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Spending Christmas in Peru!

Spending Christmas in Peru!

Lima's Government Palace- Ready for Christmas
Lima's Government Palace- Ready for Christmas

In most of the cities of Peru, Christmas Eve is the day for partying and Christmas Day is the day for staying at home with the family.

 

In the days prior, the streets become hard to navigate due to roving venders strategically displaying the new merchandise and the street fairs that pop up.

Christmas Dinner with Pirwa!
Christmas Dinner with Pirwa!

 

As in most countries, Christmas Eve dinner is animportant occasion- in Peru, you can expect to eat Roast Turkey, which most people prepare and then take to their local bakery for roasting. For the whole week of Christmas, expect to see lots of hot chocolate and panetón, the local fruitcake. Not just after dinner, but for Christmas breakfast as well! If you aren’t sure where to spend your Christmas Eve, check with reception in the Pirwa Hostel in which you’re staying to see if you can sign up for Christmas Eve Dinner with us.

 

Lima's Plaza Mayor
Lima's Plaza Mayor

 

Don’t let the constant BOOMs on Christmas Eve let you think war has broken out- those are the official and personal fireworks and firecrackers which you’ll hear everywhere for several hours. If you intend on going to the plaza to see some fireworks, expect some to go off shockingly close to you!

 

One of the most unique Christmas sights in Lima is the HSBC Christmas show in the historic San Martin Plaza:

 

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Tackle the World’s Most Dangerous Road in La Paz with Pirwa Travel!

Tackle the World’s Most Dangerous Road in La Paz with Pirwa Travel!

Did you know that not only has Pirwa Hostels Peru crossed the border into Bolivia with our new hostel Pirwa La Paz, but we’ve brought Pirwa Travel along with us! Today we’re highlighting one of La Paz’s most thrilling excursions: downhill mountain biking along the world’s most infamous road.

Built by Paraguayan prisoners during the Chaco War in the 1930s, the Yungas Road to Coroico connected La Paz to the Bolivian Amazon. Unprecedented numbers of accidents and Posing in front of the infamous "Curve of Death"fatalities caused the Interamerican Development Bank to declare it the most dangerous road in the world in the 1990s. As it fell into relative disuse for auto transit, it became popular with downhill mountain bikers and thrill-seekers from around the world. Despite its dark reputation, the route does boast stunning unforgettable landscapes.

Pirwa Travel offers this exciting downhill biking adventure, picking you up at your La Paz hostel in the morning, we then depart by car for La Cumbre, where, at a dizzying 4,700 meters above sea level, the descent by bike begins. The scenic route will take us from snowy peaks through lush vegetation as we leave the altiplano and enter into the beginning of the jungle region. To get there, we’ll follow an adrenaline-packed route: turning sharp curves with steep falls and riding through waterfalls!

Overall, we’ll descend 3,500m over 5 hours, with several photo, rest, hydrating, and snacking stops. We’ll stop at Yolosa and then ascend by car to Coroico, a nearby picturesque town where we’ll relax over a delicious buffet lunch and at the swimming pool. At 4:00pm begin the return trip to La Paz- using the new road this time…

We use top of the line equipment, English-speaking guides trained in first aid, rescue techniques, and bike repair, and can even offer you affordable optional insurance for the day in the probable event that yours doesn’t cover downhill mountain biking. Let Pirwa Travel take care of the details while you enjoy the excitement and beauty of Bolivia’s so-called Death Road!

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The Race of Kings in San Pablo: Cusco vs the Altiplano

The Race of Kings in San Pablo: Cusco vs the Altiplano

Photo by Luis Figeroa
Preparing the Whips and Conch Horns

On January 6th, in the high Andean town of San Pablo, between the departments of Cusco and Puno, a unique race will determine the following year’s luck for these two cities. Here, the three kings are not Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthazar, but rather Inkarri, Mistirri, and Negrorri (Inca King, Mestizo King, and Black King) and the three compete in a race on horseback.

