5 replies to this topic

[Merlin]

Ha. That about wraps it up. I planned to eat at some of the cutting edge Lima restaurants but the planes were so late coming and going that I couldn't. Sigh. Oh well, even in the local dives the fish was lovely. They have a fresh water trout that has pink flesh like salmon that is delicious, and a pleasure to eat because it can be easily boned.

No surprise, the best fish I ate was in Puno at Lake Titicaca. A trout with white flesh with a taste that rivaled my experiences with fresh caught Rainbows.

[Daisy]

I had alpaca steak in Cuzco--it reminded me of kangaroo. I liked it but I don't remember it being tough. Cuzco, not so oddly because it's such a tourist destination for people from all over the world, was a place where I had excellent pizza---and this was after a five-day trek and horrific altitude sickness--I was the dead woman at Dead Womans Pass. So the pizza must have been truly memorable 'cause I wasn't eating a lot for those few days after the trek. As for Lima, never have I had such delicious rock shrimp, fish, etc. I managed to order ceviche at every meal save breakfast for three days (which believe me is as long a time as you'd want to be in Lima).

[Wilfrid1]

Okay, I had to look it up. A bit like a llama, apparently:



I imagine the meat is very lean, like kangaroo meat, and therefore shouldn't be overcooked.

[g.johnson]

I think he knows you're talking about him.

[Merlin]

Daisy! You are exactly right about the pizza in Peru and especially Cuzco. It is fabulous. Thin crispy crust baked in wood-fired ovens everywhere. Much like the pizza I had a few weeks ago at Zuni Cafe.

As far as your altitude sickness is concerned...were you drinking Mate de Coca (tea) and chewing coca leaves? I am sure that coca is the only reason I survived over 14,000 feet without getting sick.

[Daisy]

I took Diamox, I drank the mate de coca, I chewed the leaves (yuck!) Who knows, perhaps if I had not done all the above I might have actually expired. I was easily winded and lightheaded until about 13,500 feet. The problems arose at altitudes above that--I believe we were above 14,000 for some time. My hands and feet turned a hue not unlike that of the Peruvian purple potato and tingled (this tingling persisted intermittently for several months after) and I vomited quite a bit. Not fun when you're hiking eight hours a day. I had asthma medication with me---I have fairly mild asthma--which helped a little. But I still managed to have a wonderful time. It's one of the most beautiful spots on earth I'd reckon.

Bummer about the altitude sickness because I am dying to go trekking in Tibet. But having researched altitude sickness a bit, I've learned that a. one does not always fall prey---Hillary got it on one of his later Everest climbs--and b. it may be possible to acclimate oneself. I am thinking of trying a trek in the Alps next summer at around 8,000-9,000 feet and above to see how I do.