Nov 23. Back in Cehegin for 2 months.

I arrived in Cehegin as planned at 10.30pm and was met by the house owner Patricia, who had kindly offered me a lift to the house and in any case had the keys and a litre of milk. “The place is exactly as you left it except that the bed is made for you."

In the few weeks since I left, thinking I wouldn't return, I was glad at how I had left the house. There was tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits and a pretty well stocked provisions cupboard. Having paid the rent plus €10 for some logs, Patricia left and I was back “in situ” - I wanted nothing but a cup of hot chocolate, a biscuit or six and then bed.

The journey from Trujillo had been uneventful, 29 hours door-to-door, lengthened by the 8 hour wait at Lima. Flight from Lima to Madrid had plenty of empty seats so I slept.

Back in Cehegin, on waking the first thing I noticed was that it was dark, and 7:30 and chilly. Patricia had mentioned that the middle of the day was around 22ºC but that mornings and evening where decidedly chilly and I would be thankful of having the wood burning stove.

By 9am. I had showered dressed and was on my way to Mercadona for provisions sufficient for the weekend – remembering that except for Mercadona everywhere shut by 2pm Saturday not opening again until Monday. Sunday trading – gotta be joking!

I was a choir-boy and never a boy scout, but I knew that lighting a fire had a technique, just as singing “Brewer in D” had a technique.. However I also knew that “firelighters” were a good short cut. Whilst I had logs what I didn't have was “kindling” so after buy a small hand axe (a hatchet ?) I decided that a walk was called for and I would assert the ancient right of collecting kindling wood so went for a forage down by the river. An house later and I had a bag full of twigs, and was ready to start “pyromania 101” my first effort lasted maybe 40 minutes probably less, but did include filling the house with smoke. Suffice to say that it was only by attempt number 4 that I managed to get the stove up to heat and it was gobbling logs at an alarming rate – but I was as warm as toast.

I had received a lovely welcome back from Andrea the Welsh owner of “Cosa-y-cosas”, the second hand furniture, book swap and British mini-market. She is the repository of all knowledge, Cehegin's Delphic Oracle, she waxed lyrical about the right way to light a stove and keep it burning 24/7 – however I had already “you-tubed” the problem and was pretty clued up, but it was nice to have the reinforcement. By Tuesday I realised that four bags of logs was going to go nowhere, and my local garage wanted €5 per 10kg bag of logs. Andrea, of course, pointed me in the direction of local farmer Gines who sold me 500kg of logs for €50 and delivered them the same day.

500kg of logs is a lot, especially when they have to be carried from outside the house, through the house, up the stairs and stacked on the terrace. Also they were pretty hefty chunks of Apricot wood and way beyond the capabilities of a hatchet! An axe was required! Having searched every “ferreteria” (ironmonger) in town Amazon came to rescue – I am a “prime” member here in Spain – and I ordered my 2.7kg log splitting axe with rubberised handle at 17:00 and it was with me by 15:00 the next day and only €17.

It looks so easy. Let em say here and now, log splitting is not easy! After nearly smashing up the tiled floor of the terrace I have realised that I need to have a dedicated area for this “art” anyways, without pulling too many muscles I managed to split enough logs for maybe 3 days and immediately got to making a real fire.

In July it was on average 14ºC hotter and this week it is on average 14ºC lower. Today for instance it is maximum 7ºC for the day and a possible – 4ºC during the night. Just chilly! Clear, clear skys, weak sun and dry. But, I can wander round my house in just a tee-shirt (well not JUST a tee-shirt) but no need for jumpers. However, that 500kg of logs may not last me until Jan 7. So two things; 1. I am not attempting to keep the stove burning 24/7 and 2. I plan not avoid lighting it until after lunch, as morning as usually taken up with chores: shopping, washing, cleaning so I am saving the stove until I am ready to settle down to some reading. On that score I am having a bit of a “Patricia Cornwell-fest” this week.

