Life in Peru

Dogs and baby

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

Roxi, Manchita and Brianna

Baby kisses blue pitbull

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!

August 8, 2009 Posted by wwelvaert | Life in Peru | , , | 6 Comments

Peru, safety and pitbulls

How safe is Peru? How dangerous are pitbulls?

Got an email from my mom a while back, loosely translated:

“… Two friends of mine were thinking about visiting Peru. They’ve planned out their trip to Lima, Machu Picchu, and Cusco, and have already bought their tickets. But someone told them Peru is dangerous, and then they also read that Peru is dangerous on some government website. Now they’re thinking about canceling their trip, what should they do?”

So is Peru dangerous in my opinion? Here’s my response, again loosely translated:

“… Jee if I had known how dangerous it is here I could have been scared for the last year and a half !! Peru is very safe in my experience, BUT, it is a poor country so you have to be mindful of petty crime. It often amazes me how some tourists walk around Cusco as if they’re in Disney World. You have to be aware of your belongings, especially in busy places and on buses. Pay attention when the bus stops. There are bad parts of town in Lima, just like anywhere else in the world, but there’s no reason an ordinary tourist would end up there. I imagine the reason the government website said Peru is dangerous is because in a few of the provinces along the border with Colombia there are drug cartels, but again there’s no reason the average tourist would end up there.”

And then I made the mistake of adding some humor…

“Besides if your friends are really scared they can borrow my Pitbull while they’re here…”
We think Manchita is a Blue Pitbull

We think Manchita is a Blue Pitbull

Response from my mother….

“O my God, I’m so worried about what you’re going to do with the dogs now that you’re going to have a baby…”

Sometimes you just can’t win. There are lots of documented benefits of having dogs around children. Needless to say if you have strong, protective dogs like ours you have to pay attention to them, especially around children. But the notion that pitbulls randomly attack people is even more ridiculous than the idea that Peru is some bad unsafe place that you shouldn’t visit.

May 20, 2009 Posted by wwelvaert | Travel in Latin America | , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Mi cama, tu trasero

We spent 60 Nuevos Soles (about $20) to buy new doggie beds for our bi-national, US-Peruvian mutts this weekend. Here’s how they ended up:

Roxi and Manchita

Roxi and Manchita

Funny how Manchita’s big bottom doesn’t quite fit in Roxi’s bed. Manchita looks tough but Roxi is a bossy little terrier, and she’s also older than Manchita. We think Manchita is a Blue Pitbull, but without Roxi around she’s just a big baby.

We bought their new camas at the weekend market on the Plaza Tupac Amaru. Unlike in the US, local markets still have a big economic significance here in Cusco. At the Plaza Tupac Amaru vendors sell anything from furniture to flowers, handicrafts, snacks, nectar de sabila, etc. Unlike the markets in the downtown area, this market is mostly for the locals, you typically only find a few gringos strolling around.

Sundays the market is rather quiet, on Saturdays it's busier

Sundays the market is rather quiet, on Saturdays it's busier

March 15, 2009 Posted by wwelvaert | Life in Peru | , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Dual nationality mutts.

Roxy and Manchita were strays that decided to move in with us in NC. Roxy is some type of Jack Russell mix and Manchi looks like a blue Pitbull mix. Being that they are extremely attached to us, and they’re good dogs, we decided to move them to Peru with us. That was actually a pretty easy process: pay the vet in NC, the state of NC, the airlines, the Peruvian department of agriculture, and about $500 later we were happily moved to Peru. The best part of the trip for them was when they got to stay at the Sheraton Miami because our flight, which was supposed to leave at midnight, was delayed for 7+ hours. With time to spare, travel by air, ruff!!

Manchita got sick a month or so after moving to Cusco. Might have been the altitude (10,300 ft) or climate that she had to get used to. Either way, Patricia put this cute sweater on her for a while after that!

Manchita in sweater.

Roxy, in our bed.

Update: see the comments for additional info on how to move dogs from the US to Peru.

April 8, 2008 Posted by wwelvaert | Life in Peru, Travel in Latin America | , , , , , | 10 Comments