 

Photo by Luis Figeroa
Herod and his Secretary directs the Kings in the Plaza

After a ceremony in the town’s Wilson Theater the whips and conch horns are arranged in preparation before the municipal authorities and the kings of the year. After a fortifying cup of hot almond ponche, the fully-costumed Kings make their way to the plaza for a comical dialogue with King Herod, who fears for his throne!

Photo by Luis Figeroa
Non-King Jockeys have their race as well

 

 

Around 2:30pm the race begins, with different stops where the communities of Langui, Layo, and Checca will compete. There’s a good deal of drunken revelry and hijinks throughout, as with all Peruvian celebrations- beer everywhere.

 

Photo by Luis Figeroa
Riders: Are you in it for the glory or are you in it for the Mayor's baby Jesus?

The race ends with the Virgen of Bethlehem and the Mayor and other authorities of San Pablo presiding. If Inkarri, who represents the valleys of Cusco, wins, it will be a good year for the harvests in the area around Cusco. If Mistirri wins, the altiplano (high Andean plains- higher than 4000 meters) benefits. That means it will be a good year for ranching and the llamas and alpacas will prosper. If Negrorri wins, it will not be a good year for either of the two regions, there will be scarcity in production, but strangely, they say that there will be money.

Photo by Luis Figeroa
Negrorri after the Race

 

This month is full of interesting Christmas and New Year’s related activities in Peru, and we’ll be hosting our own parties as well, so keep checking back as we’ll be posting that information soon!

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Official Events of Ica Tourist Week!

Official Events of Ica Tourist Week!

If you’re anywhere near the south coast of Peru in November (say…Lima, which I know you are), you might want to check out the Semana Turística de Ica 2011 (Ica Tourism Week). The event kicks off on November 12 and continues through to November 20, with a schedule of sufficient diversity to attract a mixed crowd.

Program Highlights

Saturday, Nov 12th

  • Dancers have competed for the
    Sandbuggy Excursion at Huacachin

    opportunity to perform for you on the first day of the Marinera Dance Finals at Ica’s Coliseo Cerrado at noon.

  • This is also the 1st day of the International Sandboarding Competition Open at the Balneario de Huacachina at 3pm.
  • Also, drop by Hotel Real Ica in the evening at 9pm for the Perol Fiesta in honor of the Queens of Marinera at Hotel Real Ica at 9pm.

Sunday, Nov 13th

  • Stop by the Regional Museum of Ica at 10am for a FREE visit.
  • Enjoy the second and last day of the Marinera Dance Finals at 1pm.
  • The second and last day of the International Sandboarding Competition at 3pm, again at the Balneario de Huacachina.

Thursday, Nov 17th

  • Sand Buggy Excursion at Huacachina Oasis, be there at 10:00am

Friday, Nov 18th

  • This is Parade Day! Find them along
    Is it me or could those Pisco Sours be bigger?

    Matias Manzanilla in front of the USI at 10am

  • At noon the Food & Wine Festival Opens, as well as the Art Fair and the World’s Largest Pisco Bar. It all takes place on the Ica Fair Grounds.
  • At 2pm a Touristic Walk through the city of Ica begins in the Plaza de Armas (Main Square)
  • XI National Creative Pisco-Based Cocktail Competition at 5pm at Hotel las Dunas

Saturday, Nov 19th

  • Start the day right with the Winery Walk in Southern Winery Zone at the Ica Fair Grounds at 7am.
  • The ICA PURO SABOR Food Festival continues, along with the Art Fair and Giant Pisco Bar, all starting around 10-10:30am at the Ica Fair Grounds.

Monday, Nov 20th

  • The ICA PURO SABOR Food Festival continues, along with the Giant Pisco Bar at the Ica Fair Grounds, all day long beginning at 10:30am.
  • Along with these events, there’ll also be a Peruvian Paso Horse Show

Even as Tourist Week passes, the “Ica Pisco Jubilee Feast” will continue through the 25th in vineyards throughout the region, so make sure to check for special events during your stay.

