It has been a long time since I wrote a note to you. Over the next couple of days I will write a whole bunch of notes because I have lots of news to share. Señora Dalton shared your questions with me and I will try to answer them as well. I may even see if Tatiana is free to write another letter.
Over the past two weeks I have done a Lot of traveling. I went to two of the most famous and important places in all of South America. First, I went to a place called Machu Picchu in the country of Peru. I will write you another note about Machu Picchu a little bit later. Second, I went with my parents to a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador. These are known as the Galapagos Islands. I took a lot of pictures of both and maybe Señora Dalton will show you some of those pictures.
Before I tell you about Machu Picchu, let me tell you a little bit about the country of Peru. Peru is a country that is much bigger than Ecuador but it is very tiny compared to the size of the United States. The capital city of Peru is called Lima. Lima is gigantic. Over 8 million people live there. The shape of Peru reminds me of a bean. It also reminds me of the shape of the state of California.
Even though Peru is bigger than Ecuador, it has some of the same features. It has a coast and people on the coast eat lots and lots of fish and seafood. It has really tall mountains. And it also has jungle. I spent a few days in Lima where I went to lots of museums and ate like a pig! The city of Lima is famous for its food and people travel from all over the world to eat at the best restaurants in Lima.
I didn't try Lima's most famous local food. Lima's most famous local food is called ceviche. Ceviche is fish that is prepared in a special way. They don't use any heat to cook it but it isn't raw. Instead, they use lemon juice to cook the fish. If you have ever put a slice of lemon in your mouth you know how sour it tastes. The sour taste is caused by something called citric acid and they use enough lemon juice to cook the fish. I tried ceviche in Ecuador and it was delicious.
In the mountains of Peru they have a different kind of special food that is called cuy. Cuy is guinea pig. Who is grossed out by the thought of eating guinea pig? Well, I tried it. Below is a picture of me eating cuy. I will write a lot more later.
