Last month in Peru

My last month in Peru was exciting. I managed to fit in some of the activities available in Lima that I had been meaning to do but had never got around to, such as paragliding, surfing, and making my own chocolate. I did learn that I'm not the best surfer - if you call what I did surfing at all. I mostly splashed around like a 2-legged puppy and swallowed a lot of sea water. But I'm not complaining - I got to do it in the Pacific Ocean. Beats the English Channel any day!

Trying to ride a wave

Trying to paddle

My paragliding experience off the Costa Verde cliff was a lot more successful, mainly because it involved no upper body strength and, in any case, the views were 100 times nicer, especially as I paraglided (or should that be paraglid...? :P) just before sunset, so the sky was spectacular. It was pretty expensive considering I was only in the air for 10 minutes, but one perk was that the price included a full length film of my flight, which is pretty cool. This also meant I could grab some good screenshots:

As great as these activities were, the Choco Museum in Miraflores was the tastiest of my experiences! Tobias and I booked a workshop where we learned about the history of chocolate and the cocoa bean in South America (gross fact: the Mayans invented hot chocolate and a key ingredient was human blood!). We were then given cocoa beans, which we roasted, ground, and mixed to create delicious chocolates and hot chocolates (fortunately sans human body fluid).

Roasting the beans!

Crushing the beans

Making the hot chocolate

Moulding the chocolates!

 Me with a (fake) cocoa tree

After all this excitement and fun was over, there were only a couple of weeks until I was due to return back to England. I wasn't sad - I felt I'd done everything I went there to do, plus more. In any case, I was actually really looking forward to spending Christmas in the cold (it was 25°C in Lima by the time I left) and being reunited with my friends and family.

It was an amazing 6 months and I'll never forget it, but for now, Peru and I have parted ways. However, I know I'll be back one day - I'll even visit a few other South American countries while I'm at it...

Magic Water Circuit

Oh where to begin! The last two weeks have disappeared in a haze of activity and excitement that far surpassed my original expectations. Machu Picchu was a hard climb but was so wonderful to see; despite having seen countless pictures of the place, I was absolutely bowled over seeing it 'in the flesh'. And, as well as this, I also used my boyfriend's visit as an excuse to do all of the touristy things in Lima that I've been meaning to do over the last 5 months, but never seemed to get around to (such as paragliding and surfing). 

I actually have so much to report and write about that I'm loathe to do it in one post, so I've decided that my two-week stint spent in Cusco, Lima, and climbing Machu Picchu will be done as a series of posts. Just a collection of recommendations and thoughts, rather than a step by step of what we did. Some things probably even deserve a post all of their own. So here goes.

Soon after Tobias arrived, we had one evening in Lima before hopping on the plane to Cusco, the town from which people go on to climb the mountain, and we spent this evening at the Magic Water Circuit (Circuito del Agua) at Parque de la Reserva in Miraflores. This is a place I've been wanting to go to for ages, as everyone raves about it, so a couple of weeks ago I finally did. 

The park, which has been open for about seven years now, has thirteen illuminated fountains, and an amazing atmosphere. It manages to maintain that difficult balance of being family-friendly but also a romantic spot for couples, or just a perfect destination for a fun night out for groups of adult friends. The fountains can be admired at your leisure, either by walking or by taking the little train that drives around the park. We did both - I tapped into my inner child when I saw the little train meandering around the place, and we fitted into the tiny carriage - just. 

The place is awash with colour and joy, and if you fancy getting wet (which I did), you can run into the fountains and enjoy being splashed, or you can keep a safe distance like Tobias did, and just appreciate the beautiful coalescence of water and colourful light, maybe whilst also taking pictures of your girlfriend acting like an overexcited five year old (which she definitely regretting after realising she hadn't brought a change of clothes). 

But the most impressive sight by far was the water show, an absolutely spellbinding 20 minute piece, weaving together music, water, and incredible coloured light projections absolutely seamlessly, and leaving us mesmerised. I'm glad I watched this before jumping into the fountains and running through water tunnels though, as I think spending the 20 minutes shivering and with soggy feet would have detracted from the magic somewhat.

