Pirwa – Page 57 – Pirwa Hostels BLOG

Celebrate Peru’s National Guinea Pig Day this Friday

October 6, 2014 Pirwa

Last year, Peruvian authorities declared the second Friday of each October to be National Guinea Pig Day. Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) explained, “We’ve decided to establish National Cuy Day on the merit of the importance of the care and raising of the animal, its genetic richness that contributes to family economies, and, above all, its contribution to food and nutritional safety.”

You may be surprised to hear that 11 tons of cuy meat were exported last year, 90% of which went to the United States.

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The Lord of Miracles in Lima

October 4, 2014 Pirwa

The main event of Lima’s ‘purple month’ and the Lord of Miracles festival is a 24-hour procession, the largest in South America. The procession winds through the main streets of Lima from Las Nazarenas Church to La Merced Church in Barrios Altos, led by an icon borne on a 2-ton litter by a series of devoted religious brotherhoods. Hordes of faithful follow along, clad in purple…. Devoted crowds, incense wielders, singers, and dancers toss flowers into the streets…. Yelling street vendors offer their wares of traditional dishes and sweets, predominantly the Turrón de Doña Pepa, a sticky anise-flavored sweet traditionally associated with October. Its creator was a black slave, Josefa Marmanillo (Doña Pepa), who believed that her devotion to the Lord of Miracles returned to her the use of her arms and hands.

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Celebrating Oktoberfest in Lima, Peru

October 2, 2014 Pirwa

More than 180 cities worldwide celebrate Germany’s biggest traditional festival, and Lima has been among them since 2002. The popular festival has been celebrated in the Bavarian city of Munich since 1810 and last sixteen days…. unfortunately, Oktoberfest-Peru will only last from Thursday 16^th through Sunday 19th^th.

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A Bigger, Better, & More Central Pirwa Puno Hostel!

September 30, 2014 Pirwa

Pirwa Hostels is excited to announce that Pirwa Puno has recently moved to a larger, more central, building just two blocks from Puno’s main square! The five-story building boasts views of Lake Titicaca and Kuntur Wasi (House of the Condor) Lookout from its rooftop terrace, and it’s only a short walk from the hostel to Puno port.

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Volcano Adventures in Arequipa

September 30, 2014 Pirwa

Arequipa is famed for many things, for the stunningly elaborate mestizo-baroque façades of its pearl-like volcanic sillar rock buildings, for its native son Nobel Prize-winning Mario Vargas Llosa, and for the resilience and hauteur of a people whose city has weathered various earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and great fires. One of its greatest claims to fame, however, are the 3 volcanoes which dominate Arequipa´s skyline are the white Chachani (Beloved), Picchu Picchu (Top Top), and the central, perfectly conical El Misti (The Gentleman). It’s the beautiful El Misti which has been adopted by Arequipeños as a symbol of the city, its people and its culture. It´s only erupted 4 times in 500 years, registering emissions in 1985 and a minor eruption 1948, but no major eruption since the 1400s. Although the city has been evacuated before due to eruption, Arequipa continues to develop even along its volcano-side and its routes are popular with hikers.