Odds and sods

Little yellow taxi

I saw a few of these vehicles, known as moto-taxis, in Lima, mainly in treas without heavy traffic (which excludes most of Lima!) but here in Ayacucho and surroundings they're ubiquitous. They can carry three passengers (though I wouldn't swear that some don't carry more) in back and the driver in front. I wondered where they were manufactured--I guessed somewhere in Asia--so I asked one driver: I was right, they come from India and Indonesia.


Who you callin' joven?

Peruvians like to call any male who looks younger than they are joven (young person), and that includes me, and I'm 49. I didn't quite get this at first, but apparently it's normal and not insulting. I guess it's not too different from my peeps--Newfoundlanders--calling each other "b'y" regardless of age. I don't know if I could adopt the usage myself without sounding (or at least feeling) condescending, even in regard to someone who actually is young.

Colonel Bogey visits Peru

Several mornings since coming to Ayacucho while lying in bed I heard someone playing an organ version of the Colonel Bogey March fairly loudly close to my hotel. No idea what that was about. Yesterday morning as I was having breakfast at a restaurant with a balcony overlooking the Plaza de Armas the mystery was solved--it was the garbage truck! Each time it moved they played their theme song. Huh. Now this morning I had breakfast at the same place and noticed that the song had changed to something more Peruvian.

The first cup

A few weeks ago in a Starbucks in Toronto I saw a barista not understand (or pretend not to understand) when a customer asked for a "double-double". I was going to translate but the customer walked away. Anyway I could have used a translator myself at a Starbucks in Lima. I thought I was doing it right by asking for an alto descafeinado (tall decaf) but then they started asking me if I wanted a latte, cappucino, etc. Eventually I realized that what they call americano (and we just call coffee) is not the default and has to be specified. Another difference is that you don't have five choices of milk to pour into your coffee. You have zero choices. If you want milk, you have to ask the barista to add it for you. In fact, almost anywhere you order coffee, you have to ask for milk explicitly or none will appear.

The second cup

Further on the coffee theme, coffee (that is, americano coffee) in Peru is either instantaneo (Nescafe) or pasado (made from grounds). I'm not sure why the latter is called pasado unless it means that water has passed through it. In any case, too often for a coffee-producing country, what you get is instant. Here in Ayacucho, where coffee is actually grown, you have a decent chance of being able to order a pasado, and boy is it yummy! One difference from home though--sometimes you get a cup of hot water and a jug containing very concentrated coffee, which you have to pour into the water. It doesn't seem to make any difference to the taste, and it lets you decide how strong you want your coffee.