All-in-all, it was a fabulous evening, with the only negative bit being that it ended with a last minute and frantic packing session before we could collapse into bed and refresh ourselves for our adventure the next day. Next stop: Cusco.

Skills a Copywriter Should Have

As an extension of my previous post about article-writing, I decided to blog a bit more about a couple of things my life as a copywriter has taught me.

But first, a bit of background info: my job involves being given titles for articles which I then have to write, thereby producing content for the various websites owned by the company. These have to conform to a certain length, style, and format, whilst also having to include various key words or phrases in order to make the article more 'Google-friendly'. It took a bit of getting used to, especially as I have to be able to write in various styles, from long feature articles to 100-word sound bites, but I'm pretty much in the swing of it now.

So, two of the most important skills to pick up as a copywriter (in my humble opinion) are:

1) The ability to reword

(Source: www.brownhouseonline.com)

Although there are many enjoyable things about being a copywriter, the SEO aspect can be a bit of a pain. In essence, for this company it means that in the interests of being able to catch all customers, the wording that searchers use to search should be the title of the piece, and there are always numerous ways to ask a search engine for information, of course. But this does not mean my carefully researched and planned piece that perfectly encapsulates the topic can be used as an answer for all. No - unfortunately, articles with the same wording will be penalised and not show up at all. Therefore, it is often necessary to write the same article countless times and on each of those occasions, find a fresh way to say it.

What I have learned: That Google's algorithms are annoying and also that I had a secret talent for writing about hot flushes in twenty or more original ways all along, which has only just surfaced now.

2) The ability to accept your limitations
Whenever I do get given a brand new title (which does happen), I am always struck with the familiar fear that I do not have a PhD in the topic, and this can cause me to procrastinate (although I justify as 'research' of course) before I really can't anymore and have to get on with writing the damned piece. Well, I was more like this at the beginning, but have now realised that writing a mere 500 words about the symptoms of bipolar disorder does not require that I know everything there is to know about the psychological, philosophical, neurological, and medical aspects of the illness. It is enough to use reputable sources to simply find out what I need to know and back them up with evidence. Anything else is superfluous and a complete waste of my time and energy.

What I have learned: Save that precious time and energy for more important things, like exploring Peru, or other such activities.

Although there is a lot to learn and get used to, there is a lot to like about copywriting. That feeling of satisfaction after finishing an article/review/research piece is wonderful, and I do like being paid to write all day - flexing my creative muscles and all that. Although the job, almost by definition, involves creating for others rather than yourself, which can be good or bad depending how interesting or boring the topic happens to be, this can mean finding out things you never thought you'd know, never thought you didn't know, or didn't really know you wanted to know. Phew, now my head's spinning. I think I need to lie down.

Clubbing and Cakes

Having spent the week toiling away informing the world about the perils of menopause, I was looking forward to letting my hair down last weekend, and the activities of choice were clubbing and eating cupcakes.

I had been looking forward all week to the Festival Del Cupcake that was held over the weekend, and had spent my working days dreaming about all the gorgeous delicacies that would be on offer. However, my timing could not have been more off.

Festival Del Cupcake

At about midday I set off on foot to find this festival, which seemed to be in quite an out of the way place, and 45 minutes later I finally arrived (feeling I had definitely earned a cake or two!). The sweets that were on offer looked gorgeous, but I must say - the fest was a lot smaller than I had been expecting. It also seemed I had managed to arrive just after they had set up. As a result - hardly anyone was there. After walking around a few times, eating some free samples, and buying a 'trifle'-type dessert consisting of layers of jelly, crumbled chocolate brownie, and cream, I left, feeling remorseful that I had not waited until the late afternoon.

Delicioso!

However, my sadness was soon abated as I put on my dancing shoes that evening and headed to Mokka Disco in Miraflores for its 6-month 'anniversary'. Fortunately one of the girls we were with knew a worker, who let us all in for free. To add to the excitement, upon entering, we were given a glass of champagne and then had to pose with a cake for an 'official' picture before going into the packed main area.

