tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108874162024-08-29T00:30:03.073-05:00Wanderings through a continent of beauty and mysteryDon Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-27626487899783400042008-07-18T19:40:00.003-05:002008-07-19T01:35:29.526-05:00

Over the coming weeks, I'll be posting stories and photos from Peru at my business blog: www.polymerstudios.com/blog. Some of the things on the itinerary:Hunting for megalodon teeth with Desert Man of Ica, who was recently written up in the New York Times. (Fortunately, we made our reservation before he became famous!)Shooting video in some remote (as in no electricity and little Spanish spoken)

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-72105468538476021852008-06-11T12:47:00.002-05:002008-06-11T16:07:31.979-05:00

An 1874 map of the Urubamba Valley near Machu Picchu, which researchers claim identifies the archaeological site.I never believed that Hiram Bingham actually "discovered" Machu Picchu. He was simply the first non-native to bring the ruins to the world's attention. And he may still hold that honor. However, according to an article by the Telegraph, he wasn't the first gringo to visit the

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-59332680540854989452008-06-02T22:41:00.003-05:002008-06-02T23:09:38.527-05:00

Solanum Tuberosum, uploaded by FoodCulturaOk, Chile. You can sack Lima, burn down the national library and even attempt to abscond with the bragging rights for Pisco. But don't even try to lay claim to the potato.According to Marigen Hornkohl, Chile’s agriculture minister: “Few people know that 99 percent of the world’s potatoes have some type of genetic link to potatoes from Chile.”Of course

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-18234883061504896542008-05-31T15:22:00.004-05:002008-06-11T16:09:46.867-05:00

I have to admit, I haven't been keeping up on the news coming out of Peru's anti-insurgency and anti-narcotrafficking efforts. I probably should brush up at the Plan Colombia and Beyond blog or the Narco News Bulletin.Like most observers, I figured that Sendero was a bad, but increasingly distant memory. But I see today that the AP reports an increase in Sendero activity in the Apurimac valley.

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-58283570869067758082007-02-16T10:47:00.000-05:002007-02-16T11:37:01.785-05:00

Capture from "Lima," a 1944 documentary on the City of Kings.The tireless Alejandro at Peru Food turned up some interesting and ancient documentary footage on YouTube. It's a documentary from the 1940s about Lima that was put together by a U.S. agency, the Office of the Coordinator for Inter-American Affairs (quite possibly the only agency in our government that used its funds to document, rather

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-68237231940482917282007-02-16T09:48:00.000-05:002007-02-16T10:06:42.084-05:00

Ajies andinos (Andean peppers) Photo by Don Ball. By Jeffrey Jones Thu Feb 15, 3:00 PM ETCALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Here's a hot, new discovery: archaeologists have traced what they believe is evidence of the first home-grown chili peppers, used in South America 6,100 years ago.And it was people in tropical, lowland areas of what is now western Ecuador who first spiced up their cuisine, not

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1165300836327384962006-12-05T00:56:00.000-05:002006-12-05T01:40:36.383-05:00

Friends & Family, the latest album by Turkish percussionist Ayhan Sicimoglu.Whoa boy. You know how you occasionally run into a piece of music that stops you in your tracks? It was like that for me the first time I heard Radio Tarifa, Inti Illimani or NovaLima.Listening to MPR today, I heard a short piece about a Turkish percussionist who's a veteran of New York's salsa scene. His name is

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1164951502310381782006-12-01T00:38:00.000-05:002006-12-01T00:45:09.420-05:00

I don't mean to knock this video, because it actually does give a fair view of the city through the eyes of someone who's taking a guided tour. Nothing wrong with that.But contrast this with the traffic jam video I posted earlier. Same city, just different facets.

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1164950441149061592006-12-01T00:20:00.000-05:002006-12-01T00:34:51.356-05:00

One day this June, as Sophie and I were being chauffeured by my dear Tía Chabuca to downtown Lima, we got caught in a temporary traffic snarl, made worse by an ambulance trying to push through. In fact, you can hear the ambulance driver on his PA system urging other drivers to clear the way. Yeah, right.Is it possible to pine for noise pollution? When I watch this, I long to feel the jolt of

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1162323786535379392006-10-31T14:02:00.000-05:002006-10-31T14:48:39.620-05:00

Happy Halloween, y'all.Halloween shopping in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by kevinfmchugh1.Halloween performance by Colectivo Etereo, Santiago, Chile. Note the DJ's andean costume. Photo by Tubatuba.And for mis Perucos: a hearty Feliz día de Canción Criolla! Thanks to Alejandro at Peru Food, we have a terrific montage of the great masters of this very Peruvian musical form:

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1160287783038502572006-10-08T00:30:00.000-05:002006-10-19T21:07:12.166-05:00

Crema de Zapallo, served with rice. Photo by Don Ball.I was never a huge fan of squash, at least not the way I grew up eating it: acorn squash cut in halves and baked with butter and brown sugar. (That actually sounds appealing as I type it...but in practice has never been my favorite.)In soup form, however, squash really floats my boat. The other day, I took a buttercup squash and did it up

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1160070997520036742006-10-05T12:37:00.000-05:002006-10-05T12:56:37.606-05:00

Contestants line up for judging. Photo courtesy 20 Minutes.A mule is someone who smuggles drugs by swallowing condom-wrapped drugs and then, er, evacuating the drugs upon arrival at their destination. It's a sad fact that mules are usually not hardened criminals, but desperate individuals motivated by threats or extreme circumstances.In Peru's Santa Monica women's prison, accused and convicted

