The Best From Facebook: Vignettes About A Recent Trip to Peru part 2

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At the chicheria in rural Peru - drink twice chewed and then brewed
(from a series of Facebook postings that received strong readership and approval)
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Chicha is a popular working class drink in Peru. Made from fermenting corn, the beer-like beverage can be made in just 3-days. It is cheap (about 60 cents a glass) and easy to drink. There are an estimated 2,000 chicherias in Peru. Most don't have signs, just look for the universal Chicheria sign - a red flag over the door. 

I paid this woman 60 cents for a glass of chicha and strawberry juice. Drink was invented by the Incas. Back in those days the corn was chewed by women before being put in fermentation vats. Nowadays the kernels are boiled before being placed in the vats.

Maria plays for drinks. She lost

 How to find a chicherias in Peru. Look for a red flag over the door. Usually dirt floors and no electricity. 

Corn drink is cheap and not all that alcholic (3%). Big attraction at many of the underground bars is a game where you try to toss a coin into the mouth of a bronze statue of a frog ... just another game where we can end up buying corn drink for the house. Pictured, my wife Maria Nenadovich takes on our guide, and looses. I pay up.  I tried. Did worse. Luckily everyone was corn drunk out!

Oops - neglected to post a picture of the secret symbol of a chicheria in Peru. No signage for these working class bars, just look for the red flag. That's our vehicle and this particular bar is a favourite for tour guides showing tourists the underside of Peru - light.  Most people walk to their favourite chicheria.

The red flag indicates bar inside

A political graffiti is painted on side of chicherias - on the road to Lake Titicacca