Author Archives: wwelvaert

My first dog bite in Peru

Posted on by under Life in Peru

Seems like most people I know here in Peru have gotten bit by a dog at least once, and now I’ve joined those ranks myself 😦

Here in Cusco, like in much of Latin America, many dogs roam freely in city streets and parks. Many are strays and others are simply allowed to run free by their owners. People who walk their dog on a leash are an exception here in Cusco. Most of the stray dogs are actually quite nice, but unfortunately some are skittish or defensive because people often throw rocks at them and kids play rough with them, pull their tails and things of that nature.

I usually do good with dogs, I say hello to them, play nice, all that good stuff. Occasionally if a loose dog growls or barks at me, I stare it down or just stay out of the way. Rabies is still big here in Peru, so you really don’t want to get into a fight with a dog you don’t know.

A while ago a new dog moved into the neighborhood, and we pass by his house between our home and that of my suegra. Seems like the dog had already barked and nipped at other people, but I just kept going by his house since he never paid attention to me. However, a few days ago I walked by and the darn mutt came flying out of his little yard, ran up behind me barking and fussing at me. Typically I would have yelled at him but for some reason I didn’t feel like making a scene and just kept walking. The dog stopped for a second, and then ran up and nipped my calf. Ouch. At that point I did yell at him and his owner, who happened to be in the yard, threw water at the darn dog – like that’s gonna help.

When I got to my suegra’s house and told them the story my wife and her mom immediately ran down to the house to complain to the owner. I kind of felt like a dumbass having 2 women defend my honor, so to speak, but I guess since dog bites are so common here they are much better prepared to go and complain about the whole ordeal.

Long story short, the owner was quite apologetic about it and a day or so later he put up a better fence to keep the dog inside his yard.

Woof.

We have 2 strong and protective mutts as well, but they don’t run loose.

Baby with dogs

Baby with dogs

LAN Peru to invest $1 billion in Peru

Posted on by under Business & Economy, Life in Peru

The airline industry in Peru is doing well. Here’s the link from Andina: LAN Peru to invest $1 billion, and a quick excerpt:

Lima, jun. 30 (ANDINA). La empresa Lan Perú invertirá 1,000 millones de dólares en el país hasta 2011, para incrementar la flota de naves y en una mayor tecnología de la aerolínea, manifestó su gerente general, Jorge Vilches.
“Invertimos muy fuerte en una nueva flota porque el crecimiento del sector en Perú así lo justifica. Traemos cuatro aviones pequeños y dos grandes Boeing 767, que son para la operación internacional”, indicó a la agencia Andina.

Read the full article at Andina.

I’ve been trying to get a flying job here in Peru, here’s to hoping for a good opportunity in the near future 🙂

To stay current as a pilot I’ve been doing some airplane deliveries and ferry flights, mostly to Europe. Here’s a picture I took approaching Greenland on a recent Trans-Atlantic ferry flight to Europe:

Approaching Greenland on a trans-Atlantic airplane delivery flight

Approaching Greenland on a trans-Atlantic airplane delivery flight

More flying pictures on my contract pilot blog.

My World Cup post…

Posted on by under Life in Peru

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 😉

Primer cumple de mi wawa

Posted on by under Life in Peru

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.

l’histoire se répète

Posted on by under History and culture

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.

Bus from Lima to Cusco

Posted on by under Life in Peru

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:

Aah those reliable and ever so ethical multinationals…

Posted on by under Business & Economy, Life in Peru

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.

Parrilla para 2

Posted on by under Life in Peru

Occasionally we order a “parrilla para 2”, or “grill for 2” from the Tablon restaurant chain. There’s a ton of yummie food and in our case, it’s more like a “grill for 2-and-a-half”, plus leftovers. Goes great with a Cerveza Cusqueña or a glass of wine.

Parilla para 2 ... y medio

Parilla para 2 ... y medio

Now Cusco isn’t exactly Texas when it comes to steak. Instead of a 32oz T-bone, this “parilla” has a small steak, a pork chop, various types of sausage plus a bunch of food you wouldn’t typically see in the US: tongue, heart and some other pieces that I don’t quite recognize 😉

I don't know what most of it is either :)

I don't know what most of it is either 🙂

Peru is a poor country with only a small percentage of arable land due to the mountains, desert (coast) and jungle, so it is only natural that many types of food are standard fare. Here in the mountains we eat mostly chicken and pork, but I’ve also had goat, alpaca and of course “cuy” or guinea pig, a local specialty.

New park

Posted on by under Life in Peru

Many moons ago I ranted about the people in our apartment complex who refused to allow the mayor of Wanchaq to build a nice new park in our complex. Their main objection was that a nice new park would attract teenage couples and people looking for a place to get drunk. Personally I was never worried about that, since these guys can chase of a dozen drunk people quicker than you can say Cerveza Cusqueña.

But good news! Our alcalde, Willy Cuzmar del Castillo has long since struck a deal with the folks in our complex and the new park was recently finished.

I missed the grand-opening ceremony because I was on a trip up North (really North), but Patricia was able to snap a few pictures:

Grand opening ceremony

Grand opening ceremony

New park

New park

And here’s our little goose playing in the park.

Mommy and Brianna playing in the new park

Mommy and Brianna playing in the new park

The new park in our prestigioso Conjunto Habitacional Pachacutec came out really nice and I’m grateful for it. Here in Peru the local politicians campaign strongly on their record of obras, or public works, so go Willy Cuzmar del Castillo, hombre de palabra! 😉

Partido robado

Posted on by under Life in Peru

Unfortunately, when you sit down to watch Peruvian soccer chances are you’re not going to have a very good day – and that’s coming from a Belgian, we haven’t had a good team since Jean-Marie Pfaff in 1986. But last night, things got really ugly when riot police got out onto the field during the Copa Libertadores match between Alianza Lima and U de Chile:

SOCCER, U. DE CHILE VS. ALIANZA LIMA

SOCCER, U. DE CHILE VS. ALIANZA LIMA

Original photo here.

El Comercio has the video, but I can’t seem to embed it here.

Bottom line futbol-wise, the play should have been whistled dead when the line judge flagged offside. But drama sells, and sadly the media and powers that be in these parts seem to love nothing better than a good Peru-Chile controversy.