Written by Jill one of our very talented non-blogging members. This is the second of a 2-part series.

Where I was staying outside of Palpa, Ica, we had a woman who came everyday and cooked for us. Her name was Señora Viki, and she was an amazing cook. It’s her food that I remember the most from my time in Peru, so that’s mostly what I’m going to talk about here. We got up at 4:30 and ate a calorie-filled breakfast of eggs, rolls, cheese, jam, yogurt, and oatmeal. We left at 5:00 and were at the site by 6:00. There we worked without stopping or eating until 2:30, and when we got back we had our one big meal of the day. My point is that any food would have been welcome, but Señora Viki always presented beautiful and delicious food, and she was delighted to show us the best of the local cuisine. It was simple, down-to-earth food, but it was filling and extremely flavorful. We’d start with a cool green salad, or maybe cold chicken salad served in half an avocado.