Life in Peru

My World Cup post…

The World Cup is just now getting exiting. No Peru, no Belgium, que triste. How I long for the days of Jean-Marie Pfaff and Enzo Scifo.

Fearless forecast: Paraguay beats Uruguay by a score of 2-1 in the Final on July 11.

I know, I know, saner souls might predict something like Brazil – Germany or Netherlands – Argentina, but wouldn’t it be great for once if 2 small South American countries had their moment in the spotlight?

Speaking of Brazil and Argentina, I kind of like this video of Pele appearing on the first night of Maradona’s TV show. These two have been trading barbs for a long time but don’t show any sign of animosity in this segment. As for who’s the greater of the two, I don’t see why people get so hung up on that, they’re both legends.

For all of their off-the-field issues, people like Pfaff and Maradona are larger than life characters that I can’t help but like a bit… could it be because I’m kind of a character myself ;)

June 28, 2010 Posted by | Life in Peru | , , | Leave a Comment

Primer cumple de mi wawa

Birthdays are big here in Peru, and our baby’s first birthday was no exception. Our little Brianna Nayaraq had a huge first birthday party, complete with balloons, a clown, a piñata and of course cake, snacks and pollo la brasa.

June 24, 2010 Posted by | Life in Peru | , , , , | Leave a Comment

l’histoire se répète

Good article on Kyrgyzstan in the NY Times today. Reminiscent of the de-stabilizing effect of foreign influence in Latin America during the so-called Cold War, with disastrous results from Chile to El Salvador.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Let’s be honest, Kyrgyzstan is turning into a collapsing state, or at least part of it is, and what was partially responsible is this geopolitical tug-of-war we had,” said Alexander A. Cooley, who included Manas in a recent book about the politics of military bases. “In our attempts to secure these levers of influence and support the governing regime, we destabilized these state institutions. We are part of that dynamic.” Read the full article here.

June 18, 2010 Posted by | History and culture | , | Leave a Comment

Bus from Lima to Cusco

I recently returned from a North-Atlantic ferry flight a few days earlier than planned. When I arrived in Lima I couldn’t get a good airline ticket from Lima to Cusco, so I decided to take the bus instead.

As the crow flies, Lima to the imperial city of Qosqo is only 364 miles, but by bus the trip takes about 21-22 hours due to the traffic in Lima (2-3 hours) and the winding roads through the Andes mountains.

Taking the bus from Lima to Cusco is a bit of an adventure and a good way to see a little bit of Peru outside of the typical tourist areas. However, be warned: taking the bus from Lima to Cusco is not a good idea unless you are comfortable traveling in cars and busses over winding roads up and down steep mountains. Near Abancay for example the road goes up and back down several thousand feet. Inside the bus it can be very cold at night, so you need to take a blanket along. The restroom on the bus isn’t very clean even by Peruvian standards. Also, you never know what to expect on the grainy TV in the bus, but it probably won’t be anything you’re used to seeing on the boobtube at home.

There are many bus companies in Peru. We take the “Flores” company, which is quite nice and only costs 100 Soles (~$30) each way for the nice seats on the lower level of the bus.

Here’s a few pictures of my last trip:

June 17, 2010 Posted by | Life in Peru | , , , , | 1 Comment

Aah those reliable and ever so ethical multinationals…

Just some thoughts about big companies and nice promises. Here’s some excerpts from an AP article today on BP’s oil spill response:

“Due to the distance to shore (48 miles) and the response capabilities that would be implemented, no significant adverse impacts are expected,” the site plan says.
“Said BP spokesman Daren Beaudo from Robert, La.: “We expect that a complete review of the regional response plans and planning process will take place as part of the overall incident investigation so that we can determine what worked well and what needs improvement. Thus far we have implemented the largest spill response in history and many, many elements of it have worked well. However, we are greatly disappointed that oil has made landfall and impacted shorelines and marshes. The situation we are dealing with is clearly complex, unprecedented and will offer us much to learn from.”

Here you go, Mr. Beaudo, enjoy:

Now I positively have to stop buying BP gas. For years I have tried not to buy Exxon gas because Exxon fought 20 years not to pay the punitive damages from that case. At least the captain of the ship has apologized.

What’s relevant here in Peru, let’s just say when a multinational and rich old guys in Lima make promises about things like extracting resources from the Amazon jungle in Peru without spilling a drop, you can count me sceptical.

June 9, 2010 Posted by | Business & Economy, Life in Peru | , , | Leave a Comment

   

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