We were greeted with grey skies and a cold morning for our last hours in Puno. It made all of us appreciate what the guide meant when he said we had great weather on the Lake!
We always love a trip to a supermarket overseas to see the similarities and contrasts between brands and foods that give some insights into everyday life, so we headed out early this morning. First surprise… nothing opened until 9! So we grabbed a great coffee made with local Puno beans while we waited.
We also saw the morning train head through town… no barriers, just personal responsibility for keeping your distance. Amazing how people step up when they’re accountable for their own actions!
The supermarket stocked everything from big screen TVs to bakery items. The closest thing we saw to an Australian brand was Milo, made in South America. It seemed the majority of brands and foods were US influenced, made in South America.
There is a heavy focus on rice, pasta, and quinoa as local staples. Sugar was available in a 50kg bag (about $52), chickens came with EVERY piece in a bag, and we were fascinated by the Great Wall of Tuna! Mayonnaise and ketchup come in a squeezable bag – looks messy!
Back in Lima, we were determined to squeeze as much as we could out of our last hours on tour. We headed up to the ‘Magica del Agua’ (Magic Water Circuit) – a series of 13 illiuminated fountains, and a nightly light show of Peru’s history. It has a fairground feel, and brought out the little kid in everyone!
Miraflores is host to the ‘Summit of the Americas’ this weekend, with leaders of every country from Canada to Chile, Ecuador to Brazil in town. This included Vice-President Pence and a Trump… thankfully only Ivanka, seeing as Donald had just ordered air strikes in Syria. Nevertheless, security was high, police everywhere, and the bomb squad seemed to be all too visible! The topic of the summit was ‘Democratic Governance against Corruption’. Fitting.
Our end-of-tour dinner at a local Peruvian restaurant, was an opportunity to celebrate Jenn’s (one of the Canadians in our group) 25th birthday. Great way to finish this awesme experience, with such a fabulous bunch of people. Sheena, Daphne, Jenn & Sean from Canada, plus Liz and Ken from Connecticut have been fabulous travel buddies, and we’ve really enjoyed sharing the trip with them.
Our end-of-tour dinner at a local Peruvian restaurant, was an opportunity to celebrate Jenn’s (one of the Canadians in our group) 25th birthday. Great way to finish this awesme experience, with such a fabulous bunch of people. Sheena, Daphne, Jenn & Sean from Canada, plus Liz and Ken from Connecticut have been fabulous travel buddies, and we’ve really enjoyed sharing the trip with them.
The walk home was via the Cat Park of Lima – a space in the centre in town designated for stray cats. It was about 11pm and there were people everywhere, with big groups of 20-somethings trading football cards?!?!
Tomorrow we have a free day for final exploration of Lima. So much to do, do little time!
Love M & the Bunch x
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