Stokes in Peru

I have been meaning to do this blog entry for quite some time, after I had requests from some of you to post pictures of and around Lima that Marianella and I may see on a daily or regular basis. It just took me awhile to get the photos taken. I'm happy to say it was a pretty fun endeavor, so I plan on doing another such entry sometime down the road. Enough words without pictures, onto the photos: Most of the shopping we do in Lima is very similar to what we would do in St. Paul-supermarkets, department stores, a corner store. But there is a fun flavor that exists throughout the city, something unique in various locales. We begin with the markets of Chinatown, where there's little question where your meat comes from: Fruit stands, freshly stocked in the mornings from the fertile interior of Peru, abound with a colorful array of choices: Seafood is very popular and plentiful with the rich waters of the Pacific providing a wide variety. While large-scale commercial fishing

Over the last few weeks a fascinating plot has been taking place in Peru, with the presidential elections, which occur every five years and does not allow a second term for the incumbent. At the beginning of May the first round of elections took place, with several candidates on the ballot splitting the mandatory vote (if you're a Peruvian citizen and you don't vote, you are fined). For a candidate to win at this stage, they need to garner over 50% of the vote. If no candidate earns the majority of votes, a run-off occurs between the top two vote-getters from the first round. The candidates that emerged from the first round were Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimora, two fascinating if deeply flawed contenders. Ollanta ran for presidency in the last election in 2006, nearly winning at that time. Allied with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela he advanced a socialist, nationalistic platform that railed against outside influences (such as the U.S.) in Peru. While his tone was softened this