Last Blog: Goodbye to Peru

Coco and I have safely arrived to California. Time slipped through our hands the last few weeks in Peru. We celebrated our second wedding anniversary over the weekend, and then all of a sudden we were packing. We´re trying to catch our breath and catch up with family. We have a lot of challenges ahead of us as we start our new life here, but we´re totally excited. I am so thankful for all the amazing people I met, all the things I learned, and all the unbelieavable experiences I had. Thank you Peru!

(Picture from our first meal together when I arrived to Peru.)

Callahuanca

Chirimoya, Chirimoya and more Chirimoya. We took yet another road trip with Aunt Laura up a windy road in the mountains to a place called Callahuanca. It´s famous for producing the Chirimoya fruit in abundance, and we just happened to be there during the annual Chirimoya Festival. There you can eat lots of chirimoya and food prepared with Chirimoya. If I could explain the flavor of this fruit, I would, but it´s unique flavor is just something I don´t know how to explain. In Callahuanca, you can also eat things like avacodo ice cream and roasted guinea pig.

Normally chirimoya can be about the size of the palm of your hand. But in Callahuanca, chirimoya is as big as your head. We bought a chirimoya weighing 2 kilos.

I also had my first taste of Pachamanca. This delicious dish is cooked beneath the ground. You can read more about it here.

We also took a long walk down to a river and small trout farm.

Kurt Cobain is Alive!!!!.....in Peru

Photo from: http://www.larepublica.pe/21-04-2012/yo-soy-ramiro-el-kurt-cobain-del-misti

For those of you who are Nirvana fans you`ll really appreciate this. If I believed in reincarnation I would say that Kurt Cobain has been reincarnated in the body of a young Peruvian guy. I´ve never seen a Kurt Cobain impersonator, but this guy has to be the best. He auditioned for a show in Peru called `Yo Soy` that is basically a contest to see who can impersonate a particalur musician the best. This 27year old guy from Arequipa has been the star of the contest since he auditioned. He´s the biggest thing in Peru right now and he has tens of thousands of fans now all througout Latin America. We`ve been watching this show just to see this kid play. You would swear you were actually watching Kurt Cobain sing. Well, I´ll let the video footage speak for itself. But needless to say, Coco and I are rooting for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvAcyAJXqrs

If the link doesn´t work for you, just search youtube for 'Kurt Cobain Yo Soy`



Here was my moment of fame on Yo Soy.

Just kidding, we found this photo cutout in a mall. I would make a horrible Shakira.

Flowers

Coco´s been bringing home flowers once in a while. He sneaks out in the mornings to buy us fresh bread for breakfast and sometimes comes back with flowers.  He buys them from a woman who sells them on a little corner near the house. It´s very thoughtful of him and it always lifts my spirit. Some days I´ve felt a little overwhelmed with all the paperwork we´re taking care of here, and it feels incredibly strange to both be currently unemployed. I feel a bit stressed and scared about the daunting task of starting a whole new life together in another country. But, I did do it once before, and fortunately I have Coco to lean on through all of it. We´re counting down the days together....we will be home in less than two and a half weeks! And as flowers eventually decay, I started to photograph Coco´s flowers in hopes of preserving them forever.