A Closer Look at the Groceries -

Packaging of food, and other items, is very interesting here in Peru. Since many people cannot afford to purchase large quantities, the packaging is much smaller, thus reducing the price. Crackers, cookies, nuts, spices, juices, and many canned goods are only sold in small packages or by the piece. We have even seen cigarettes sold by the individual cigarette. Eggs can be purchased individually or in cartons of 15. There is also some innovative packaging as can be seen in the following photos.

Water comes in all sizes of containers: 600 ml (.6 qt), 2.5 liters (2.6 qts.), 7 liters (7.4 qts.) all plastic bottles, and large 18 liter (5 gals.) jugs. We prefer the boxes, which have a plastic liner bag and hold 20 liters. We like to keep one or two in reserve since the stores sometimes run out. (This is our Harry Potter room, great for storing water, bags, brooms and suitcases.

The box comes with a built-in spout that is made operational by cutting the outer cardboard case and pulling the plastic valve out. Pretty clever.

Ketchup, mayonaise, and spaghetti sauce in the largest containers available. They hold about the equivalent of a small jar.

More products in boxes. One liter of milk, a bottle of yogurt, and a box of orange juice. Each is about a liter. They do not require refrigeration until after they are opened.

We cannot leave out chocolate. Both of these are good, but we like the Sublime brands, especially the chocolate covered almonds.

Some of the interesting fruits and veggies. We soak all of them in a disinfectant before eating.  That is a white mango on top of the basket.

This is the disinfectant Kilol ("kill all") that is a natural disinfectant made in Peru from grapefruit seed and other natural ingredients. We mix one teaspoon with a liter of water and soak the fruit and veggies for 10 - 20 minutes.

We had the 4 Elders assigned to our ward over for dinner on a Saturday. Since Elder Robles on the left is from Mexico, Marilyn prepared meat, cheese, beans, tortillas, guacamole and salsa to make burritos. They easily cleaned up everything! They said they really enjoyed a break from rice and potatoes, which are the standard items with every Peruvian meal.

Elder Schenk on the left is 6'5". We are the short ones in this group.

"Short", of course depends on who you are standing by. These ladies on the garbage crew are my buddies since I gave them all chocolate bars for Mother's Day.

 

The garbage truck comes every morning about 7:00. These are some of the crew who pick up the bags and boxes from the street corners where they are left by the residents.  The ladies spend the day sweeping the streets and sidewalks. This picture was taken during the rainy season--thus the cloths tied around their shoulders.

Garbage is left on the curbs for the truck to pick up. If they put it out the night before, the ever-present dogs in the neighborhood usually have chewed into the bags searching for food and spread the contents all over the place.

The workers pick up the garbage left on the sidewalks and throw it in the back of the garbage truck as it rolls through the neighborhoods. They have to be in pretty good condition to run all day.

We have mentioned before that the garbage truck plays music starting at 6:00 a.m. as they go around the neighborhood. They reach our area about 7:00. This is the loudspeaker mounted on the cab. The song, by a male vocalist, apparently was recorded especially for this purpose as it mentions "picking up the garbage".