Emoliente
Emoliente street vendor
Emoliente street vendor
A stranger on a street energetically removes pulp of a plant
resembling aloe. His swift and graceful hands adds some mysterious extracts
from bottles arranged in a row. Then he scoops a cup of hot herbal brew out of a
massive pot and starts blending all the ingredients with a spoon.
Yet still the drink has to reach a desired consistency. This is done by pouring
the content from one cup to another many times. The more spectacular way the
better. In the end, with a smile on his face he hands me a glass filled with a
light-brown liquid of thick consistency. In fact it is quite unique drink. It
is called emoliente.
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Guinea pig
Peruvian cuisine
Peruvian cuisine
Once in the Peruvian province of Amazonas I decided to look for
traditional Peruvian cuisine . Half-intentionally half-accidentally I find a restaurant
called Sabores del Peru in the town of Chachapoyas.
A welcoming chef and the restaurant owner
Señora Violeta invites me and my friend
Camille to her kitchen. We are able to take a close look at how a guinea pig
is prepared.
While I would discourage sensitive people or vegetarians to continue, on the
other side, all sort of exotic culinary journeys enthusiasts
are welcome to proceed with the article. Today as a main
course our chef recommends "Cuy borracho en salsa de nogal", which
directly translating means "Drunk guinea pig in a walnut sauce".
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Venezuelan cuisine
Arepa and perrico
Arepa and perrico
I take a look at Venezuelan cuisine and do my best to experience it. Luckily
most of the time I stay with people who are natural-born enthusiasts and experts
in
this field. Altogether including some extra street culinary experiences, I would
like to present a sample menu. It is a list of things that every
hungry or thirsty traveler will sooner or later come across while visiting Venezuela.
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Tarantula for diner
Cambodian women selling fried tarantulas
Cambodian women selling fried tarantulas
Someone enters through the window and the
three of us in the backseat are now five people. Along the way, another ten new passengers
join the ride and the driver constantly encourages more passersby, even
when there is definitely no room available. I do not exactly know what it is
about when our minibus
suddenly stops, the driver runs after the biker, grabs him by his shoulder and then takes his passenger, forcibly
placing him on the
non-existent seat inside. Some other people travel on a roof, on the top of overloaded trucks,
while some motorcycles are used to transport refrigerators
and sofas. Observing such phenomena on the way, we reach Skoun, our
non-accidental destination.
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A cup of Ethiopian coffee
A sensual ritual of preparing coffee
A sensual ritual of preparing coffee
I visit a tiny souvenir shop in Addis Ababa. Lemlem is roasting
beige coffee beans on a clay hearth. Just within minutes the sun is overcast by dark clouds and
an imminent intense rain sets all the shopkeepers to action. I help Lemlem and her sister to hide merchandise inside the store. The girls invite me for a cup of Ethiopian
coffee. Let's take a closer look and follow the innocent little coffee bean from
its birth until it, according to its destiny, would give the sensual aroma to
our cup of coffee.
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A bit of Ethiopia
Khat house is a common meeting place
Khat house is a common meeting place
The very two things that will take aback a visitor to Ethiopia is khat
and injera. Moving around the country, it is the stimulant herb
khat, chewed over and over again by the inhabitants of Abyssinia and a firfir,
a resembling sour bubble-pancake dish, which would become a constant image throughout this incredibly diverse part of Africa, regardless of location, time and
circumstances.
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Lotoko
Penetrating dark passageways in search of lotoko
Penetrating dark passageways in search of lotoko
An accidentally met Congolese girl leads us through the dark streets of Kalemie.
We believe she is a person who knows a place where you can buy lotoko. In twilight, seeing
only the shadows cast by warm light of street lamps we reach the secret place. It is
a bar invisible for a casual passerby. Kind of a shabby dive meant for
locals to have a drink. The host pours us a glass of lotoko to taste.
Right after the first sip I find out that it
it is the first quality Congolese moonshine made from manioc. We place an order
and promise to come the following day to pick it up.
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Port in Porto
Night panorama of Douro riverbank
Night panorama of Douro riverbank
We park nearby Paços do Concelho, the city council of Porto. Shortly
after I befriend a Portuguese woman who appears to be the parking ticket warden, so
for that reason parking becomes complimentary. We crawl along Avenida dos Aliados, the main alley leading from the center
to the Douro riverside. Along the Cais da Ribeira waterfront a
facade of the shelter Muro dos Cobertos da Ribeira extends with its
numerous bars, shops and restaurants. Warm orange city lights reflect on the surface of water
and a two-level bridge Don Luis I notably highlights this picturesque scenery. On the other side of the river many Port Wine cellars
are located. Barges moored at the shore once served to transport port from Alto Douro,
the region of origin. Today the barges serve just as a decoration since the barrels are being transported overland. Let's see
then, what is not only a decoration here.
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The Vineyard of Herdade da Ajuda
Wine production in Alentejo
Wine production in Alentejo
Portuguese province of Alentejo. A dark complexion, a little bit
obese worker is arranging stacks of wine barrels. Drawn away from his work at the moment
he reveals unconcealed enthusiasm and willingness to guide us through the vineyard. We are on the 21-hectare plantation in central Portugal.
Not so long ago, only barreled wine had been produced here, which subsequently was sold to restaurants and wholesale
clients. Since two years the vineyard has a new owner, who employed a network of distributors
to get involved in the retail sale of wine under its own brand.
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Mussels and squid
Praia do Amado
Praia do Amado
Cooking squid for not a skilled cook is kind of a challenge. Awkward incision makes
intensely black ink splatter around. I remove the squid's float, looking
indistinguishably like a part made of plastic. Everything around is stained
with ink and definitely does not look like anything edible, not to mention being tasty.
Only after rinsing in the ocean water, the squid's tentacles take shape of
uncooked food. We spice it with garlic and herbs and then fry in a pan with
onions. Not for too long so the cut strips do not shrink. Our starter is ready
and it dissapears quickly off our plates. The main course we are going to get
using our own hands.
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Experiences 
