Marinera - Dancing northern style

Marinera is amazingly popular all along the coast and we were lucky enough to be in Trujillo for the annual national competition. In the preceding week and a half, they have open practice sessions at the Club Libertad (which organises the whole thing) and we went along one evening to see what it was all about.

The scene was the volleyball stadio of the Club. Concrete seating round the court, the sun had just gone down and music was blaring from speakers as people arrived, greeted their friends and sat down. Obviously (I'm English) we were early and obviously (it's Peru) it started half an hour late. I can't quiet adjust my head to that, even though I know it's true. There was a proper brass band and they were very good. It's hard to describe the music but brash (all the brass), full of life, fast, joyful, very Peruvian.

When the dancing got underway the compere said "couples take the floor" and it was filled with couples ranging from little tiny tots (you start learning at 3 or 4 years old) up to elegant veteran couples in their sixties, less energetic but more poised with their years of experience. Not everyone had a partner and for some the point was to bring your child, show off their dance skills and find them a partner. The couple next to us had a son of about 8 who danced beautifully and they were "match making" all evening.

The dance is lovely, a romantic flirtatious dance. The stance of both dancers is very proud with heads angled back for maximum effect. They don't really hold each other, although at times they circle with arms outstretched and him guiding her. At other times they stand very close with arms uplifted and intertwined. To set the whole thing off they both carry white hankerchiefs which are waved, so at times the whole arena seemed alive with large fluttering white hankerchiefs.















I thought as I sat there last night, in the warm air, with people of every age together enjoying themselves and the joyful dance and the uplifting music, that this is happiness. Times of sheer pleasure when you are totally caught up in the sensation and pleasure of the moment.

Trujillo in the sun

I am so glad we came back to Trujillo in its
summer. In the sun it is a beautiful, colourful city with lots of outdoor life. The buildings in the main square look fabulous and the parks are ablaze with lush tropical flowers and verdant trees laden with red flowers. The evenings are warm and full of people taking the air and eating ice cream.

Volkswagen Beetles are one of the most common private cars here, old style obviously. Once you've started to notice them you see the variety - from the worked hard and uncared for (one headlight, missing glass in the windows, peeling paint), via the well loved to the souped up versions with alloy wheels, spoilers, metallic paint and tinted windows and big sound systems. I think I'd rather be a well loved one.

Thinking about transport, we also took the opportunity to go and see the famous Caballos de Paso (Peruvian Pacing Horses) as Trujillo is one of the major centres of breeding. The hacienda/stables were obviously once very grand but now a bit faded. According to the trainer they once had 70 horses there but now "just" the 14. They still breed actively and we saw their stallion and some of his offspring. The trainer demonstrated the horse to us with a chestntut mare, the breed's action is spectacular and showy with a very high knee action when the horse is trotting. It was a really interesting morning and I'm surprised the tour operators and guide books don't make more of it. Even better would have been to have seen a competition with all the showiest equipment and flashy costumes but unfortunately we left before the weekend when there was one.

The Desert Highway

Last time I came north on the Pan American highway, in August last year, I hated the desert landscape, dreary and uninspiring.

What a difference the sun makes. The Pacific coast is amazing, dunes which are mostly rock with a sprinkling of sand on top and so many colours - dull washed out yellow, gray gravel, black rocks poking through and copper streaks and patches adding warmth. Add to that a line of white surf as the Pacific waves break on their first shore line for thousands of miles and a blue blue sky. It's truely beautiful.

The hills and the dunes are endlessly different shapes and sizes, sculpted by what little moisture falls and El Nino events. Later we see "proper" sand dunes like whipped cream that has set in folds. We see much desert with no human sign of life other than the road and the power pylons keeping pace alongside. But on the shore, bird life is bustling along, with small wading birds running in and out of the surf to feed.

And then as one becomes used to the sterile beauty of the desert, suddenly splashes of vibrant green and red flowers where water makes the desert flush with life. Bizarrely this bare area of Peru, exports food like asparagus, because with water the desert is fertile.

