An American in Lima

The never-ending promotional hooplah that is Las Siete Maravillas Gastronómicas del Peru has been extended an additional month, from July 25 to August 23, announced the contest’s organizers last week. That means if you haven’t done so already, you can vote online for your seven favorite Peruvian dishes, from the list of 21 culinary semi-finalists: Adobo [...]

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July 28 marks Peru’s declaration of independence from Spain in 1820, and today Peruvians are celebrating Fiestas Patrias with almuerzos, parties and plenty of booze. A celebrant enjoys free pisco at Lima’s Plaza de Armas, 2006 (photo courtesy RCBusiness.com ) More than 1300 litres of pisco will flow from the fountain in Lima’s historic Plaza de [...]

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Crying or laughing? Schoolchildren react to poisoned dog in street (photo courtesy Dr. G, www.hermanoperro-hermanogato.blogspot.com) I wish I never had to write this post, but since my Labrador nearly died from ingesting poison in a Lima park this week, I must share what I’ve learned to alert other pet owners. A surprising number of people in [...]

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Ohio State glaciologist Lonnie Thompson gives two good reasons why loss of Peru’s glaciers is “alarming”; July 7 Adapting to a World without Glaciers, Lima (photo by Jorge Vera 2009) By Barbara R. Drake LIMA, PERU: Peru’s Minister of the Environment Antonio Brack Egg told international glacier experts and other climate specialists last week that [...]

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El Fotografo took this shot during the drive to Huaraz last week. It’s of the Callejón de Huaylas (“Alley of Huaylas”), a valley in the Ancash Region in the north-central highlands of Peru. Glaciers all along the mountains there are melting due to rapid climate change. Mt. Caullaraju; photo c. Jorge Vera 2009 Shooting with a Hasselblad [...]

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Water Is the Source of Life (Jorge Vera 2009)

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Many thanks to Alenja and Holly of Collecting Tokens for including my rant on the archbishop of Cusco as a June “Just Post for a Just World.” The Just Posts roundtable highlights ”posts about topics of social justice and activism in all shapes and sizes,” writes Alenja. She adds that “Holly and I are pleased to share this wealth of posts [...]

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A girl in Pucarumi carries her little sister on her back. At least six children under age 5 in her valley have died from extreme cold since March, my trekking guide tells me. (Sept. 2008 photo by Barbara Drake) Spoke to Alberto last night, our guide at Qoyllur Rit’i and around the Mount Ausangate area. He [...]

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photo by Barbara Drake 2009 We visited this lake in Huascaran National Park last Sunday. The turquoise-blue water is fed by glacier streams. Lots of trout in the lakes.

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A rescue worker (NOT with the Red Cross) helps a woman in Arequipa whose llamas have died of extreme cold (Reuters) I was on Twitter tonight when I learned from actress Qorianka that the death toll in the Andes due to extreme cold is up to 250 children, reports the BBC’s Dan Collyns: Almost 250 children under the age [...]

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  Dog at Yungay National Cemetery; Mount Huascaran in background (photo by Barbara Drake 2009)  Last Sunday, El Fotógrafo, El Híjo and I toured the cemetery above the buried town of Yungay, about 30 miles north of Huaraz. We were with a group of scientists and historians taking part in a glacier adaptation conference, and there [...]

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The United States is doing a good, not-so-small thing in Peru by co-sponsoring (via USAID), with The Mountain Institute, an international conference in Lima and Huaraz on the topic of “Adapting to a World without Glaciers.” El Fotografo and I were graciously invited to be part of this effort, which brings together social scientists and biophysical scientists working [...]

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Peru’s biggest supermarket chain – Wong – plays up Fiestas Patrias in a big way, sponsoring patriotic events and featuring the “flavors of Peru” during the month-long season. The store’s colors are red and white, the colors of the Peruvian flag, but to celebrate the Independence Day spirit during July, some employees wear outfits distinctive to Peru. The young [...]

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