Posing with a cake

I think luck must have been on our side that night because, after a few hours of dancing, my housemates and I ran into our Peruvian friend we had made during our first week, who happens to work as a club promoter. Pretty soon we were in the VIP area sipping yet more free drinks. Wasn't a bad night at all!

Dancing the night away

And then this week I was reluctant for the fun to end, so I have bought myself an earlybird ticket for the 'Life of Color' paint party which is coming to Lima this December (by happy coincidence just a day after my birthday), and have booked a trip to the jungle for the end of this month. In the words of Chandler Bing: Could life BE more exciting?!

Choco Museo: A Chocolate Museum Review

This is a little place tucked slightly away from the main square in Barranco, Lima that I definitely think deserves a mention. I have to admit it was slightly different from what I had envisaged, mostly due to the size. However, it is a lovely place to go if (a) you like chocolate and (b) you have a spare 15 minutes.

It's a small establishment, consisting of a cafe selling a range of edible chocolate goodies (of course), a shop set up in the corner selling unusual items such as cocoa face cream and cocoa candles, and two rooms off to the side where they manufacture the sweet brown miracle.

Upon entering, our noses were greeted with a strong, but not altogether unpleasant, aroma of a chocolate-scented incense stick. Unusual but effective. We were then greeted by a friendly chocolatier, who offered to give us a free tour of the chocolate-making process. We readily agreed and were shown the process from the bean to the river of melted loveliness (which we were allowed to taste - much to our delight). It was interesting, although rather short (as I said, there are but two rooms that house the machines, and they aren't big).

 A selection of chocolate jams

After the tour we were offered a samples of alcohol made from the cocoa bean and also a taste of one of the many 'chocolate jams' available, which were essentially chocolate spread and fruit. The alcohol was incredibly strong but tasted good, probably owing to the orange-flavouring, but I was disappointed with my choice of spread, which just tasted like strawberry jam. However, my friend was very pleased with her orange and chocolate mix.

Apparently there is another one of these closer to home in Miraflores, which I will hopefully manage to visit at some point. I definitely intend to go to one of them and this time have a hot chocolate in the cafe, and maybe try out one of their chocolate-making workshops.

Food, More Food, and Bananas

Last week I visited the lovely Mistura, Latin America's largest food festival, which was conveniently being hosted in Lima. Unfortunately we had to buy our tickets a few days beforehand, and I was dreading the long boring queues that I had been told were inevitable. However, we must have struck lucky with our timing. Arriving in the morning on the opening weekend, we slipped in seamlessly with no waiting required, ready to taste the delicious food on offer. I lost my friends in the crowds whilst there so spent the time exploring on my own, and I wasn't short of scrumptious choice.

The Entrance Gate

It was a strange payment system however, with each customer being required to buy a set of tokens, which could then be exchanged for food and drink. At first I was confused by this seemingly useless middleman, but I suppose it was an ingenious way to get the maximum dollar out of each visitor. Indeed, I purchased 20 soles of tokens at the beginning, and would have left sooner than I did had I not had 4 soles left over at the end (which I spent on a freshly squeezed orange juice).

A token - 

this one worth only one measly sol

Although I wanted to try EVERYTHING (apart from the seafood), my appetite and wallet would not allow, so I opted for the tastiest burger I have ever had in my life (cooked to perfection, and stacked with an array of fresh, beautiful ingredients and sauces, all in a lovely soft bun), a strange 'fruit' tea that was a slightly off-putting brown colour and tasted a little bit like week-old kettle water, and of course, my healthy juice of a 'naranja'.

At first I was a little underwhelmed, but to be fair, we had arrived just as the gates opened, and for the first hour and a half there were little in the way of crowds. But as the people started to pour in, so did the atmosphere, and I began to see what all the fuss was about. I left with the impression it was smaller than I had thought though, but was informed afterwards by one of my friends that I had only been in the first 'section', and had missed a vast chunk of the festival. This was a shame, but I couldn't have eaten any more anyway, so it wasn't the end of the world.

Just getting started

However, despite its popularity, there are clearly some factions of society that are not so enamoured with Mistura. As I walked back out of the entrance gate, there was a silent but visible protest telling all the visitors that the food festival they are about to enjoy is in fact an 'animal holocaust'. I must admit, it isn´t the most vegetarian-friendly of places.

