We've been in Peru for over three weeks now and have had the opportunity to sample a lot of native dishes. Mostly we have had a very simple diet consisting of staple foods found locally. Rice is a huge mainstay of people's diets here, as well as lentils and peas. Most every meal has rice--even for breakfasts (on the lanchas they serve a thin, sweet rice porridge with crunchy bread). Even when there are noodles or spaghetti, there's also rice.

Fish is also a very important part of the diet--we've told you about many of the fishes we've caught and tried--like paiche, piranha, lisa, and others. There is one dish, called "cebiche" (or ceviche), that is a delicacy. It is a traditional Peruvian food in coastal and river areas. The fish fillets are sliced in small pieces with salt and hot peppers, soaked in lots of lime juice, and eaten raw. Sometimes it's eaten with boiled sweet potato or corn and sometimes lettuce.

Another very common animal that is eaten here is the cuy (pronounced "cooey"). You may have seen this animal before in your pet store, or maybe you even have one as a pet. In the US we call it a guinea pig. We haven't eaten this, and the first ones we saw were here in Manco Capac. A family had six or seven of them in a pen under their house.

Bananas (platanos) are grown in many places around Pacaya-Samiria. When they are not yet ripe enough to peel and eat, they are often boiled to make them more edible. The unripe ones are not sweet and taste more like a vegetable. Platanos are also sliced into long strips and fried in oil for a sweet and chewy treat. These are a special favorite of the team and Warren makes them the best. There are also a lot of potatoes available--we eat a lot of papas fritas (french fries) and Ruben makes the best in the jungle!

People also enjoy eating chicken and pork (pollo and chancho) and the wild pig (peccary). Most of the people we have met keep their own live chickens and pigs until they are ready to eat the animals. You may remember we've eaten wild peccary, and we had some chancho when we stopped for lunch at the small village of San Regis on the way to Nauta (with rice of course!).

Palillo is a very common spice we have encountered in many of the stews, fish, meat, and rice dishes we've had. It's a dark yellow powder that makes the sauce or rice yellow and it has a delicate and very tasty flavor. Warren has made us some very yummy fish stews using this spice. I'm definitely going to bring some palillo home for my own attempts at Peruvian cooking! Overall we have been eating well and enjoying the foods that the people of Peru also enjoy.

Jennifer

Dave blows on a bowl of piping hot boiled platanos and peccary.

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Warren uses our camping stoves to prepare lunch.

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Fish from the Amazon River are an important source of protein for people living in the flooded forest.