Burpday Party

Fun Fact No. 25: Peruvian olives are GIGANTIC. Strange, but true. They are kind of sweet,
and just HUGE. They're black olives and they're used in the most regional food of the Amazon: the juane, a yummy concoction of rice, saffron, chicken, and an olive wrapped up in a banana leaf and then boiled.

Ah, birthdays. The low down of this rather fabulous birthday weekend:

Saturday was The Big Day (officially, in the books, of course) and I woke up feeling great. I chatted with April for a while (I heart Skype!) and then went back home to find the cebiche in the making. There was an empty space between our house and the next house, so they built another house (which takes about 5 days – literally put some big logs in the mud, add some crossbeams, throw on some thatch and some 2x8s for a floor, and you got yourself a house. And since it doesn’t yet have walls, it’s the perfect place for a party) and that’s where we put all the chairs. People started coming around 2pm and we sat outside, ate cebiche, listened to MY music (i.e. not tecno-cumbia) including jazz, bossa nova, some indie rock, etc. and just shot the bull and drank wine. It was delightfully relaxing, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was quite lovely. Monica, Lars, Mario Luis, César, Lilia, Veronica R., Matilde & Elvira, a few aunts, a few neighbors, Edward…I think that’s everyone plus the family, of course. It was so terrific. Just wonderful and intimate. Monica & Co. brought a cake, which was delightful. It was relaxing and sweet.

Later on, when it was just Monica, me, Dina, and Mario Sr., Monica, Kirle, and I headed out to Mario Luis’ where Lars was cooking pizza. The pizza was Chicago-style – thick crust and just delicious. We sat around and drank wine, shot the bull, and just generally relaxed. It made me feel like I was in Austin. Which was really needed, because I missed my friends (still miss my friends) very much.

Sunday rolled around and let me just tell you – FIESTA! People started showing up around 2 and we served a rather rich lunch. The first course was inchicapi, a sort of pureed plantain soup with chicken in it. The second was ají de gallina (hen chili), which is a sweet sauce made out of sweet peppers and poured over sliced potatoes, garnished with an olive, lettuce, and part of a hard boiled egg. I was expecting about 20 people. In total, I think there were about 50. It was tremendous. Dancing and drinking began around 4 and didn’t stop until 11pm. There was beer, wine, coptél (aguardiente, which is basically moonshine, with beaten eggs, milk, and a bit of coffee. Usually disgusting but this time surprisingly delicious), and martini with sprite (a yummy combo I learned about in Spain). Salsa, reggaeton, and tecno-cumbia reigned, but it was fun. Around 7 they brought out a beautiful (and delicious!) cake and sang happy birthday, which is usually followed by toasts from everyone and then some words by the birthday girl, but because there were so many people, just Mario Jr. toasted with a lovely (and thankfully short) blurb. I gave a short blurb, thanking everyone for coming, and for making my short seven weeks in Iquitos so wonderful. We ate cake and kept dancing. Those of you who know me, know that it’s often difficult for me to relax at my parties because I want to be sure that everyone is having a great time. The same was true at this party, until after the cake was served. Then I went a bit nuts. By 10:30 I went to bed, I was a smidge on the inebriated side of things. All in all, it was a wonderful day.