The magical land of Peru

        My name is Claudia Roncal, I am studying at the University of Florida and my major is Advertising. My blog will provide information and personal experience to inform readers about my favorite destinations in Peru.      

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Peruvian Cuisine: Full belly, happy heart

Now we get to the best part, food. Peru is well known for its variety of dishes. Whenever I am far away from home, food is what I miss the most. On this post, I will show you some of my favorite dishes.

Ceviche is usually spelled either Cebiche or Ceviche, anyways it’s still delicious. This dish belongs to the Coast. My grandparents are from Trujillo where the best Ceviche Norteño is made. If you don’t mind eating raw fish, you will love this dish.

Click here to get the recipe. 

Ají de Gallina is my favorite dish. This picture was from my last birthday. Creamy and a little spicy, that’s how I like my Ají de Gallina. 

If you like spicy food, you will love this dish. Caution: if you are allergic to walnuts make sure to inform the chef.  Click here to get a full recipe with instructions.

Picarones are always a must when it comes to Peruvian appetizers. To me, the best Picarones are made In Chincha, where Afro- Peruvian woman take their pots and make this sweet appetizer in the streets.

Click here to watch a video of how to make Picarones. 

Causa Rellena one of my favorite entrees. This dish belongs to Lima city. It can be filled with crab meat, chicken salad, or tuna. A dish of Causa Rellena before any main course is the best combination. 

If you want to check the history and the full recipe of Causa Rellena click here.

Chilcano is my favorite cocktail in the world. It’s soft and aromatic because it’s made with Pisco. The best cocktail to enjoy a summer evening with friends. Get the recipe here. 

All pictures were taken by Claudia Roncal

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Tarma: City of flowers

Colorful valleys, religious traditions, and delicious Manjar Blanco are what you will find in Tarma. A small place to get away from the city.

Tarma belongs to the department of Junín, it is a point of connection between the central coast, central highlands and central jungle. It is an ideal destination for a road trip from Lima. You may want to buy some pills for altitude sickness and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol and cotton, so you can smell it and relieve a headache.

I went on a road trip with my best friend and her parents We stayed in a nice hotel called Los Portales. Click here to get more information about this hotel. 

Close to the hotel is a store called La Tarmeñita, where they sell Manjar Blanco, cheese, and milk. Manjar Blanco is like caramel sauce, La Tarmeñita produces different flavors of this product, and it’s delicious if you spread some on your bread or crackers.    

La Florida ranch is a relaxing place to visit where you can find cows and other farm animals. Around La Florida, there are many types of flowers like the one shown in the photo. If you take a walk around the ranch, you will feel relieved.

Tarma is a religious city. El Señor de Muruhuay is in a chapel on a hill, this image is painted on the rock. The word Muruhuay means house of many colors. It is said that a cross appeared on the rock. Many people go to visit the image to get blessed and ask for miracles.

I choose Tarma as one of my favorite destinations because it’s close to my hometown, and it’s a short trip. If you are looking for a quick getaway, this is the perfect destination for you.

All pictures were taken by Claudia Roncal

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Tarapoto: Tropical vacations

Now we are going to my favorite region, the Jungle. I enjoy traveling to the Amazon Jungle regions because the weather is always hot, and it’s very rich in flora and fauna. If you like tropical weather, animals, and food, this is the perfect destination for you.

Fresh coconut water is the first thing you should drink as soon as you arrive. It’s delicious, natural and will keep you hydrated. To enjoy your trip, you need these items: Insect repellent, a good sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, comfortable summer clothes, comfortable shoes for hiking and a good camera, to take the most amazing pictures.

We went to a nice hotel, but after that, they took us to a lake estate called Lago Lindo. To get there you must hike for a couple of hours with a tour guide. This hike is really fun because you will discover different types of trees, plants, and insects. You can get more information from Lago Lindo here.

The jungle is full of exotic birds, insects, etc. My favorites are the Papagayos, butterflies, and sloths. You can see these birds around the area, the rest of them are in reserved places like sanctuaries. Visiting these places is much better than the zoo because this is their natural habitat.

The best experience you can get from Tarapoto is watching the sunset. It may seem a bit boring, but it is the best thing you can do to connect with nature. I was swimming in the lake while the sky began to change from yellow, pink, purple and finally to blue. In my opinion, it was the most magical experience I’ve ever had in Peru.

If you want to move from this place the only way to travel is through the river. The sanctuaries and some restaurants. La Soñada is an eco-park at Laguna Azul, where you can find many kinds of butterflies and orchids. To watch reviews from this place and more information you can click here.

All pictures were taken by Claudia Roncal

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Ayacucho: culture and landscapes

Many of you may know that the most famous place in the highlands is Cusco. Foreigners always visit this place, and I don’t blame them. Cusco a beautiful place, but this time I will talk about a place very close to this one, Ayacucho.

