Five questions about Peru – Quick Quiz answers

By British Expat, 31 March 2017

We asked you five questions with a Peruvian theme. Here come the answers!

1. After travelling from Darkest Peru a fictional, young Peruvian bear was found at Paddington Station by the kindly Brown family, who offered the lost bear a temporary haven. Who was the creator of the character?
   Michael Bond, who began writing while stationed in Cairo in 1945 aged 19. He created Paddington Bear while working for the BBC as a cameraman in 1958 (including on Blue Peter). He now lives not far from the station.
   For a bonus point, who was the voice of Paddington Bear in the 2014 film?
   It was originally going to be Colin Firth. But after the main filming had finished, both he and the production team agreed his voice wasn’t right for the role. Ben Whishaw stepped in.
2. In Inca belief, where was the birthplace of the sun god?
   Lake Titicaca, or more precisely Isla del Sol (“Island of the Sun”), which however is on the Bolivian side of the lake. Lake Titicaca’s the world’s highest commercially navigable lake, giving the lie to Durham-born folk singer Martin Stephenson’s claim in his song “Boat To Bolivia” that you can’t sail a boat there.
3. What is the currency of Peru?
   The sol. Although in this context the word sol derives from the Latin solidus (which is what the “s” stands for in the old British currency abbreviation of £sd), it’s also a homonym for the Spanish word for the sun. It was called the Nuevo (“new”) Sol on its introduction in 1991 but became simply the sol in 2015 after a vote in the Congress of the Republic.
4. Known as an ambassador of Peruvian food and arts, this acclaimed chef, cookbook author, restaurateur – and more – founded the Ceviche Soho, the UK’s first restaurant of its kind. He later published the highly acclaimed Ceviche: Peruvian Kitchen, which won the Sunday Times Cookbook of the Year in 2013, among other awards. Who is he?
   Martín Morales. Born in Lima in 1973, he left aged 11 along with his family when his British father was threatened by the Maoist Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerrilla movement. He embarked upon a successful DJing career while at university in Leeds, but left it to set up Ceviche Soho in 2012.
5. In Peru, friends and family traditionally give each other gifts of [BLANK] underpants on New Year’s Eve. What word completes the sentence?
   Yellow. You’re supposed to put them on just before midnight to bring you luck in the New Year. But they have to be brand new to be lucky. They’re luckier still if you’re given them as a gift. And what you’re doing at midnight determines what will happen to you during the year. So for instance if you want to travel you take your suitcase for a walk, if you want to be wealthy you count your money, and so on.

How did you get on? Why not let us know?