Of course being back also means nice walks when the sun us shining and I am suitably wrapped up and cooking!

Do not be put off by the garlic quantity.

Yesterday I cooked a whole chicken over a bed of 40 cloves of garlic with an orange, garlic and parsley stuffing, all basted with orange juice and cooked covered by a tent of foil. The orange steam generated make the chicken so, so tender and infused with the garlic and orange. After cooking the garlic cloves a squeezed and the super-sweet puree and orange juice make a wonderful sauce. I had this with vegetables in cheese sauce and a jacket potato.

I have enough food left to see me almost to Thursday. Friday I depart at 06:00 for Murcia and Alicante airport en-route to the UK and a few days with Andy followed by time with Martin and Jean taking in other friends on the way.

Also planned is the AGM of FOMCAS (Friends of Michael Cat Appreciation Society) which will be held at dear friends Rebecca and Shauns house, with their 6 cats and the gourmet food provided by ace-chef Rebecca. I get to catch up with my two lovely moggies: Mr Moggs and Dame Kiri who were re rescued by the said Shauna and Rebecca and now live a wonderful life along with 4 other cats including a new addition I am looking forwards to meeting “Mr. Van Diesel” - a monster cat or small tiger apparently.

Plan to buy some Christmas goodies, to take back for my special Christmas with Nick.  Christmas Cake, Christmas Pudding, Mince Pies ....etc.     All very traditional.

"Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat!"   (except these days it's a Turkey!)

A guide.

November 9 - Weekend away from the hustle and bustle!

Back into my “Trujillo A” routine of teaching and meeting nick in the evenings.

Friday was the first elimination round of the international singing competition, and one of my CEIM students Milton was participating. He is a baritone, and gave a very good, and intimate rendition of a Mozart aria, was pleased for him. Fingers crossed. 

The two elimination rounds have some 52 singers in total of which 50% will pass to the semi-final on Monday. Participants had come from some 15 countries, all of Latin America plus Romania and the USA! It was a very mixed bag, really some contestants were not ready and one or two overstretched themselves with disastrous results.

Sometimes "selfies" are just not a good idea!

But this week ended with super mini-trip to Chiclayo. We left Saturday morning at 7:30 and arrived in Chiclayo four hours later. Chiclayo is up the coast, so the scenery en route was unremarkable hills and stretches of desert, except for where agro-farming businesses had irrigated or there was a water course. Dry, dusty and incredibly boring, mile after mile of nothing. Chiclayo is a small city some eight kilometres inland.

Where there is agriculture, it is sugar cane and we passed close to the town or Cortavio – famous for it Rum distilleries.

Anyways we arrived, left our bags at the 4* Casa Andina hotel, couldn't check in until 14:00, and decided to walk into the “centro historico” see some sights and have lunch. The centre was not as interesting as trujillo, the traffic tens times worse and the cathedral interior unremarkable. But the weather was warm and with sunny intervals, so we were happy. After wandering aroudn for a while we found the restaurate “Romantica” which specialised in serving “comida Chiclayano” and food being what Chiclayo is famous four, along with one of the highest crime rates in Peru.

Lunch was a starter made of blood sausage opened and the contents fried served along stewed tripe, salad and yucca. Maybe not to everyone’s taste but it was tasty! Especially washed down with lovely sweet black beer. Main course was the North Peru favourite of Cabrito (stewed goat in a lovely thick gravy), beans and rice, very traditional, very tasty. 

This rather heavy lunch needed time to be digested so we headed back to the hotel, got upgraded to a junior suite and was surprised and the size of the bed, it was about 8 feet wide and 7 feet long, huge! 

The suite was on the top floor so we had a panoramic view over Chiclayo, but don't get excited as the view was not up to much!

So we snoozed and then decided to go watch the sunset at Pimental, the local coastal resort. Nick uses an “app" like Uber for taxis, which is the safest way to travel. So we shunned the line of limos outside the hotel and climbed into a little local taxi and were whisked of to the seaside!

