Christmas Market in Dortmund on Europe Cruise

The magic happens aboard a Danube river cruise that includes stops at multiple famous cities, including Nuremberg, which hosts one of the most well known Christmas markets in Germany. Travelers are able to combine a Europe river cruise with holiday cheer and try delicious treats, peruse traditional handicrafts, and taste mulled and spiced wines in these old world cities. It is a truly unique way to experience the local flavor of the holiday spirit, and be romanced by the culture and traditions of old world Europe. If you tend to arrange your travel last minute, you will want to make arrangements soon, as cruises of the Christmas markets in Europe sell out far in advance.

Enjoying a little causa rellena, compliments of our Peru guide, Marco, in the Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley - Not a bad place for a picnic lunch

Causa refers to the yellow potato (papa amarilla), and rellena refers to the stuffing. Feel free to get clever with the recipe – and presentation. But try this simple and tasty Latin American comfort food for yourself…

Causa (potato)
- 8 yellow potatoes (boiled, peeled and mashed)
- 3 yellow peppers
- Juice from 3 limes
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt and pepper to taste

Rellena (stuffing)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ chopped med. onion
- 1 tsp. mustard
- 2 hard boiled eggs (chopped)
- 1 avocado (cut into slices)
- black olives (chopped) to your preference
- For a little extra protein, add cooked chicken breast or tuna to your stuffing

Cook
1. Saute yellow peppers and garlic in vegetable oil until soft. Place in blender with mashed potatoes, lime juice and salt and pepper. Process until smooth.

2. Mix all stuffing ingredients (mayonnaise, onion, mustard, boiled eggs, avocado, olives and optional chicken/tuna) in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste

3. To serve, shape ½ potato mixture into a square on a plate. Spoon stuffing mixture over potatoes, and layer the remaining potato mixture on top. Eat!

Local Peruvian women selling medicinal plants

By M.J. Holliday
Five hundred years ago, the Inca empire flourished in South America. At its center was the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and the capital city of Cusco, Peru. The Inca were farmers, scientists, engineers and astronomers. When Fransisco Pizarro arrived with the Spanish armies in the sixteenth century, Inca medicine was so advanced that he sent his doctors home and used local methods instead.

On a trek through the Andes, we stayed in Cusco for two days. The modern name Cusco, or Cuzco, derives from the original Qosqo, meaning “navel.” Historically, Cusco is the birthplace of the Inca. Nomadic shepherds cultivated the land around the Urubamba River and settled the Sacred Valley around AD 1100.

Today the Sacred Valley provides maize, fruit, potatoes and vegetables, and medicinal plants. We found plenty of local produce and wares at the San Pedro market in Cusco, but the most striking attraction was the adjacent witches’ market, or Mercado de las Brujas.

We were fortunate to experience the witches’ market on a weekend. Vendors come from the hills and villages to sell their wares, and trade is lively.

If you’re looking for odd and unusual items, you will find them at the witches’ market. In the shadow of modern amenities, outdoor stalls fill the streets. Clay pots, baskets and makeshift shelves are crammed with herbs, medicines, animal carcasses, dried bats and toads, woven items, handmade charms and amulets, strange foods and potions..

Before going to the market, it’s a good idea to convert some of your money to the local currency. The nuevosol, or sol, is the basic monetary unit of Peru. Three soles equal about one American dollar.

Sixty percent of the population is Catholic, but the spirituality of Peru has strong ties to the earth. Rituals of magic and mysticism pass down by oral tradition, along with a deep understanding of the natural forces that shape the world. In the witches’ market, the vendors are shamans, witch doctors, herbalists and astrologers, all skilled in magical lore.

You can buy a potion or charm for almost anything, from curing a queasy stomach, to attracting money or spicing up your sex life. Dried llama fetuses bring good luck to homes and businesses and are often walled into the corners of buildings. A drink of liquidized frog will improve the memory, and dried armadillo will keep thieves away.