Making a stand

And as I am on a food streak, I might as well mention the local food market that I went to this week. Not far from where I live, this lively, eclectic mish-mash of high-end to incredibly affordable food stalls sets up every Sunday. I was almost overwhelmed with choice - but, wanting a few fruits and vegetables, I walked around the busy marketplace wondering how I could get the best value for money in my broken Spanish. In the end I gave up trying to mentally work out which stall holders looked like they sold produce for the cheapest price, and just plumped for one at random, pointing and saying words, ending up buying a kilo of onions instead of potatoes in the process. My life now revolves around working out how to shoe-horn onions into everything I eat.

It is an amusing place though. Part of it is located in a big 'warehouse' (for want of a better word), , smells unpleasant, and is full of flies because the fish and meat just sits out in the warm waiting for a buyer. There are even plucked chickens, completely whole (beaks, eyes, and claws included), that hang in all their glory from every other market stall . However, questionable hygiene practices aside, it is a highly vibrant and interesting place, and I managed to buy a huge range of fruits and veg for a ridiculously low price. Exciting purchase of the day? A bunch of teeny-tiny bananas. I just couldn't resist:

Baby bananas

(the normal-sized one is there for scale - it's not even mine)

So, now I've made myself suitably hungry, I'll say my goodbyes and go and eat some onions.

Buenas Noches!

Potato Lovers Unite

If you were wondering about all things potato, your dreams have come true; another one of my exciting articles has been uploaded by my boss for all the potato-enthusiasts of the world to enjoy.

Things I Love About Peru

Just a short post today as I have to pack and get my bus for my weekend trip to Ica, which is about 5 hours away (so excited!). However, I do have just about enough time to share some quick impressions of Peru so far. Having now lived here for two months, there are obviously a lot of positives and negatives that have come to my attention (as there would be with any place I guess), but today I'm going to focus just on the positive aspects. So, a few things I like about Peru:

• You can spend the equivalent of £2 on phone credit and it will last for seven weeks, with some to spare (although it does have to be said, my little Peruvian brick that I bought here is normally only used for  practical rather than recreational purposes, but still - two pounds!!!).

• £20 will buy a grocery shop for two weeks.

• If you're willing to forego five star luxury, travelling around the country in buses and coaches is super cheap.

• The traditional Peruvian obsession with colour - I'm a massive colour geek and not everyone agrees with me but in my opinion the more colours the better. Don't expect subtle magnolia hues here. Somehow they find all the colours on the spectrum, throw them altogether in a haphazard fashion, and make it look elegant and classy.

• The street food. I've been warned not to eat it, but I have, and I love it. The chicken empanadas with lime are seriously to die for.

This is far from an exhaustive list, but just a few of reasons why I think Peru is such a great place for people on any budget to explore. 

Off to Ica now. Adios!

Writing an Article - Hints and Tips

 After one and half months of churning out numerous articles every day, I have developed some habits that I think are definitely worth sharing. If someone had told me 3 months ago that I would be able to research, write, proofread, and edit a 650-word article from scratch in an hour and a half, and do this three times every single morning, I would have written him off as a madman. But being forced into producing really does hone certain skills, the most important of which I'm going to list below.

Researching
It's the most tempting thing in the world to get caught up in reading reams and reams of information on a topic and not have anything meaningful at the end. Believe me, I spent my whole academic life doing this, and I know I'm not alone! Therefore, it's helpful to know how to filter information right from the beginning, and also how to get it from reliable sources.

• If you want your article to be actually informative and helpful, there is little point just copying what you've gleaned from Wikipedia. Now, don't get me wrong - I think it is a great springboard site, providing an overview of a situation before you start writing about the nitty-gritty, and it can also direct you to helpful websites - but it must be used sparingly. Don't read it as a procrastination technique (which I am prone to doing occasionally).

• To ensure you are getting information from reputable sources, type any of the following 'filters' after your search word or phrase: 

          site:.gov  
          site:.edu
          site:.org

• Also - don't forget that books can be a useful resource too!! The upside is that they also tend to be more reliable. Whether they are appropriate or not depends on the topic of course, but don't discount them if they are. I have a few 'go-to' books here at work that I find invaluable.

