Haven't arrived yet but already made it to Machu Picchu

Just a quick entry to write about my recent activities. Ok so the title is a bit deceptive. Last Sunday night I met up with my friend Leigh and went to dinner with her Peruvian friend, Cynthia, and Cynthia's boyfriend. We dined at a Peruvian restaurant (called Machu Picchu, thus the title of this blog entry) and Cynthia answered many of my questions. After this experience, I am really looking forward to Peruvian cuisine. As my vegetarianism kept me from venturing beyond seafood, I sort of "chickened out" (pardon my pun) on the meat dishes and ordered rice and beans (tacu-tacu). Cynthia let me try some of her ceviche, which had a strong lime flavor--i love limes-- and we all shared fried yuca. I can't wait to try ceviche again although am a bit leary about eating raw fish just anywhere. The best part of the meal was the pitcher of chicha morada. This is a juice made from boiled purple maize and chunks of pineapple. It was delicious. I learned that Peruvians are very proud of their corn and potatoes. Apparently there are over 2,000 potato variations in Peru. Another fun potato fact is that the cultivated potato is of Peruvian origen---around the Lake Titicaca area.