First impression of Pimental was that it was so much better then Huanchaco. Lovely big sandy beach and very long pier, the length necessitated by the bay being very shallow. A nice Malecom (promenade) and a variety of bar and restaurants, plus what looked like a quite upmarket local community.

The pier had been constructed to export sugar and the pier being so long had its own train. It was in a reasonable state of repair and mainly used by guys fishing with rods or just with a line they let down between the planks. There was a group of boys diving from the pier and except for the fact that the final section had no had rails or any form of protection, and of course no life-bouys, it was charming. There was a group of resting Cormorants and we were able to watch the local fishermen in the reed boats ( the origin of the surf board!)

We strolled back and found a bar and Nick suggested I try a local favourite of Black beer mixed with Coke-cola …… not sure! Nick said well it's just like a Sangria … even less sure! (on his visit to Spain in December I will disabuse him of this idea)

Practicing my Spanish with local resident.

Not sure what I am thinking .....

 Back to the hotel, bathed showered and rested and we were ready to hit the town. Nick had messaged friends from Chiclayo for recommendations and we headed out to “La Novena” a resto-bar with DJ. I decided that, I shouldn't object to the DJ and was so glad. The place was cool. The restaurant was at the front with an open kitchen and at the back the bar and DJ all safely ensconced behind floor to ceiling glass doors so the music was diffused. 

Chicken with bacon, grapes and ricotta: yummy!

 Service was excellent and the food a very pleasant surprise. Cocktails in hand we choose a selection of Makis (Peruvian version of Japanese Sushi) to start, these were great, but lacked the piquancy of the Japanese original. No Wasabi. But very tasty non-the-less.

Postre with Apple Martini.

Recharging the cocktails we choose a main course of chicken rolled with bacon, and served with a ricotta cheese and grape sauce, served of a bed of potato puree with courgettes. It was an exciting and excellent combination of flavours, the two chefs were standing looking at us as we ate our first mouthful waiting to see our reaction, they were not disappointed. This plate of food was exceptional and would have matched many fine dining restaurants in the UK. 

With a third cocktail we then moved onto desert: ice cream stuffed crepes, quickly fried served with a chocolate sauce and strawberries, another triumph.

Not a cheap evening by Peruvian standards but a very well spent £60. It had been ages since Nick and I enjoyed such a pleasant and relaxed evening of good music, food, drinks and conversation.

 After a rather poorly organised and slightly chaotic buffet breakfast, which left both Nick and I with unsettled stomachs (the sausages?) we spent the morning just wandering around and visiting the mall and our favourite Ripley departmental store. Back to the Hotel, resting our stomachs, checkout, a walk and then we sat on the hotel patio for some snacks and non-alcoholic drinks.

We got talking about the famous marketing film made by Peru, which is funny and very clever. You can see it here.

PLAY THE VIDEO

Add Peruvian TV personality ...who?
No idea.

We were reading the papers in the lobby (or rather I was as Nick was sound asleep), I got our bags from reception and at 2:50 looking at our tickets, realized that our bus to Trujillo was at 3:00 and not at 3:30 as I had thought. I panicked, shot out of the hotel and hailed the first passing taxi, a very clapped out old vehicle, but the old boy drove like the clappers (as much as was possible in the old banger), went through red lights cut up drivers and got us to the bus terminal for 3:00 "keystone cop style" on the dot just as they were calling our departure. Nick had not panicked relying on the fact the this is Peru and a 3:00pm departure would actually mean 3:15! He just grinned and said my reaction was so typical..... "no comment."

Anyway, I had 3.5 hours on the luxury VIP bus to calm down, with seats that are “like” beds (bus-cama) the bus was brand new but our seats would not stay upright, so lying prone was the only option for the journey. Nick slept, snored occasionally and the journey passed quickly aided and abetted by the obligatory pirate DVD films.

Milton Hinsbis - Baritono - My student!

Back at my room, a message from Milton to say he was through to the semi final. Hooray.




