You just gotta love a country where you can get your hair cut for $2.50 and buy 6 bananas for 50 cents. Apart from the fact that most things are nice and cheap for a rich gringa like me, shopping can be quite an interesting experience. I particularly enjoy when I get to haggle for a cheaper price.
In the smaller shops you can just wander in and ask for things when other customers are being served and the attendants can multi-task. In other more modern shops, pharmacies in particular, it takes up to three people to serve every customer. You submit your request to one person who then gives you a note to take to the cashier who takes your money and gives you a receipt to take to a different person to retrieve your purchase. I'm thinking it's a great way to decrease unemployment.
Generally, I really like how relaxed people are when you buy things. They'll sell you things separately like cigarettes and printer paper. They're not usually ingratiatingly friendly but mostly genuinely try to help you out and are perfectly happy to send you to another shop if they don't have what you want. And often, especially in Tumbes, they don't have what I want. I don't really expect that I should be able to satisfy my every whim but there are a number of things that have been surprisingly difficult to buy.
Here's a wee list for anyone thinking of coming to Peru, just in case you want to stock up.
- Fresh milk and cream (for whipping). They have something called fresh milk that is like UHT milk but usually use something out of a can. I almost gave up on the cream after a couple of traumatic near misses that really didn't do anything to improve an already pathetic attempt at pavlova, but finally found something vaguely resembling whipped cream.
- Real cheese should probably go here in the list and is another thing you can't really bring with you.
- Postcards, writing paper, coloured card. Honestly, it's not just an excuse as to why more of you haven't received letters and postcards. It also costs a lot to send things in comparison to other prices in Peru. I think they haven't quite cottoned on to the whole tourist trade here yet.
- Brown bread
- Brown rice is also hard to buy and more expensive than white rice. I know it's also more expensive that white rice in New Zealand but my host father owns a rice mill and says that it's actually cheaper to make and they just charge more cos it's healthier.
- Peanut butter. I've actually just found this in Chimbote and got quite excited in a slightly undignified manner.
- Golden syrup
- Sweetcorn. This one took me by surprise cos there's so much maize around.
- Tampons. When I first arrived I laughed at the Canadian chick who had half a suitcase full of tampons with her 'just in case'. Not laughing now. They don't really sell them here cos they're not very culturally acceptable - most women seem to think that if you use a tampon before having sex for the first time you're no longer a virgin. (I don't know why more women don't use them after marriage, but maybe it has something to do with infidelity!) I have worked out which shop will sell them to me now so I don't have to embarrass any more shop assistants by asking for them.
