Making Pisco Sour, salsa dancing the night away, and learning how not to walk through the streets of Cusco.
As I've been in Cusco, I have made it a goal to experience as much of the local culture as possible. The nights in Cusco are definitely not quiet, and the people undoubtedly know how to have a fiesta!
Last night was definitely one to remember...
I was invited to go to a cultural experience through the program I am travelling through, Proyecto Peru. This involved going to a local Peruvian bar and learning how to make a traditional Peruvian drink called Pisco Sour.
For those who are interested...here's how:
The bartender started off with filling a large cup full of ice. Then he added three ounces of Pisco (which is about 42% alcohol), followed by one ounce of your choice of fruit syrup (usually orange). As a non-drinker I'm not super educated about these things so maybe this isn't strange at all, but then they added egg whites from one egg and shook it up until it was frothy. The finishing touch was one drop of the Peruvian sour stuff...i wish I knew what it was called, but I couldn't tell ya. I can tell you that it smelled so good, and that all the people I asked said that it was a great drink.
Gettin' Spicy
I'm not good at salsa dancing, but I definitely stood out.
Every night from 9-11 this bar has salsa dancing lessons for free. Some people are gifted with the ability to move their hips as they dance...I am not one of these people.
The lessons lasted about 30 minutes. I learned a few basic steps, and I got pretty good at them (only messing up like every fifth step or so). After the lessons it was just a free for all to practice your salsa (trust me I needed it) and right off the bat a Peruvian man came into the circle of girls that I was dancing with and grabbed my hands and started dancing with me. Luckily the music was loud enough and I was so focused on how my feet were moving that there was an excuse to not have much of a conversation.
After a few minutes of dancing with this guy, keeping my friends close, the salsa instructor came and stole me away from the other guy. He was a little peruvian man, and by little I mean at least 3 inches shorter than me...(keep in mind I'm only 5'4"). I learned his name was Jose when he yelled it over the blaring Spanish music. We had been dancing for a little while, and all of my friends were dancing with other locals, but things started to get a little to spicy for me. I didn't know this at the time, but in Peru dancing is just dancing, nothing more. If I had known this I probably wouldn't have been so worried, but he was pulling me a little too close, so I said that I had to leave. He said it was okay and walked away
Many people in the bar were commenting on my blonde hair, and as I looked around I realized I was the only blonde person in the entire bar. Not only was my bad salsa dancing making me stand out, but my hair was definitely extremely different than what most people are used to seeing.
Leaving early...
My friend Natalie and I decided that we wanted to leave early. As fun as it was, we were both exhausted and needed to walk home before it was too late. So with keys in one hand and pepper spray in the other we set out (Cusco is a pretty safe place, but you can never be too safe). It was only about a five minute walk, but along the way we kept getting weird looks from the locals. I decided to put my hair up into my hood and after that our walk home was very uneventful. We both got home safe and exhausted. I learned a lot about Peruvian culture, but I'm not sure that I will be going to the bar anymore.
Live while you can!
-M'Kala
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