San Antiono Abad here in Cusco last Saturday:

: Brianna with ‘meme’

: Getting baptised

: Con sus padrinos

: Proud family

: Throwing candy

: Beautiful baby girl

She was so good, didn’t cry the entire time 🙂

Dogs and baby

Posted on August 8, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

For my dog-loving friends, a few pictures of our baby with the dogs… I got yelled at for the second one 🙂

Roxi, Manchita and Brianna

Baby kisses blue pitbull

Both my mom and Patricia’s mom were pretty worried about the dogs, now that our new baby has arrived. My mom was particularly worried because Manchita is a Blue Pitbull, but the dogs seemed to realize right away this little wawa was a new addition to our family. I imagine in a few months when Brianna starts throwing – digo eating food from a high chair, that will take her relationship with the dogs to a whole new level 🙂

Of course if you have strong, protective dogs like ours you have to pay attention to them around kids, especially once our baby gets a bit older and has her friends over to the house, but we’re of to a good start!

McBooby

Posted on August 8, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

We were at Don Esteban & Don Pancho the other day when our wawa got hungry, so Patricia fed her. No big deal, unlike in the US, here in Peru you see women breastfeeding their babies in public all the time.

Breastfeeding at Don Esteban & Don Pancho

According to the CDC, breastfeeding rates in the US fall short of objectives. Duhh… as long as women can’t breastfeed anywhere outside their own homes what can you expect?

I mean, I grew up 2 hours outside of Amsterdam so NOTHING SCARES ME, but what could possibly be offensive about a mother nursing her child? If more women are to breastfeed their babies for longer periods, let them feed their baby whether they’re at a soccer game, in McDonalds or in the comfort of their own home.

Tipon: Like Machu Picchu without the tourists

Posted on August 4, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

We took my parents to Tipon the other day. Tipon is a beautiful Inca-era archeological site just outside of Cusco. It rivals Machu Picchu in architecture, water engineering, and stunning location on the side of a mountain.

Being touristy at Tipon

Tipon

Relaxing in the Andean sun

Unlike Machu Picchu, Tipon is a quiet site, visited by few foreign tourists. It’s a perfect place to relax and enjoy the Andean sun or chat with the local visitors. You will usually find as many locals as foreign visitors at Tipon.

Why are there so few gringos at Tipon? Perhaps because they’re all at Machu Picchu, where the tour operators take them… I mean, why take S/.18 (transportation included) from the gringo to see Tipon if we can take $150 to see Machu Picchu?

If you’d like to see Tipon, the directions are on my travel blog.

A few tourists at Tipon

Where are the gringos?