Simón Bolivar changed Huamanga’s name to Ayacucho after the Battle of Ayacucho. This trip was one of the last ones before I come to The United States, in July 2017. I am not a fan of the Highlands because I don’t like cold weather, but Ayacucho left me speechless.

My parents and I like to travel a lot. We have been to many places outside the country, but this time I decided to find new places to go, where we don't spend too much money. I was watching a video about Peru when suddenly an image appeared of the beautiful lagoons of Millpu, I could not believe that I had never heard of this place before. I immediately booked flights to Ayacucho.

To reach these beautiful lagoons, you should hire a company to take you on a bus. Usually, they help you make a special tour according to the duration of your stay.  Click here to get information about the tours.

I went to Ayacucho on the 28th of July (Independence Day) for the holidays. It's an excellent date because everyone is celebrating all around the country, you can enjoy the best of culture, music, and food. Watching the citizens dancing in the streets is thrilling because you can feel the passion of the dancers.

Flights from Lima to Ayacucho last 45 minutes, the overland trip lasts 7 hours. Remember to check the weather before traveling, but mostly special dates so you can get to see the best of Ayacucho.

All pictures were taken by Claudia Roncal

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Peru wonderland

Hello, everyone! My name is Claudia Roncal, I am from Lima, Peru and I am studying Advertising at the University of Florida. The topic of this blog will be 3 of my favorite cities in my country, Ayacucho, Tarapoto and Tarma, and a quick look at Peruvian Cuisine.

Photo taken by Miguel Roncal

I choose this topic because I love talking about how beautiful my country is, and encouraging people to visit my favorite places. I hope you can visit someday one of these places and have a magical experience, just like I did.

Peru has a rich heritage of fauna and flora. We have three regions, Coast, Highlands, and Jungle. In our 25 departments, you can discover different languages, landscapes, weathers, people, music, food, etc. It’s amazing all you can learn from a small country.

People have different preferences when it comes to traveling, some like adventurous trips, others may just like walking through historical places. Good news is that Peru has both and many more. Visitors usually fall in love with the country, always wanting to go back for more adventures.

On this blog, I will post places you can visit and food you can eat. I will also post blogs where you can find more information about tours. When I travel to my country, I usually stay for 4-5 days because I think that if you stay less than that you would not be able to enjoy what the places have to offer.

I know that 25 departments are not enough to show what Peru has to offer, but I will give you information for you to enjoy your stay. Also, make sure to check Peru official website and get all the details about this magical country. 

https://www.peru.travel/en-us/

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Gator Nights: when the students are out of the swamp

Two weeks ago the University of Florida posted an invitation at the Gator Times website about an event called Gator Nights, where students could eat, play and hang out. The event took place at Reitz Union on June 1st at 8 p.m.

First, students had to register at the counter where a member of the staff would give them a wristband to wear during the event. Sarah Berrie, program assistant at Reitz Union Programs, explained the purpose of this event, that most students don’t know what to do on Fridays or they go to downtown, which is not a safe option. “This event is for students, so they can make friends and hang out in a safe place with free food and drinks,” she said.

The students were enjoying different giant games like Battleship, Chess, but the Jenga tower was one of their favorites. Many groups would gather around the tower and challenge their abilities. When a student was going to take a block out of the tower, the rest were checking if the tower would move, and when it was about to fall they screamed while the player backed off.

The human foosball was the favorite game. There was a referee who was cheering and making sure that the players follow the rules. It was a small game, but happiness and joy were part of the environment.

Having fun and enjoying a good afternoon is something you'll keep in your memory, but taking home a creative keychain made with Scrabble tiles is something you'll keep forever. There was one girl from the staff sitting with a lot of Scrabble tiles all over the table and some papers with instructions. You could make a keychain, a kitchen magnet, or just a decoration that you can put anywhere. In the picture, the students were very concentrating while crafting at the tables.

Not everything was about just having fun, GatorWell staff was in charge of the health education at the event. It is true that sometimes students have issues with their sleeping habits, they study until the late hours and they take naps during the day thinking that it will compensate the lost hours of sleep. The guys had a board with pockets that contained cards with true and false facts about sleeping. The most interesting fact indicated that you should avoid caffeine within 6 hours of bedtime. The topic was sleep, so they were giving sleeping masks and earplugs to the students that participate.

After playing and crafting, students can get hungry. At the corner, there was a table with a big tray of many kinds of cheeses, fried cheese sticks, corn chips and guacamole. There were also two dispensers filled with cold water and cold lemonade. 

In the end, many students enjoyed a fun and safe evening at Reitz Union. This event provides a healthy and enjoyable time, so students can relax after being so stressed.

If you ever feel like you and a friend don’t have plans for Friday, you can go to the Gator Times website where you can find the latest posts about the next Gator Night’s event at Reitz Union.

 All photos were taken by Claudia Roncal on June 01, 2018.