Haeundae Beach Market - Busan

Haeundae Beach in Busan, South Korea is amazing and so is the market that runs parallel to it one block from the sand. It's a narrow alley spanning the width of a city block with everything you could need from restaurants to dumpling stands to clothing stores to disgusting entertainment. One of the things that they are known for there is their eel. This guys skins eels alive for maximum freshness and I'm guessing it's also to attract customers. Take a look:

 Sadly, we didn't sample the eel as the time we were there, it was to settle a craving for Mandu. We are going back in a month so I will try and give the eel a go and get back to you.

Steamed Mandu

Alex kindly offers the Mandu lady a sip of her Cass Light 

Huanchaco, Peru

Back on the Pacific!

After our incredible 5 day Salkantay Trek to Machu Pichu, we took the train out of Aguas Calientes, and grabbed a combi back to Cuzco. We spent one night recovering at our hostel and took a night bus to Lima the next evening. We were so exhausted, we thought we'd rest and recover on the trip to the coast. Wrong. The bus ride to Lima was absolutely brutal. It was about 23 hours of slaloming down the mountains to the Pacific. We arrived in Lima the following late afternoon dizzy and groggy and had a mere couple hours until our next overnight bus up the coast to Trujillo. We arrived soon after the sunrise and plurged for a taxi for a 10 minute ride to the beach and Huanchaco. At this point, we were feeling nauseous and weak and beginning to wonder if we'd have the strength to make it to the hostel before we lost it.

We pulled up at My Friend Hostel and arranged for a private room for 10 soles each ($8 total a night for the two of us). We barely made it up the stairs and threw our things on the floor of our room. We were a mess. The good news was we had a private bathroom. The bad news was that the door to this bathroom was like that of a saloon in the wild west that hardly provided us with any privacy from each other during our most ill moments in South America. It was a "bonding experience." Gross. I don't know if it was the rather expensive chicken restaurant we ate at in lima, the bus station meat I ate in Cuzco, the exhaustion and weakness from our 5 day trek, the bobble-headed journey through the mountains with off and on sleep or just the fact that we spent 32 of the last 34 hours on a bus, but we were in rough shape.

It was a solid 2-3 days before we really even left our room for anything other than soup from the kitchen downstairs. When we final emerged to explore our quaint little beach town that recently entered its off-season, we found massive waves and an empty beach.

Fishing is the way of life in Huanchaco. It is known as the birthplace of Ceviche. 

Fisherman in Huanchaco have been using reed boats and nets  for over 3,000 years. On the way back to shore, they would "surf" the waves. Locals claim this makes Huanchaco the birthplace of surfing. 

A fisherman giving a boy some fish

Stormy waters brought massive jellyfish to the beaches. This was the day we were going to take our first surf lesson. No thank you! We postponed a day and waited for the waters to clear. Dozens of these jellyfish were easily visible in the water from the pier. 

Once we had gotten our strength back and there was no sign of jellyfish monsters, we took a surf lesson  at Muchik Surf School. We had heard it was one of the oldest and best surf schools in Huanchaco so we gave it a go. The instructors were great. They took the time to teach us what we needed to know ahead of time and gave us feedback on our form. Once we were out there, they guided us into the waves, told us which waves to take and when to paddle. Alex did great!

Sweet form brah! 

The sun is shinning and the weather is sweet… for surfing

2nd oldest church in Peru!

Waves of Huanchaco

One of the best treats we found in a bakery in all of South America

Cremoladas! Our hostel was known for being the best cremoladas in Peru and we can attest to that. We watched the staff of the hostel make these fresh daily with real fresh fruit, ice and a little sugar. The doorbell of our hostel was ringing non-stop with locals buying cremoladas. 

Best cremoladas ever. Frozen blended fruit snack for 2 soles (80 cents). Notice the massive waves in the background. 

Our amazing hostel by the ocean in Huanchaco. If you find yourself anywhere near Trujillo, Peru, spend a few days at Hospedaje Oceano. Awesome staff, clean room, great prices, fast wifi and did I mention the cremoladas?

Last Lunch in Arequipa

Alex, Jacob and I returned to Arequipa from our trip to Puno, Bolivia and Chile for a couple of last days with our friends. We had an afternoon bus to catch to Cusco and plenty of time for one last amazing feast with our friends. We had been meaning to try the famous LA Palomino restaurant that was a mere two blocks from our apartment in Yanahuara but we had been waiting for the right special occasion. It's one of the more expensive restaurants in the city and known for its typical Southern Peruvian cuisine.

