Pachamanca. Yesterday we ate pachamanca for the first time. It's a dish from the sierra (the highlands/mountain regions) that includes chicken, pork, lamb, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and yucca. Traditionally, the ingredients would be wrapped in banana leaves, laid over rocks that have been heated in fire and set into a hole in the ground, then buried with sod and slow cooked for hours. Here in Arequipa, it was cooked in an olla (clay pot) in the oven, but it was still a pretty interesting dish. The pachamanca was lunch, and needless to say we didn't need to eat for the rest of the day. The night before last, my Honduran friend cooked comidas cubanas for a big group of us. Cuban food in Peru. Delicious. I fixed up a batch of mojitos, but used pisco instead of rum. Yum. The truth is, most foods seem to taste better here, because the ingredients are so fresh. I've cooked Italian, French, Spanish, Mexican (I have to bring green chiles from AZ. as they don't grow here), Indian, Chinese, etc., with local ingredients with great success. Though several large grocery stores have opened here in the past two years, I still very much prefer to shop in the traditional market for fruits and vegetables. I have my own "casera," Cristina, who is generally pretty happy to see me as she knows I'll buy a LOT. It's hard to refrain, because not only are the vegetables terribly fresh and appealing, they are also very inexpensive. Awaiting an estimate today from the printer for the photo book. We dropped off the discs with the photos on Wednesday and he thought he'd have the estimate by Thursday afternoon. Spoke to him on Friday and he was waiting on some necessary software (!). I've learned here that when someone tells you something will be ready "manana," it doesn't necessarily mean tomorrow. It just means "not today." Also waiting for a return call from the Archbishop's secretary. She's arranging time for me to get into the church archives to get the last of the information I need for the book's text. We've decided to keep it quite simple: Dates of construction and reconstruction following earthquakes, etc.; special features of each church (pulpits, altars, artwork, etc.); and a paragraph of historical information. The book will showcase the photos and I'm very, very excited to see it.