Writing

• Before you start researching, write down your title on a piece of paper and brainstorm ideas of what to include - this doesn't have to take long, maybe 5 or 10 minutes, but it allows you to focus your research and you will save time in the long run. After this you will have a clearer idea of which areas of the topic you will write about.

• Decide on a few 'sub-headings' or topic areas (as a rule of thumb, I would say stick to four or five, but of course this will depend from article to article). I also used to do this for essays at university too, and I think I've saved days of my life using this trick.

• Copy and paste certain blocks of text that you think will be useful into a word document. This page will seem chaotic at this point but resist the urge to organise it now - this will only slow you down.

• Scribble down useful words/phrases/ideas on said piece of paper as you research. I usually write down the research under the relevant 'sub-headings' (which I might or might not include in the actual article). This means I have a visual aid of where I have enough research and where I need to find out more.

• Now is the time to type out the first draft. The trick is not to overthink it. Just make coherent sentences out of the information you have, and delete and cross out your notes as they get written up. Seeing this visually really keeps me motivated.

You should end up with a reasonably intelligible piece.

Editing

• The hard part is done, but don't rest on your laurels yet. Now is the time for reading through and rewording, restructuring, and replacing some words with better ones (the thesaurus is your best friend at this stage).

Proof-reading

• Take 5 minutes or so away from the article (at this point I normally get up and make myself a cup of tea and then stare out the window for a little while). Then with a fresh eye, read through the article, tidying up any little typos or other errors that weren't picked up on during the editing stage.

This is the basic plan I've developed for myself and have found it works for me. Of course, every article is different but I do believe there are some tips which will help across the board. Hopefully I've managed to list some of them here!

Wednesday 13th August - Summer Sun

Today I couldn't have been happier. A far cry from the usual depressing cloudiness I have become accustomed to, I was ecstatic to step out of the office at lunchtime and see that the white veil had parted to reveal the azure wonder underneath. Feeling the sun beating down on me and actually being able to wear my sunglasses in Lima since I first got here made me want to skip down the street and burst into song, Disney-princess style (and yes - Lima does make you prone to being disproportionately happy when the slightest ray of sun reveals itself).

Tuesday 12th August - Spanish 101

Biggest achievement of the day: kind of understanding how to conjugate verbs in Spanish. Ain't nothin' gonna stop me now!

So, in case you had been being kept awake at night wondering about Spanish conjugation, here is a short explanation:

Each verb in Spanish either ends in 

ar (e.g. cocinar -to cook)

er (e.g. comer - to eat)

ir (e.g. escribir - to write)

and then then to conjugate (make it agree with the subject. e.g. she RUNS - the 's' is making it agree. You wouldn't say 'she run' would you?!) it's just a case of removing the last two letters and adding the appropriate ending, as follows:

	cocinar	comer	escribir
yo (I)	cocino	como	escribo
tú (you) (informal)	cocinas	comes	escribes
él/ella (he/she)	cocina	come	escribe
usted (you) (formal)	cocina	come	escribe
nosotros (we)	cocinamos	comemos	escribimos
ustedes (you) (plural)	cocinan	comen	escriben
ellos/ellas (they)	cocinan	comen	escriben

That's all for today. Adios amigos!!!

Monday 11th August - The Clean Clean Streets of Lima

It struck me today, how unbelievably clean the streets of Lima are. It is a capital city, so you might expect litter, or dirty patches, or even stray leaves blowing around your feet, or... something. But there is nothing. The trees and decorative gardens/grassy patches are impeccably kept, and resemble some kind of show-garden. The trees either have been bred to be some kind of super-trees that don't drop foliage, or there is a tiny elf residing in the trunks that runs out if one leaf or bloom even thinks of being out of place. Everything is white, glossy, and swept within an inch of its life. A model for London to adopt perhaps?

