The Hotel "España"and Annuschka

In Lima i have been a longtime guest in the above mentioned hotel, but when they rose prices for the fourth consecutive year of around 15 % i about had it and moved to the hotel "Europa", just down the road,where i recorded the video. This place is lesser known to tourists, charges half the price as the "Espana" and represents a lot better value.

Annuschka is my dentist in Cusco. While dentists in Germany sniff at me, because i am not privately insured, she gave my teeth a wonderful TLC treatment for such a modest price, that i was left gobsmacked. It is always a genuine pleasure dealing with people not driven by greed . My days in Peru for this year are over now and what's my conclusion ? I must say i once more had a really good time and what annoyed me most were  elderly women, who just cannot wait patiently in line, but need to jump the queue and start nagging. But of course i was just a tourist and for tourists life in Peru is generally plain sailing. On the other side an article in the New York Times i have read on my flight back home confirmed my view, that the outlook could be a bit dim. Peru meanwhile belongs to the emerging markets, where the economy grows at rates of about 6 % p. a.. Big foreign corporate money flows in with the exploitation of raw material meaning more prosperity for the middle- and higher class - housing prices in Lima and Cusco are already skyrocketing. As usual where some become richer others are left behind, living in a destroyed and contaminated environment and are unable to participate at the newly found wealth. Maybe it doesn't take long and we see the resurrection of the "Shining Path" or another terrorist group fighting those injustices... . I once spent three days in an appartment house with oceanview in upscale Lima-Miraflores and it bored the heck out of me. Leaving it i had to pass security. Outside at every corner - security and police cars patroling the streets. Rich people living in constant fear behind high walls, that some pennyless dude could rob them and thus keeping psychiatrists busy. Anytime i prefer sharing a beer with less affluent people in a cantina in Cusco and once they are all torn down to make room for slick appartment buildings i know it is time to pack up and move elsewhere. But so far i still can quote Arnie from one of his shitty movies : " Cusco, i'll be back !".

Due to popular demand ...

... i cranked up the distille once more and made some maracuja schnaps. Earlier attempts with exotic fruits were rather disappointing, but this time it turned out just fine. It is triple distilled and and has some rich flavor - very much worth the effort.

Pilcopata

...discussing the oneness of it all.

New Pope

No, ... not him but a chap from Argentina. Usually news from the catholic church are about child abuse, however yesterday the new pope was inaugurated after having been elected by 115 old f... . I don´t mean to offend someone, but watching the ceremony ( only a few minutes ) and the surrounding caboodle with thousands of glassy eyed people - spooky stuff, if you ask me. Religion ? Thanks, but no thanks.

Cheltenham 2013

The Cheltenham Festival gets underway tomorrow and i hope i have done my homework properly to snatch some dough out of my bookies deep pockets. Selections as follows:
Treble - Simonsig (GB) to win the Arkle won/ Quewega (FR) to win the Mares Hurdle won/ Sprinter Sacre (FR) to win the Champion Chase won at combined odds of 3.12
Single - Zarkandar (IRE, left) to win the Champion Hurdle @ 4.5 unpl.
Single - Bobs Worth (IRE) to win the Gold Cup @ 4 won

Alvin Lee †

Guitar ace Alvin Lee passed away  Feb. 6 in Spain, age 68. He wrote music history in 1969 with his band Ten Years After after having played an electrifying concert at the Woodstock Festival. Their signature song was " I´m Going Home", which i practiced many hours until i could play it faster than him - silly me. I feel fortunate, that he was a part in my younger days and that i do not belong to the Rap or Techno generation.

Cash is the king !?

Meanwhile it is possible to pay not just with a plastic card, but with a smartphone or even a fingerprint too and people like Jack Dorsey, the founder of the babble box Twitter, want to develop a system that makes cash completely superfluous. Less initiated minds will welcome it thinking cash is  something for drug pusher or other crooks anyway and still better it can´t be stolen anymore. Now wait a minute. First of all cyber crime causes a lot more damage than petty theft and there are some more points to think about. Cash is the only legitimate currency, while a number on the account is not. What if the system crashes through technical failure or sabotage and  suddenly it is not possible anymore to make payments. Being cut off from the system can easily  threat one´s existence. Next obviously a trace is left with every payment and citizens can be monitored by Feds making the visions G. Orwell described in his book "1984" become a greater reality. Bankster will certainly love it, because they are getting rid of their biggest fear - the bank run. No bank retains nearly enough cash to satisfy huge demands and should a bank gets into trouble and plenty of people want to withdraw  money from their account, it is simply not possible anymore. Disturbing activities for cryin´out loud.

Volkswagen and the system of interest

The Volkswagen AG just pronounced record profits after taxation of 22 billion Euros. I suppose they will not park that money in an account, but will reinvest it. Assumed they use 2 bn Euros to modernize their company and the other 20 to acquire German bonds for better than average conditions of 5 % interest annually and a contract period of 10 years. This means Volkswagen receives for 10 years every year 1 bn Euros of interest without having done anything from the state of Germany. Now where gets Germany the money from ? They could raise taxes and fees or cut government spending. This means they take money from us and give it to Volkswagen, who accumulate obscene wealth - shifting of money from bottom to top of gigantic proportions. While John Doe might be happy with the 2 % interest his bank gives him for his meager savings he does not realize he pays a lot more of interest to fill the pockets of already rich people and this is the reason, why the system of interest has to be abolished. Perhaps this example is a bit crude and not quite flawless, but i think it hits the mark. On YouTube people like Bernd Senf, Andreas Popp or Rico Albrecht have a series of interesting videos on the subject and for those , whose intellectual horizon goes beyond watching football or Germany´s Next Topmodel they are recommended.

