Latin thoughts

Here I am in my third and final week in Lima, for the time being. It's been a been busy full of sightseeing, friend/family meetings, food (as they are so proud of here), spanish classes and a little bit of partying, you always need a little to feed the soul.

Everyday I've been in Lima except maybe 2 it's been gray. Gray gray gray and nublado (foggy/cloudy). Lima is situated right on the coast. It has been the capital of Peru since the Spanish arrived because its right on the mar. Lima is a huge city and nobody really knows where they are going. It is not organised like most cities in the USA with grids, but it's more similar to a colonial city with zigs and zags and off set streets. It's easy to get lost. The great thing is that cabs can take you everywhere for cheap. They're no meters in the cabs so you always have to bargain, especially when you have "blonde" hair and blue eyes. But in the end a 15-20 minute ride usually costs around $4.

Here are a few things that remind me of Latin America from my experiences 2 years ago.
1) Frogger- there are no driving rules here. Everybody drives aggressive, everybody is trying to get there 1 minute faster, hit the pedal to the floor (and the horn) when you can and don't stop for pedestrians, they're taking their own risk crossing the street. Por eso I run across the street or cross in big groups. Get it over with faster and the heart going a little.

2) The Malecon- here that's what its called. Its public space that hugs the cliffs the fall down to the ocean. Here people run, bike, walk, do yoga, walk their dogs, paraglide (its really popular here), picnic, play music or just sit down and take some breaths looking at the ocean before heading back into the hectic concrete, Frogger jungle here. They had similar public space like this in Rosario right alongside the river. It's amazing and it's always in use. This has been my favorite area in Lima to hang out in during the day. I have realized that I have a love/hate relationship with cities. I tend to hate cities during the day, but at night I've them. I hate when the hot sun is burning down on concrete and glass and garbage. Or the fog restrains your vision to a building or a sidewalk. But at nighttime it is full of life. At night we have been going to the barrio calles Barranco which is next to the one im staying in. It has big old houses that were converted into living quarters, bars or other businesses. At the same time it also has these old antique styled hole in the walls with small tables and chairs to grab a bite or a drink with some patas (friends in Peruvian spanish).

3) Big buildings, and more to come- construction is going on on every block and every corner. So far it seems to move quicker than it did in Argentina but less quickly than in the US. Big apartment complexes are going up left and right. They are trying to squeeze more and more people in until this city might burst and they'll have to start again. I am living in Miraflores which is one of the nicest barrio inside of Lima however it is 30/40 minutes outside the city center. However you would never know bc they're so many tall builsings everywhere you go you feel like your inside of a city. In Chicago the city center is very clear and as you fade out into the suburbs the building only get shorter and shorter. But not here big buildings fill up the entire city limits and it is mainly all for living. Lima has 9 million people and is growing. It is the 2nd biggest city in the desert behind Cairo.

This weekend we escaped the gray and headed to Paracas, 3hrs south of Lima. Once you escape Lima you can find the sun.  In Paracas it would be foggy in the morning and in the afternoon it would be sunny and warm. It was an oasis paradise that reminded me of the Mediterranean because of the water color and because of the bays of paracas with calm water.

I need to go do some homework now for mi clase de español pero voy a escribir mas tarde. Here are some photos from Paracas. 

I love you all and hope your doing well! Emma happy birthday and live it up in college! Do you! And make sure when its over you can say Damn I did so many things and met so many cool people and learned so much!

Caitlin- keep up the good work with your project and keep getting results!

Mom- I hope work is going great and your not being too much of a sponge!

Dad- have fun in CA geeking out!

Now your really empty nesters!

Uncle O- enjoy the last days of kiting season and being an empty nester as well. I found great kiting in paracas and will bring my gear next time I go! I saw slingshot advertisements and SUP boards.