January

Good afternoon to everyone, I have been out of the office for a few days. My dear friend from the US was here so was hanging out with him and of course Miguels widow, had a few different things to do with them, and he will be back to visit in July where we will go with him adn his wife to do a trek from HUancacalle to Machu Picchu which I am really looking forward to.

Then it is the normal catch up on all the emails that back up when you take time away from the computer.

As it is the season we have been eating a lot of Kapchi de Zetas a yummy veggie dish that people make at this time of year. I have taken this recipe from Taste of Peru website.

INGREDIENTS:

For seasoning: ½ Tablespoon Peruvian yellow aji chilies paste ½ Tablespoon Aji Panca paste 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon garlic paste 1 bunch black mint 1 bunch lemon grass 1 big red onion Peruvian hot pepper Salt & pepper to taste 1 ¾ 2.2 ¾ 0.55 2 cup fresh andean mushrooms cup green lima beans lb. potatoes cup evaporated milk lb. fresh cheese eggs

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In a large frying pan, add the onion, pepper, salt, garlic paste, "aji panca" and chilies. Then add the mushrooms previously washed, the black mint, lemon grass and the Peruvian hot chili and cook for 15 minutes. Add a cup of water, the milk, eggs and finally the shredded cheese. When ready, add the green lima beans and the potatoes, which have to be boiled in advance. Finally boil all this mix for 10 minutes more. It can be served with rice or "waro" bread (Cusquenian typical bread).

In addition we have had a few problems with our soap production as our coco oil has not arrived apparently due to torrential rain in San Martin, hopefully by Friday as our coffee and chocolate soaps have become really popular, so we need to keep on top of that.

It is also holiday time of year so we are taking it in turns to have our 2 weeks off, I get mine last in March when I will be running off to the jungle to stay in the lodge that Mick Jagger stayed in.

Thats all for today lovelies, hope everyone is well and happy. Remember we are always here at www.tikatrek.com and www.tikasoapperu.com

Its nearlyChristmas

Its raining today, seems we are entering into the rainy season, hope it is not too bad on the 24th when we are at the Christmas market. Fortunately we are now the proud owners of a tent to keep the rain off us.
Expect to see all sorts of gifts available in the market from models of the baby jesus for nativity scenes, lots of religious artefacts, candles, textiles and lots of different types of herbs and mosses that are brought down from the mountains to make the stable more life like.
In addition you can buy miature cars, houses, money, bank bonds and anything that you want in real life, these are meant to simbolise your intent.
Prior to that we have a traditional chocolatada which is were we will be heading off to a community to give gifts, paneton and of course hot chocolate which is a real part of the Christmas tradition here.
Here in Peru the ceñlebration of Christmas is normally at midnight on the 24th, people have hot chocolate and wafer biscuits and in some cases will have their turkey at this time.
We personally will be working on the 24th from 5am to about 7pm, we will take it in shifts, but honestly its always a fun day.
Think thats all, have a wonderful day.

Today its soap time again, we are very busy at the moment so not much blogging going on, we are in the final throws of having our new company. We should have a RUC (tax file number today) and then in a few days we can print tax recipts and get a new bank account. Its all very exciting and a good time to get everything in order.
As soon as we get all that done I will be able to accept booking on the Tika Trek travel agency. On the agency front yesterday I got to learn about a new jungle lodge in Tambopata that I am hoping to visit in February. need to get that email sent off.
soap has been very busy at it is the time of year when the Inca Trail companies must pass the annual inspection to see if they are up to scratch. They check all their equipment, with part of this being biodegradeable soap and detergent. So with about 200 companies in Cusco getting inspected we have our work cut out.
In addition we are taking on a few more clients, Amistad Sagrada in Pisac, they help young kids and families and have a small store in the Pisac main square that helps fund their projects. We will also be getting new supplies out to one of our old clients the South American Explorers, you can get all our products here. See www.saexplorers.org

For all you soap and travel requirements have a look at www.tikatrek.com   www.tikasoapperu.com

Buses in Cusco

I thought today maybe I could talk about the crazy micro buses in Cusco. Its always a little stressful getting on and off the bus in Cusco, its not like the UK where the bus must come to a complete stop and then the doors open gently and you pay your ticket sit down and then the bus departs again. No here it is a whole different kettle of fish, bus sort of stops and you get on at great speed with man or woman saying sube sube (means get on) and they mean fast as soon as you have one foot on the step doors close and bus is off, you may or may not get a seat.
You also need to pay your ticket which is easy if you are at the front of the bus, if not you have to get through the people to pay and when its time to get off you better get off fast.
They also have time cards that the ticket man must run and get stamped. One other weird and I mean weird thing about the buses is that if its is 30 degrees outside people still do not open the windows, people here are extremely scared of wind and cold, no cold drinks as you will get a cold.
Today is also exciting as we will be delivering our first order of chocolate chapstick, yummy. Visit the Choco Museo in Cusco to buy them.

Chocolate soap

Since we are on a mission to make and commercialise chocolate soap here in Cusco we have been doing a bit of studying on the properties of different soaps.
For example chocolate soap has rejuvenating properties helping with the elasticity of the skin and stimulates the central nervous system and the antioxidants prevent premature aging. In addition it is also very hydrating.
Not only does it have all these wonderful benifits it smells fabulous and looks great.
In about 1 month from now you will be able to buy it from info@tikasoapperu.com

Cost 80g bar $2.50US.
160g bar $4.50US

Coffee soap helps energise you, can lift your mood and can help you get rid of cellulite, can I say anymore.  With coffee beans in the soap it also has wonderful exfoliating properties.
Cost 80g bar $2.50US
160g bar $4.50US

Salt Soap is both stimulating and smoothing and has great exfoliating properties, and of course we use the wonderful soap from Maras which has been handmined for at least the last 500years.
In addition salt soap can also help with psoriasis and eczema and will help relax muscles after a hard day.

Cost 80g bar $2.50US
160g bar $4.50US
info@tikasoapperu.com
www.tikasoapperu.com
www.tikatrek.com