Pirwa Travel can Get You There!

When not sampling regional dishes at the food festival or watching the unique talents of sandboarders and marinera dancers, you can take advantage of your time in Ica by contracting some of the following tours with Pirwa Travel:

Paracas National Reserve & Ballestas Islands

This is THE tour if you’re passing through Ica. Large sea lion and humboldt penguin colonies numbering in the hundreds- an overwhelming sight that you wouldn´t have guessed you could see in South America!

Pisco Route

Visit industrial and artisan vineyards and wineries to learn about Peru’s most prized export- Pisco, a Peruvian grape-based brandy. You’ll not only get an intimate look at the production process, but your visits will be topped off with pisco tastings so that you sample the wares!

Usaca Dune Buggy & Sandboarding Tour

Indulge in the thrill of dune buggy offroading,

Is it just me or should this be you?

stopping at sites thousands of years old: Chauchi Religious Center and Estaqueria, which offers a vital clue to the process of creating the famous Nazca mummies. Not only will you gain an insight into the enigmatic Nazca Civilization, but there’ll be another stop as well, one that will allow you to practice the unique and adrenaline-filled sport of sandboarding!

 

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Celebrate Peruvian Style: Creole Music Day is Coming on October 31

Celebrate Peruvian Style: Creole Music Day is Coming on October 31

Creole Music Day on Halloween
Creole Music Day on Halloween

Don’t feel like dressing up this Halloween?? There’s another option….

 

On Creole Music Day Peruvians toast, party, and sing to the beat of música criolla, a genre combining Afro-Peruvian and Andean styles and giving rise to a bevy of stars including the internationally recognized singer and current Minister of Culture, Susana Baca, and the great Eva Ayllon. The most popular of this genre is the Marinera, the national dance of Peru, although it also includes the Peruvian Waltz, Tondero, Festejo, Peruvian Polka, Zamacueca, Landó, and others.

This musical staple of the coastal region was honored in 1944 when Creole Music Day was announced as a national holiday, and has been celebrated alongside Halloween ever since.

CUSCO

Party with us at Pirwa Colonial!
Party with us at Pirwa Colonial!

Those of you staying with us in one of our four Pirwa hostels in Cusco shouldn’t miss the FREE Concert in Cusco for “Día de la Canción Criolla”. It takes place on Oct 31st at 7:00pm  at the ICPNA Auditorio (Av. Tullumayo #125).

 

Don’t forget that we are also having our own HALLOWEEN PARTY at Pirwa Colonial Backpackers, so no matter which of the hostels you are staying at, you should definitely stop by after the concert! We’ll get started around 8:30 and will go as long as you do!….

LIMA

Your New Pirwa Friends...
Your New Pirwa Friends...

If you’re staying in one of our two Lima hostels on October 31st, you’ll have lots of options. Because we are located in the Miraflores district of Lima, we’re perfectly located near a variety of lively and safe establishments.

Below are some Miraflores options for Creole Music Day, for those who are interested. We’re partying for Halloween in Pirwa Prada Backpackers Hostel as well, so stop by!

Kimba Fá

Afro-Peruvian percusión with traditional instruments at De Teatro Canout located at Av. Petit Thouars 4550 in Miraflores. If you can’t make it on the 31st, the show will continue nightly until the 20th of Nov from Fridays through Mondays at 8 p.m.. Tickets at Teleticket.

Criollismo

We love you Susana!
We love you Susana!

Singer Lourdes Carhuas will sing the classical themes of the creaole repertoire at the Jazz Zone located at Av. La Paz 656, Pasaje El Suche in Miraflores. The show begins at 11 p.m. and entry is S/.20.00- call 241-8139 for reservations.

Noche Peruana

Giselle Altuna will sing Valses, Polkas, Landóas and Festejos at the ICPNA Miraflores Auditorio located on Av. Ángamos Oeste 120. The show starts at 7:30pm and entrance is FREE.

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