Yesterday Milagros and her husband Jose Carlos invited me to attend a "desfile de sapos" in Ayacucho. When I first arrived in Peru I would have said what in the world is a sapo? After having been in Peru for ten months I know that a SAPO is a frog or what the Peruvians call the Volkswagon Beetle (car). In Peru the Sapo is king. They are everywhere. My host family said because they are affordable. They said you can secure one for about 2,000 USD. So Milagros and Jose Carlos have a beige sapo. I kept calling it the SAPO de ORO or the Gold one but Jose told me that when they got it, it was certified as "the Sapo Beige".
Sunday morning we all gathered at a local park with some others. They were actually a Sapo Club called the Amigos de Volkswagon Peru or the Friends of the Volkswagon, Peru. Pretty official with stickers and other paraphanalia and even little flags for their SAPOS. Oh! If you see a SAPO you are supposed to say SAPO! and lean over and pinch the person next to you. They couldn't get on board with the "punch buggie!!" So there were about 15 SAPOs in our parade and we made our rounds all over Ayacucho. Leading the pack was a 1968 model volkswagon, and we all followed doing a three toot horn salute...one calls and the others are to answer. I rode along with Roberto in his red SAPO. After the parade Milagros invited me, along with Sara and Kelsey (two other volunteers) to her house for lunch. 
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