Arriving in Huancayo

Happy Birthday Mom!

Unfortunately, I'm not at home to celebrate my mom's birthday, since I am now in Huancayo - the city where I will be spending the vast majority of my practicum time. On Tuesday we drove out of Lima and almost immediately were in the mountains, which are lush and green compared with Lima. The road wound steadily up until we arrived at Ticlio - 4,800 metres with blustery snow of all things. Although I had been warned about the potential for altitude sickness, I felt fine...that is until I saw the damage that mining has done to the surrounding areas. We drove through La Oroya, a town infamous for being one of the 10 most polluted places in the world, and saw the open pits of contaminated water, piles of mine tailings, and barren hillsides.

So, I didn't have much hope for Huancayo, but it has turned out to be a city quite a bit nicer than La Oroya. The city itself is like any other - congested with buses and taxis and people - but the surrounding areas are absolutely gorgeous. The mountainsides are a patchwork of plots for crops, with most of the plots demarcated by short stone walls. It's rainy season now, so the fields are incredibly green, and the potatos are in bloom with purple, yellow, and white flowers. (The potato plant is actually quite large, with an extensive stem and flower system). In the mornings, the clouds are low enough that at times they are below the level of the city, and I haven't gotten tired yet of watching them rise up and eventually dissapate

Downtown Huancayo

I am settling in to life here with a new furnished "mini apartment" (a room with an attached bathroom and kitchen) across from Parque Tupac Amaru, about 10 blocks from the city centre. Huancayo has a weekly organic farmers market, so I went today and bought mangoes, avocados, carrots, honey, tunas (the fruit of the cactus), and of course, mini red potatoes. Hopefully I'll be able to whip up a few recipes for you all when I get home!