Then sorted out Nicks Schengen Visa obligatory insurance (for Spain) €36 and reflected that the next few months were going to be hectic. For me Spain, UK, Spain,then  Nicks visit and a return to Peru on January 7. For Nick, Chicago, this week; Spain, December; San Francisco, January; Germany, February and heaven knows what for the rest of the year. So pleased his career is advancing at such a pace.

Starting today I give my last lessons, and start to get ready for my return to Spain on Thursday. Time has flown (haha!).

Handsome, Nick.

My next blog will come from the little house in Cehegin, hopefully warmed by the log burning stove and for inner warmth "carajillo's."

Hasta luego.

November 1. A quiet week.

A quiet week.

 The week started with a lovely tea-time with Paula one of my excellent students, it was great to hear how well here voice has developed.

And then .............

After all the drama of the last few weeks if was so good to have quiet week. Each day I received an excuse as to why the Director of Culture could not see me and each day I taught some of my old students so there was some balance, and just as 3 years ago each evening Nick and I met up to go out for something to eat and to talk about our day.

Bureaucracy rears it's very ugly head.

On Thursday, I was given my long awaited appointment, one final wait of 45 minutes whilst all the staff took time off from real work in order to celebrate the Birthday of the Director, I was ushered into her office. I was presented with my “execution panel” of five managers, The Director had invited the entire selection panel plus one other manager (no idea who he was), basically I was told that the first part of the selection process was based on a pro-forma application form and all other supporting evidence was not allowed to be consulted and yes, whilst it was obvious that I had much more than the minimum requirements for the post applied for, on the form I had failed to establish 8 years of experience as one section was discounted. I was given 7 years and 5 months “credit” but owing to the limitations of the form I had to put some six posts in the space allotted for one, so I gave this section a generic title and then listed the various posts including up to 20 years association with various orchestras mainly in India. Conservatively I had 8 -9 years concrete experience plus the 7 years 5 months, so maybe 16 years! (rather more than the 8 required)

I had written “Independent Professional Musician"  in the job-title box and then listed each post as “Director of orchestra of x” and “Organist of”, “Accompanist to” and “Visiting Professor at” etc all with the number of years  BUT as I had failed to use the term “Director” IN the box everything subsequently written was worthless! So I was rejected for three misplaced words!

Yes, you read that correctly ........  I lost an opportunity for THREE WORDS!

If it wasn't so pathetic it would be funny.

The Director said to me that she was sorry, but the system was the system, [all hail the system] and the committee had to follow the rules, it was “lamentable” to use her exact word, but she hoped I would apply again in January as, she was now very desperate to fill the post. I hope the requirements would not change, but she could not guarantee this and I would simply have to wait and see what was required in January.

I shall be ready for them!  

Many of my Peruvian friends here so embarrassed by the crazy world of government bureaucracy. To them ......"Thanks for the kind words."

And I am now going to move on and forget this nonsense!

And Peru wonders why it is not advancing as it should.

Another example has occurred this week.

Passport to travel without let or hindrance.

From December 4 Peruvians will no longer need a Schengen Visa to visit Europe (not the UK) – this has been negotiated for over 2 years - but this is concession is subject to having a biometric passport and, yes, you have guessed it, 99% of passports issued are not biometric! And the process to obtain one has not been clarified.

The three police in the background spent more than an hour texting rather than working!

Had two lovely reunions with friends this week, Wednesday with Gerrardo and a visit to the much missed Metropolitan Pizza and Crepes Cafe and then last night with Lucio and Marco at Lucio's “pied a terre” in town.

Lucio, Michael, Nick, Marco

Nick and I starting to think about what we do next January on my more permanent return to Peru. So a very interesting two months ahead for both of us.

Next weekend we go north, to Chiclayo, for a mini-break, posh hotel, posh restaurants and sunshine! Should be great.

Chiclayo Central Square

FINALLY>>>>>>>>>> on the horizon  read this about PERU

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34504269