cevichetarian

after crossing into peru, the bus dropped us in the busy transport hub of piura. i fell asleep in the idylic oasis of vilcabamba and woke up in india. i know i´ve never been, but with the traffic of mototaxis and tuk-tuks kicking up swirls of dusty clouds, markets busting with the days catch, smells of sweets and spices and everything in between wafting through the air, begging children following at my heels and the hot hot sun--seems like india, no? or maybe northern peru.

finding the city too overwhelming for an introduction, we randomly picked a nearby town, chiclayo, and hoped for something a little smaller. no such luck. the traffic was even worse. peruvian drivers are absolutely mad. no stoplights, no order, just chaotic cars playing a crazed form of chicken. i felt like ¨frogger¨ everytime i crossed the street, dodging my way through too many near-misses.

hello, huanchanco, such a welcome relief for big-city sore eyes. surrounded by rolling sand dunes and ruins of the ancient city of chan chan, the tiny fishing village is nestled right where the desert stops and the ocean begins. and underneath the arid sun of northern peru, there is only one way to cool down proper. the two c´s. cerveza and ceviche.

a good rule of thumb is to go where the locals go, and with the help of said locals we found the best place in town. fisherman in long reed boats, the same used 200 years ago, ply the waters of the pacific for the freshest catch of the day. cheersing with a frosty beer, i took my first bite of ceviche and waited. omigosh. smooth white hunks of fleshy corvina, marinated and ¨cooked¨ with lime, garnished with aji amarillo and thinly sliced onions, melted in my mouth. so simple and yet bursting with limey briny flavor. the acidity of the lime sings in perfect harmony with the heat of the chilis. omigosh. so good. clean, cooling, completely refreshing. the starchy staples of corn and sweet potato give the dish some sustenence. i think i´m in love. ceviche ceviche, where have you been all my life?



so it seems for the time being, i´m now a pescetarian. or, as i like to say, a cevichetarian.