Uros islands, Lake Titicaca, Peru

Another postcard from South America, this time from Peru, thanks to dear Jane.

These are the Uros islands, on Lake Titicaca, located between Peru and Bolivia. The islands were built by the Uros people, hence the name, and are inhabited by them to date. They are constructed of reeds, which the Uros people also use to build their homes and boats.

The islands float, and can be moved if necessary (they were originally build like this in case they came under attack).

Trujillo, Peru

This is one of the beautiful postcards of Peru I received from a swap with the lovely Jane last year. I have a thing for pretty windows and doors and little details so posting this card here at some point was a pretty obvious choice. It all looks so pretty!

Trujillo, in northwestern Peru, is the capital of the La Libertad Region. The city is located on the banks of the Moche River, near its mouth at the Pacific Ocean, in a valley of great cultural hegemony with Moche and Chimu cultures at its respective time.

Trujillo was honored in 1822 by the congress of republic with the title "Meritorious City and Faithful to the Fatherland", for its role in the fight for independence. Trujillo is the birthplace of Peru's judiciary, and it was twice designated as the capital of the country. It was the scene of the Revolution of Trujillo in 1932.

In Trujillo, the birthplace of Liberty, was born on the Judiciary, and the judges took their historic responsibility to ensure the weapons of law: freedom and rights of the people freed from political and military power, normative and ideological of state Spanish The city is also considered the cradle of liberty and cradle of the judiciary in Peru.

Trujillo is known as the "Capital of the everlasting Spring", is considered the "Capital of the Marinera," which is a typical dance in Peru, "Cradle of the typical Peruvian Paso Horse" well as the "Capital of Culture of Peru". It has sponsored numerous national and international cultural events, and has a lively arts community. Current festivals include the "Marinera National Festival", the "Spring International Festival" and the "International Book Fair", which is one of the most important cultural events in the country.

Trujillo is close to two major archeological sites of pre-Columbian monuments: Chan Chan, the largest adobe city in the ancient world, designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986; and the temples of the Sun (the largest adobe pyramid in Peru) and Moon.

The city centre contains many examples of colonial and religious architecture incorporating distinctive wrought ironwork. It includes residential areas, a central business district and industrial supply distribution to the various districts. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trujillo has its seat here. Catholicism still dominates and 10 colonial churches remain inside Avenida Espana, with those of Huaman, Huanchaco and Moche within 15 kilometres of Trujillo's centre.

Lima, Peru

One more card for now... from a swap with Jane last year, showing the historic centre of Lima, which is also a Unesco site. It looks so beautiful in the dark, although I imagine it must be really nice during the day as well :)



Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima Metropolitan Area. With a population approaching 9 million, Lima is the fifth largest city in Latin America, behind Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Lima is home to one of the largest financial hubs in Latin America.

Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as la Ciudad de los Reyes, or "the City of Kings". It became the capital and most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. Following the Peruvian War of Independence, it became the capital of the Republic of Peru. Today, around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in the metropolitan area.

Lima is home to one of the oldest higher learning institutions in the New World. The National University of San Marcos, founded on May 12, 1551 during Spanish colonial regime, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the Americas.

The historic centre of Lima bears witness to the architecture and urban development of a Spanish colonial town of great political, economic, and cultural importance in Latin American. San Francisco de Lima is an outstanding example of a convent ensemble of the colonial periods in Latin America and, along with Santa Catalina de Arequipa, is one of the most complete.

Mate, Argentina

One more card for today... and such a nice one, too! Dear Jane (who used to live in Peru until recently but is now back in England) saw this in my favourites and very kindly offerent to send me a copy. So sweet of her! Mmmm, I would really like something warming like this right now - I'm freezing in my room :S I'll have to go make myself a nice hot cup of tea after I've finished this post.. ;)



Mate, also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, is a traditional South American infused drink, particularly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern states of Brazil, south of Chile, the Bolivian Chaco, and to some extent, Syria and Lebanon. It is prepared from steeping dried leaves of yerba maté in hot water.

Mate is served with a metal straw from a shared hollow calabash gourd. The straw is called a bombilla in some Latin American countries, a bomba in Portuguese, and a bombija or, more generally, a masassa (type of straw) in Arabic. The straw is traditionally made of silver. Modern, commercially available straws are typically made of nickel silver, called Alpaca; stainless steel, or hollow-stemmed cane. The gourd is known as a mate or a guampa; while in Brazil, it has the specific name of cuia. Even if the water is supplied from a modern thermos, the infusion is traditionally drunk from mates or cuias.

As with other brewed herbs, yerba mate leaves are dried, chopped, and ground into a powdery mixture called yerba. The bombilla acts as both a straw and a sieve. The submerged end is flared, with small holes or slots that allow the brewed liquid in, but block the chunky matter that makes up much of the mixture. A modern bombilla design uses a straight tube with holes, or spring sleeve to act as a sieve.

Mate is traditionally drunk in a particular social setting, such as family gatherings or with friends. The same gourd and straw are used by everyone drinking. Passing this drink around to the people you're with is a symbol of friendship.



Jane sent this postcard from Peru, hence the Peruvian stamp.