Yesterday was as close as it gets to a relaxing day for us, but before we embark upon another adventure we have some chores to complete. My hiking boots suffered more than I did on the Inca trail and we have to find a cobbler to get them repaired. And do you think Christi and I know the Spanish word for cobbler? Of course not (Note, it’s zapatero) so the only way to find one is to keep showing my distraught boot to the locals. By the way, the cobbler’s shop is well off the tourist trail.
Incidentally, while there is a rare lull in the action I thought I’d mention a few other Spanish words that amuse me. The first is ferreteria. Now lavenderia is a place to go to do your laundry (i.e., a laundrette) which makes sense, but ferreteria is not a place to go to buy ferrets (a small mammal belonging to the weasel family). The thought of a whole shop devoted to selling ferrets just cracks me up. Perhaps it’s an English thing; I think we must have a soft spot for ferrets. There was even a TV show called Last of the Summer Wine where one of the characters was famous for keeping a ferret down his trousers. The sexual innuendos were endless. By the way ferreteria is a hardware store. The second word is embarazada. Doesn’t that sound like embarrassed? It actually means pregnant! Embarrassed is avergonzado. Of course it’s possible that you might be avergonzado if you are embarazada! And you don’t want to be shouting out ‘estoy excitada’ thinking you are saying I’m excited about something. The closest translation is I’m aroused or I’m horny. So now you know.
Once I’d handed in my boots to be repaired, the rest of the day is split between an internet café and the Zig Zag creperie. At the creperie we find a secluded nook and while Christi reads, I edit photos from Cusco and the Inca trail on our portable DVD player. We drink copious amounts of hot chocolate (me) and coffee (Christi) and enjoy savory crepes for lunch and ice cream crepes for dessert. Back at the internet café, Christi uploads hundreds more photos to Picasa, while I read and plan the next stages of our trip. Both of these activities take a long time and we don’t make it back to the hostel until 9 pm. We veg in front of the TV watching CSI (mostly because it’s the only English language show we can find) eating something akin to a TV dinner: peanut butter and crackers (Christi) and chicken empanada, Twix and coke (me). As you can see, we’re really living it up in Arequipa. Estoy excitada – no, really!
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
This is really interesting, You are a very skilled blogger.
I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your excellent post.
Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!
Hi there and thanks for visiting our site. We appreciate your kind words and support. By the way we have a long way to go so I hope you continue to enjoy our fantastic journey.
Best wishes,
Rod and Christi