January 28

No scheduled tours and am glad of it.  Don't get me wrong, it is great to see things but it is also great to wander around and discover things or just kick back.

After a leisurely breakfast and posting of pictures to the web, we set out.  First stop the Coca and Costume Museum (Museu De la Coca and Costumbres).   An interesting mix for a museum, in one room a video tape of different dances and costumes in the other room a complete history of the Coca leaf.

The costumes were very colorful.  ON the video tape, they explained that many of the costumes were mocking the Spanish.  The dance called the Waca Waca had the Spanish women at a bullfight wearing so many skirts that if bull hit them, they couldn't be hurt.

The other part of the museum was dedicated to the Coca plant.  It goes through how it was used through out time, even when Coca Cola used to put Coca leaves in the product.  I must admit, that Coca Leaves, Coca Candy, Coca Tea, Coca Jam, Coca Gum, Coca Toffee and Coca Bread Sticks.  I must admit that drinking a cup of the tea leaves you in a pleasant mood.  Then again, so does a glass of wine. 

Michael and I then headed into town - the non-touristy area.  Both of us really enjoyed that and I found a new mission - "Operation Chili Pepper".  I wanted to find seeds of Peruvian Peppers.  The peppers I have been having in my meals could be the exact same that I have at home but grown in a different climate but I wanted to find seeds.

Eureka, I found it, they sold dry peppers along side the regular peppers, I could take the seeds out and take the seeds home. 

The locals loved talking to us.  Between my Spanish and Michael's Spanish we did well.  The older woman wanted to make sure we were not heading into Bolivia and that we should just stay here in Peru.  Quite a contract to some of the touristy areas where you feel like they are waiting for a tip after you talk to them.  After going through the Isles of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs, we had lunch.  You couldn't get more local than this (see below) for 3.50 Soles (a  whopping $1.15) we got a bowl of soup and a plat with Pork, Potatoes and Rice).  It was good - Anthony Bourdain would be proud.

Did you know Peru has over 4000 varieties of potatoes?  I think we have about 5 that we get at the grocery market in USA.  They also have all sorts of cheese - and it is good.  Would love to bring that back.  At the end of our shopping, we took a moto-taxi back to the hotel - a motorcycle with a covered back seat.

Of course the day wouldn't be complete without dinner.  Off we went to have dinner at Casona's.  We went there the first night in Puna before we left for the Islands on Lake Titicaca.  It is a wonderful restaurant with a collection of antique irons hanging on the wall.  A very old man sits at the front and opens the door for everybody.  I asked the waiter about him and he said he was patriarch of the family owned business. 

Michael had spaghetti, I had lasagna with white and red sauce, an appetizers with fried cheese, local bread and Chilean wine.