Sausage ? Yes, please ...

Introducing my good friend Pedro, who probably makes the best ham and sausages this side of the Atlantic Ocean. If you are around Cusco and yearning for the good stuff, give him a buzz. He is a honest bloke always ready to share a beer and a fair deal. Please contact him here.

Quanah Parker

The 22 of February marks the 102 day of death of Quanah Parker, the last and greatest Comanche chief. He became a leader at a very young age being shrewd, fearless and equipped with enormous physical strength.The Comanche were once a rather primitive tribe, but developed an uncanny knack for horses, which were introduced by the Spaniards. With their added skills as archers they became the most ferocious warriors among all tribes within a couple of years. In about the same time a ¨bluecoat¨- nickname for a soldier- needed to load his musket a mounted Comanche  would shoot 20 arrows at him from 30 yards away with deadly precision. Comanches lived as nomads in the Texas plains and in their heyday their territory or Comancheria reached from Kansas to Mexico.Many settlers , who put a foot in that territory were made pay for it. Comanche lived in a communist society in which the concept of private property was unknown as well as religion. Life was harsh with blistering hot summers and freezing cold winters. When they ran out of water they killed a horse, slashed the stomach and drank the contents.( In the society i live people stare at me with disbelief, when tell them i don´t take a daily shower or walk 20 km home, when i missed the last bus. When i am hungry i go to the fridge and eat something - easy. When i am cold i turn up the heater and should i feel sick i see the doctor - one of many insurances will pay him. I guess this is called prosperity, a way of life that produces plenty of mental wrecks and complacent slobs, waiting for their pension. I am glad there is still some rambling on my mind and i am still able to leave my comfort zone once in a while.)
Quanah Parker was by no means a noble Indian. He had mixed blood, because of his white mother, who once was captured by Comanches. When whites killed his father he relentless pursued and killed many of them and at the same time was at war with other Indian tribes, most notably Apaches, Navajos and the hapless Tonkawas, who got a lot of stick. However, after 40 years of Comanche warfare against the white intruders he and his band surrendered. Whites had slaughtered millions of buffalos and thus have taken away the fundament of survival in the plains. In addition 49ers or gold digger spread deadly deseases as smallpox or cholera and soldiers had  meanwhile a superior weaponry. Quanah Parker died February, 22 in 1911, age 63,of heart failure. Looking at those clowns occupying goverments today i rather had him as a leader.

Malicious tongues have it, that ...

... i prefer drinking beer in seedy bars with shabby plastic furniture and a toilet, where urine stands ankle high. To a degree this is true, since prices are reasonable and  no noisy neighbors, talking about nothing else than money and businesses, wind me up. But of course that is not the whole truth. The foto shows me sitting in the ¨Casa de Salcantay¨ tasting the finest Dutch genever out of silverware.

About this blog

First and foremost i started this blog to let my old lady know ( " Hi mom, love you ! " ) how and what i am doing while travelling. She is not quite au fait with computers, but at least it makes writing postcards obsolete. Besides that, some workmates kept asking what i am doing abroad and now instead of repeating myself i point to this blog. As i write this site was visited 3483 times, mainly from Germany, the U.S. and Peru. I consider this a decent number, since i don´t come up with earthshaking revelations or the most delicious cookie baking recipes. I thank you for your time and sincerely hope the content makes your visit worthwhile.

Cusco

... discussing the world´s economic situation after the Dow Jones Index slip-slided down 0.7 %.

¨I don´t want to wake up dead tomorrow. ¨...

... is a great quote by Joey Heindle, participating inmate of the currently televised German show ¨The Jungle Camp ¨. Here more or less prominent people camp out in the jungle of Australia and have to pass examinations in exchange for food, for example taking a cockroach bath or feast on maggots - ergo trash TV at its finest. For some this is the end of the occident as we know it, while for others it´s brilliant entertainment. I rather share the second view. For a long time Germany is not the land of poets and thinkers anymore and i rather watch these people bungle in the jungle, than politicians and other deadbeats bungle in the economy, blowin´ billions of Euros in the wind for projects like Berlin airport, Stuttgart train station, Hamburg Philharmonic or what´s going on now with steel giant Thyssen Krupp. Yes, watching a wannabe topmodel munching on kangaroo testicles can be entertaining. Have to stop now as the kickoff of the Chelsea-Arsenal game approaches.

What´s more boring, than watching ...

... a game of tennis ? Right, sitting in a 5 - star hotel. The Hospedaje Royal Frankenstein in Cusco , Peru, has zero stars, but is a lively place with real people and a great atmosphere. It is currently closed for renovation and reopens at February, 1. Should you hang out in the area stop by for a chat or a glass of homemade hootch and see for yourself.