They say that the north of Peru is known for its delicious food, its friendly people, and its calentura- both in temperature and in all things related to love. After my visit to Tumbes and Piura, I would say that the generalization is accurate. The food is definitely delicious. I ate ceviche everyday- the highlight being the ceviche that I ate on the beach prepared on the spot with fresh fish caught by fishermen. I stayed at a resort called Hoja de Palma, which is near Mancora- the surfing capitol and beach hotspot in Peru. Hoja de Palma is much more relaxed, without the crowd of Mancora nor the fiestas. I was amazed at the amount of sea life on the beach and saw everything from crabs (which rule the beach), to octopus, to seahorses, to oyesters, to sea turtles, to pelicans, to all kinds of fish, to vultures.
The last two days I spend in Sullana, which is a town in Piura, known for its parcelas or small agricultural farms. I stayed with the family of Placida, one of the women that I work with in Candelaria. Her family took me in as if I were their own and by the time I left I was the "sobrina" (niece) of the family. I immediately noticed that the political activity in the rural part of Peru appears to be stronger than in Lima. There are a lot more political parties and candidates and a lot more volunteers who canvass. One of my favorite slogans was "Stalin...es el cambio;" "Stalin es humilde."
I went to visit the parcela of Rafael, Placida's brother in law. He owns a small agricultural plot of 50 hectares. He grows lime, mangos, cotton, papaya, peanuts, beans, coconuts, sugarcane, and yuca and sent me home with a huge bag of these goodies. Over a case of beers, Rafael proceeded to tell me how small agricultural farms are suffering from takeovers by big impresas such as Dole, which has had a large presence in Sullana since 2001. Even if they form organizations, such as their's of 50 small agriculturalists, they simply cannot compete. Even though Dole has a foundation and says they are helping small time agriculturalists, they cant help all of them in Sullana, and the majority seem to be suffering.
I left my trip to the north with a reinforced sentiment that those with the least seem to always give the most.
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