Friday 25th July - Birthday Madness

Today I felt like I was dying. This bug/cold/infection I have was about three times worse today and I can now feel it in my ears. On the upside, we did have a nice little birthday party in the kitchen for two of the colleagues at work today, complete with food, music, and cake. Learned that Peru has a strange tradition pertaining to birthday cakes - they cut a circle out of the middle and only cut and serve the outer ring. When I pressed for information about why they did this, no-one was able to tell me, and I'm still none the wiser.

And this evening, on the advice of my flatmate, I ate two raw cloves of garlic (mixed in with potatoes and cheese) in the hope it will clear my symptoms. Didn't taste great but I've got my fingers crossed it will work by tomorrow morning.

Thursday 24th July - Lima Should Come With a Health Warning

My throat feels like it's been coated with tar and lined with sandpaper and have used about two packs of tissues today. Definitely not ideal timing as I prepare to leave for Mancora at the weekend. Pretty sure the climate of Lima is partly to blame. The stench of car fumes is almost overpowering and every morning I see thick plumes of black smoke being belched out from the cranes at the building site across the road. Not surprising that all this smog is making itself cosy in my lungs and throat - doesn't have much chance of escape with this cloud blanket that seems to engulf the entire city.

Tuesday 22nd July - A Missing Moises

Turned up to Spanish today to find our dear Spanish teacher Moises was absent. Our flamboyant replacement was good but nevertheless, I do hope Moises is okay

Monday 21st July - Back to the Grind

After a weekend of such joy, getting up this morning to my freezing cold, damp room was the hardest it's been so far.

Sunday 20th July - Viva Peru

Well, I thought yesterday was the best day so far but today has topped it. It was a quiet morning - we were all a little tired from going to 'party district' Barranco the previous night and taking full advantage of all the free Pisco Sours we were being offered to get us into the bars. But then, whilst sitting on the sofa, we could hear a band. Curiously, we pulled back the curtains and were greeted with the sight of a marching band in the opposite park blasting some sort of patriotic-sounding melody. Not wanting to miss out on all the fun, I wandered outside. But this was just a little taster of what was to come. I mentioned before about how excited Peruvians get for their Independence Day, which falls on 28th July, and how I went to an amazing parade in honour of it. Well today I also went to a parade - and it was bigger, better, and noisier.

Just getting started

At three o'clock I walked down to the main street that had all been shut off to cars. Hoardes of people lined the streets. Some of the front row people had come incredibly prepared, having brought their own little chairs and tables. I did manage to find quite a good spot though. It was very cosy, but at least I could see.

One of the floats

So, the extravaganza gets started with Chinese Dragons, all colours of the rainbow, snaking their way up the road. Then the drums start beating and the trumpets sound. In the distance I could see the marching band moving closer, and I knew I was in for a treat. Standing still for 4 and a half hours being squashed in from all sides by an excited public all vying for the best viewpoint doesn't sound like much fun, but the show was enthralling. There was everything - bands, dancers, floats, singers, people dressed as toothbrushes, people dressed as Avatars. The fire-fighters and their fire engines made an appearance, as did the Serenazgos (Peru's answer to a police service that can't make arrests - but they do also have Police too). The music, lights, singing, dancing, and cheering from the crowd didn't let up until the last moment. Seeing people waving their little flags and shouting 'Viva Peru' (Long live Peru) kind of made me want to be a Peruvian myself. And once the parade was over and everyone was suitably excited and in a great mood, the jam-packed streets were treated to a firework display of massive proportions (the firework 'waterfall' was my personal favourite). VIVA PERU!

Finishing with a bang

Friday 18th July - Raspberry Fields

Was pleased to learn 1 out of 24 of my articles has been published. And now the world has to wait no longer for my expertise in the field of raspberries. You're welcome world!

http://www.herbazest.com/herbs/raspberry

Thursday 17th July - Atlantic City

With exercise books in hand, we three keen students made the perilous walk to our Spanish school after work, passing the Atlantic City casino. With a waterfall either side of the grand entrance doors and so many flashing lights both inside and out it makes you feel like you're in Vegas, it really does seem like a whole other world in this ramshackle city.

Wednesday 16th July - Jaunt to the Bank

Opened our shiny new Peruvian bank accounts today. Could have been signing my life away for all I knew. Haven't quite reached the stage of being able to read complicated legal documents yet.