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1160060699166674412006-10-05T10:02:00.000-05:002006-10-05T12:18:13.783-05:00

Professional tourguide, foodie, wine-lover, architecture freak and blogger Robert Wright keeps a terrific blog, Line of Sight, which details his life in Buenos Aires. He recently posted the photo below and commented:"It’s rare to find a religous procession in Buenos Aires. In spite of Argentina being a mainly Catholic country, processions are nowhere as frequent as in Spain. Nor as fancy. While

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1159396648891220492006-09-27T16:22:00.000-05:002006-09-29T12:17:57.636-05:00

Padre y hija, visiting in the Plaza de Armas, Lima.Having blogged about the run-up to mine and Sophie's trip to Peru, and having done no posting since we left in June, I feel like perhaps some reportage is owed to you, dear reader. As I explained to Alejandro at PeruFood, besides being overwhelmed with work upon my return, I was kind of "peru-ed out." (He said he didn't understand what I meant.)

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1159391849731050852006-09-27T15:53:00.000-05:002006-10-03T23:56:06.436-05:00

Rebeca Roa Alva at her 107th birthday. Photo courtesy of Trome.I've told some of you that my dear old abuelita credited her old age (she lived to 95-ish) to onions and strong drink ("cebolla y trago"). But here's a woman who's considerably older, and whose recipe for long life is very Andean. The 107-year-old, quechua-speaking Rebeca Roa Alva eats lima beans, quinoa, kiwicha and amaranth and

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1159216663995716512006-09-25T15:15:00.000-05:002006-09-29T12:22:31.363-05:00

Vice Admiral José Alba Arnez, commander of the Bolivian Navy. Photo by Simon Romero.The New York Times recently added a little color to the age-old story of the Bolivian Navy, who, since the late 1800s has been limited in its range of operations to the 12,500-foot high Lake Titicaca.Read Bolivia Reaches for a Slice of the Coast That Got Away (until it gets archived).Even before reading this

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1149823514227918082006-06-08T21:28:00.000-05:002006-09-08T02:18:20.260-05:00

The great (and ever-so-humble) Wilbur Quispe is back in town. He's the weaver from Ayacucho, Peru, whose rugs are sold by my friend Melanie at Art Andes. I've seen many rugs in many a market and Wilbur's creations stand out not only for the quality of his materials (he uses hand-spun wool and natural dyes) but for how they're brought together into striking designs, many of which taken from

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1149275568357934192006-06-02T08:38:00.000-05:002006-06-02T14:12:48.430-05:00

In a recent piece on NPR, I heard about a study claiming that hispanics assimilate much the same as previous waves of immigrants did: the first generation may not speak English, but by the third and fourth generations, hardly anyone is speaking the mother tongue.But what happens to the second generation? Sandwiched between their parents' old ways and their children's lack of meaningful connection

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1148787366350053402006-05-27T22:27:00.000-05:002006-05-27T22:36:06.363-05:00

The shores of Lake Nicaragua, with a view toward Ometepe Island, home to the volcanoes Concepción (left) and Maderas. Photo by Don Pablo.

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1148681711472472472006-05-26T17:00:00.000-05:002006-05-26T19:34:33.566-05:00

Archeologists believe that in Peru's ancient Paracas culture (750BCE-100CE), an elongated skull was a sign of nobility. Photo by Brian RitchieTags: Paracas, Peru, skull, deformities, Paracas Necropolis, archaeology

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1148677034430688312006-05-26T15:56:00.000-05:002006-05-26T19:35:04.106-05:00

For sale in Quindío, Colombia: 36 acres of soil that will grow anything.The ever-entertaining world real estate site, Viviun, features some acreage available in the heart of Colombia's coffee country. Asking Price: $155,000-$185,000. Personally, I wouldn't be able to resist growing chili peppers.Tags: Colombia, Calarca, Quindio, land, real estate, coffee, viviun.com

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1148578635017943592006-05-25T12:11:00.000-05:002006-05-26T13:40:07.433-05:00

Choros a la chalaca (mussels marinated in lime juice) is typical eats on the coast of Peru.Highlights from a recent Washington Post article by Walter Nicholls on Peruvian cooking...High on PeruWith Its Mix of Worldly Flavors, the Country's Cuisine Could Be the Next ThaiTake one part Incan and one part Spanish. Mix well. Add influences of African, Chinese, Japanese and Italian. What do you get?

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1148395952072504782006-05-23T09:12:00.000-05:002006-05-23T09:52:32.160-05:00

Playing Sapo at a Chicheria, Cusco, 1932. Photo by Martin Chambi.In Latin America they call it Sapo, or frog. It goes by other names in Europe, where it most likely originated, despite some elaborate Peruvian legends that involve Inca nobilty throwing gold coins into Lake Titicaca to court the favor of magical frogs.The game is simple, surprisingly fun (more so if it involves beer). You take

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1148015797154259992006-05-19T00:14:00.000-05:002006-05-19T00:16:37.173-05:00

Homeless mother and daughter, Ecuador, 2004. Photo by camera_rwanda.

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10887416.post-1147893701014559822006-05-17T13:29:00.000-05:002006-05-17T14:21:51.736-05:00

This recently discovered female mummy (found with a gold bowl covering her face) has archeological tongues a waggin'. Photo by Ira Block, National Geographic.There seems to be no end to the bizarre archaeological finds in Peru. Reuters broke this story yesterday, but there were no decent pictures, so I hesitated to blog it. But now that the NY Times is all over it -- pictures be damned -- I gotta

Don Ball Carbajalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05150702783216630024noreply@blogger.com0