It's Peru, Baby.

I can't decide whether seafood is the best thing, or the worst thing about Peru. It's extremely fresh, deliciously prepared and very, very affordable. I eat crab, toyo (mini shark), mussels, clams, black clams, baby clams, squid, octopus, and prawns in a dazzling array of delicious concoctions on almost a daily basis. One of Tito and my favourites is 'chankarito' (lit. 'little crushed one'), which is very fresh, quite large crab pounded with a big stone and seasoned with limon and hot pepper. It's really satisfying, and a portion for two is six soles (less than a pound!). So, what's my problem? Well, I can't quite forget the torment of nine weeks of liquid poop I endured when I first came to Peru - due to a parasitic infection caused by bacteria in raw fish. I couldn't believe it, after all, I had just spent three years in Japan devoring all sorts of tasty sea creatures, whether cooked or not. But, like everything else in Peru, the fish here seems to have that extra tough, rough n' ready aspect to it. Likewise, on Thursday I went for a seafood extravaganza with Tito and our friend Cecelia. We had cebiche mixto, mussels, chankarito, and an extremely potent seafood soup. It was so much seafood that Cecelia claimed she couldn't feel her neck after the meal. Then, during the night, my sore throat turned into a full-blown ear infection. Tito's mum is sure it's due to the fish... but I am loathe to blame innocent, tasty sea creatures.