You can even pay a sorcerer to cast a spell on someone. Don’t be tempted to lay a curse on your annoying neighbor, though. Practitioners of ancient magic will use their craft only for good. They warn that magic, used for evil, will turn against the user.

The air is pungent with the aroma of herbs, live and dead animals, and home cooking. Some vendors brew potions on the spot, and others serve up local cuisine. A must-try delicacy is roast guinea pig, or cuy, usually served with a pepper in its mouth. Guinea pig is a traditional dish in South America. In the Cusco Cathedral hangs a painting of the Last Supper, with guinea pig as the main meal. Other local treats include alpaca steak; charqui, a naturally freeze-dried type of jerky; and yellow potato dishes of all kinds.

Fresh-squeezed juice is plentiful, and includes papaya, strawberry, kiwi, mango and cherimoya. Cherimoya is an evergreen, growing in the highlands of Ecuador and Peru. The fruit is oval, grapefruit-sized, with sweet white flesh. Mark Twain called it “the most delicious fruit known to men.” The cherimoya juice was truly refreshing and cost only a sol.

Another local delight is chicha, a brew similar to beer. Chicha can be sweet or strongly fermented, depending on the brewer. It’s made from corn or quinoa, a grain-like plant. If you’re not feeling adventurous, you can just get a coffee and sandwich, for about three soles.

The market is noisy with the shouts of haggling. No one expects to pay the asking price for an item. If you do, the vendor will have a good laugh at your expense. Always offer a much lower price, haggle and barter for every item, and you will walk away with a deal.

Most vendors speak Spanish, or the local Quechuan dialects. It helps to know basic phrases in Spanish. When taking photos, ask permission. Vendors and local farmers usually don’t mind, but it’s bad manners to take a picture without giving at least a sol.

Be prepared for the altitude. The mountain air has less oxygen than that of lower altitudes, so you might feel short of breath. If you develop a taste for chicha, don’t drink too much! High altitudes can cause the worst hangovers imaginable.

The witches’ market is a reminder of the age-old spirituality that pervades even the most modern lifestyle. In the Sacred Valley of the Incas, new technology arrives, but ancient magic and traditions still prevail.

Taste pisco and learn about its origins, production, and recipes at a historic tavern in Lima

Try ceviche, a popular mainstay of Peruvian cuisine found in restaurants in Lima and Cusco.

What better way of learning about a new place and culture is there than by sitting around a table to share a meal and enjoy some new flavors?  Studying a place’s culinary history helps uncover the relationship between food and culture and the many stories that are passed on through generations.  And Peru is full of legends and traditions.

Peruvian cuisine has hit the headlines recently in many culinary magazines, but the irony is that the traditions that remain the staple and basis of Peruvian dishes have been around for centuries.  Peru’s geography contributes so much to its culinary history and development with the bounty of the sea, a year-round growing season, and tropical produce from the Amazon.  The staples of the potato, corn, domesticated peanut, and tomatoes are all thought to have originated in South America in what is modern-day Peru.  And I think you can put chocolate on that list as well since cacao is native to the lowlands of South America.  Combining these native ingredients with cooking styles from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East make Peruvian cuisine a great fusion of the traditional and modern.

We are excited about our new Peru Culinary 8 day tour that visits Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu with an emphasis on tasting your way through the region and experiencing the culture firsthand  as both a traveler and diner.  Our guides will customize the itinerary and restaurant selections  based on the individual interests, preferences, and adventurousness.  Walk through the market of Cusco and see the ingredients that the Incas cultivated and harvested and continue to be used in both traditional and modern kitchens.   We even have the chance to enter the kitchen, tie on an apron, and try our hand at preparing Novoandina dishes at a restaurant in Cusco.  Don’t think that our time enjoying food and drink will take away from seeing the sites.  There is ample time to visit the ruins of Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu and to explore the Andes.