We went with our good friends Sam and Julitza, and were met by Connie and Thijs. While we were crossing things off our Arequipa list last minute, Jacob and I decided to try two of the most famous Arequipan dishes, Chupe De Camarones (Shrimp Soup) and Cuy (Guinea Pig).

Photo credit to Jacob on all this.

Julitza and her big gulp of chicha

The shrimp soup is seasonal as it's only legal to fish for shrimp at certain times of the year to prevent over fishing. This means, when it's shrimp season, they are massive. The soup was enough to fill both of us but we saved some room for the Cuy. 

Chupe de Camarones

The Cuy came fried whole on a plate. The look of this was far from appetizing. It's not often you eat a rodent after looking it in the face. We took turns taking our first bites for photo ops. I really can't tell you how gross this experience was. It turned my stomach way more than my sheep head soup experience in San Camilo. It was tough, stringy, greasy and difficult to gnaw off a good piece without feeling like a zombie. I'm glad I tried it and crossed it off the list…but never again.

Fried Cuy

Caldo De Cabeza (Sheep Head Soup)

My roomate Jacob had one request on his birthday: to eat Caldo De Cabeza (Sheep Head Soup) in San Camilo Market. My other roommates Thijs, Menina and I all contemplated this idea and decided to honor the request. We headed to San Camilo knowing that it would be a risky choice of venue for such an order but also knowing no other place would do. We went up the stairs to the second floor of the market which is a mere fraction of the size of the first floor and where you can find many traditional, cheap and "colorful" places to pull up a stool.


Mind you, as I mentioned in my previous post about San Camilo, it is not recommended by locals to eat here as it is not as clean or fresh. Nevertheless, this would be my 4th roll of the dice with lunch at San Camilo and I was a confident 3 for 3 without issue. The last time I ate there, I went with Jacob and we drank juice made with tap water as the locals laughed at us and mocked "rico" meaning delicious as they drank from their bottles of soda.


We sat at what looked like a popular spot at the entrance of the food court where locals seemed to be enjoying their dishes. The place was called Anita, which I can only assume is the name of one of the two women who were preparing the food, washing the dishes, and serving the customers. All of the operations here at San Camilo were run something like this with only a couple of tables to serve between 4 and 8 people at a time. We ordered our Caldo de Cabeza and hoped for the best.

When it came, it looked delicious and well prepared and smelled like many of the other soups we've eaten. The word caldo actually means broth or soup and this broth was quite delicious. There were plenty of potatoes and corn in there as well. I honestly enjoyed it and ate all of it except for some unidentifiable chunk of flesh and bone. Jacob's soup had the jaw of the sheep and it looked pretty freaky. I guess it was only fair that the birthday boy had the obviously identifiable piece of face to fulfill his birthday wishes. The dish was 8 soles ($3) each and I think I'd recommend the experience if you ever get the chance to order it.

Arequipa - Mercado San Camilo

So much fruit! So cheap and so good.

San Camilo is one of the biggest markets in Arequipa and is conveniently located downtown just four blocks from the Plaza De Armas. This amazing tin roof covered market spans an entire city block and stands as an epicenter of waves of shops reaching a radius of up to three or four blocks past the actual market itself. These blocks are made up of many ferias which are often no more than a narrow indoor hallway off the street cluttered with many small shops selling similar items. This is a cheap place to get snacks, clothes, copied DVDs and daily household items.

The market has some of the best prices for fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, etc. There are also plenty of stands that sell various meats and fish but all of the locals I have spoken with would rather not buy these items at San Camilo. If you do, I suggest you get there early in the morning as there is no refrigeration so everything sits out all day. However, our 2nd day in Arequipa, Alex and I got Ceviche in San Camilo in the afternoon and it was delicious! It only cost us 5 soles ($2) and was enough for both of us. Later, our Arequipeñan friends told us we were crazy and daring to get Ceviche there. It may not be the best idea to get Ceviche there, but if you are ever in Arequipa, I highly suggest grabbing  some cheese and fruit at San Camilo.

Our vegetable lady (casera). A heavy bag of all the vegetables you could want costs about 12 soles ($5).

La triste mujera de pescado

Mi Casero de papas. This guy will dig deep in his sack and give you the biggest potatoes you've ever seen. They are the size of mangos. Verdad. 

Alex and I ate Ceviche at one of these food kiosks 

All the chicken heads, be quiet! Single ladies, make noise! 

Mi Casera de queso

Best. Palta. Around.

This is the spot for hojas de coca (coca leaves). See my post on coca leaves for more info.