Lima, City of Mist

In the Peruvian winter you get "garua" a blanket of fog generated by the interaction between the cold, Antartic sourced Humboldt current and the desert. In the summer according to the guidebooks, the sun breaks through....however in Miraflores to my surprise they get lots of mist coming off the sea. It drops the temperature down to bearable and gives European pale winter skin a break! So mist all year round then.

Actually to be fair once you get into bits of the city that are further away from the coast they are bakingly hot with clear skies and it's only the 98% humidity you need to worry about!

Anyway it's good to be back in Peru, albeit only for 2 weeks this time. Sitting waiting for the 8:30am bus to Trujillo the rush hour is in full swing and in these developed bits of Lima, it feels very like the rest of the developed world. Adverts for mobile phones, plenty of handbags and shoe shops, lots of private cars on the world. You could come to this city, stay in the wealthier bits and have no idea how poor parts of it are. But which version is right? Because you could go to Arequipa or Chiclayo and see the same "developed" way of life. Or you can go to the city outskirts and the mountains and see grinding poverty. For me what seals it, is that the only yound people I know who don't want to leave are those whose businesses are deeply linked to their land (guides in the mountains and rain forests). Everyone else from professionals (my language teachers) to casual labour, would jump at the chance to go somewhere else. Which I find sad but understandable.

However, I don't want to get too fixated on poverty to the exclusion of everything else, or I'll stop coming, and this is a vibrant, fascinating country with lots to offer.

An ordinary commute

Over the last few weeks I've done a few days commuting on the train from Southampton to Waterloo, enough to make me realise I'd never want to do this although some poor souls, do it every day for years.

You can recognise the daily commuters, they know exactly where to stand on the platform so that they can be first at the door when the train arrives. At Southampton Central there are still seats but at later stations, position is everything because the train is full and the late arrivals or newcomers end up standing for an hour.

At this time of year it's still dark at 7:30am as we stand waiting and a schoolboy drags himself up the platform, rumpled from sleep with his bag slung low on his shoulders and his tie scrunched in his pocket, to be put on at the last minute. It's raining and the wind sweeps the damp in under the platform roof.

The train arrives bright with light and all the regulars in their normal seats distracting themselves from the tedium of their long daily journey. I choose the quiet carriage where mobiles are forbidden, a good idea but on the way home it regularly causes tension when someone who doesn't realise starts to chat. As a nation we're not good at complaining and by the time people have managed to find the confidence to say something, they're in a rage and often there are confrontational moments. But today the carriage is quiet and gradually sleeps overtake the majority.

When we awake we're on the outskirts of London and glide in towards the landmarks, past the developments of luxury flats overlooking the river or the train line. Battersea Power Station stark against the skyline, New Covent Garden Market well through its working day and then further in the London Eye. And today there are no hold ups, no need for the experts to discuss which line we've been put on and we arrive ready to start our day.

Dorset - an overlooked county

At New Year I spent a few days with friends, staying near Weymouth and all of us said, over and over again "Isn't it beautiful here", "Aren't we lucky to have it on our doorstep". And I thought I would try and share a little of the beautiful Dorset coastline with you.

Here's a shot of Ringstead Bay at dusk. It shows one of the reasons that I like Dorset so much, its soft green hills roll down to the sea, and you get this great coastline with interesting rock formations, as the sea erodes the cliffs. We were staying so close to the beach that from the house you could hear the waves hissing on the shingle, one of my favourite sounds.

It also makes for strenuous walking and cycling, for if you follow the cliff paths you spend most of your time going up....or going down, but you're rewarded with lovely views . Here's a view looking down towards Swanage and Poole Harbour, with the classic English green patchwork effect, despite the fact that this is the end of December. I've found that when people ask me to describe England, I use the word green early!















So, go and visit Dorset and enjoy its quintessentially English flavour, but don't tell too many other people....let's keep it our secret!