Lima: The Ceviche Experience

Hola Everyone!

It is only 11:00PM right now, and I cannot believe I am already exhausted. I guess I should have seen it coming, since I woke up at around 5:00AM this morning. My day has run beyond its course by now. What annoys me is that I did not originally schedule my flights so that I would have to wake up early this morning. In fact, I deliberately scheduled my flight so that I could sleep in, given how crazy yesterday was. Meanwhile, LanPeru thought it would be a good idea to ruin my plans and reschedule my 10:00AM flight to 8:40AM, without telling me. Luckily, them messing up my plans transformed me into a seasoned traveler with them, so I double-checked all of my flight details yesterday. Thus, I did not miss my flight, but I am sure that would have happened had I not been more careful.

I slept for most of my flight. I arrived in Lima about an hour earlier than planned. Consequently, I had no ride from the airport to go to Antigua Miraflores, the hotel I stayed at a couple of nights ago and will be staying at this evening. Fortunately, the airport is teeming with taxi drivers who want to get your business. I am a bit weary of the taxi drivers since the city does not regulate them here. There is no telling what may happen when hiring random drivers, so I used a legitimate taxi service, the Green Cab service. I could tell they were a safe group because the airport established a permanent booth for their fleet right outside the baggage claim area. They also have fixed rates for whichever part of Lima I needed a ride to, another telltale sign of a company’s legitimacy.

I did not really like the layout of my hotel room this time around, since it had many inexplicable corners that made maneuvering around the room difficult. On the other hand, I was lucky enough to not get a room on the first floor this time so now I could freely prance around the room naked if I wanted to. However, prancing around in the nude is not something I do on a normal basis, so I suppose that was not a major problem the last time I was here in Lima anyway.

After I had settled into my room, I was STARVING. I was determined to try some ceviche for the first time for lunch. Julia and Alfonso, the couple I had met while in Machu Picchu, recommended Cevicheria La Mar. Coincidentally, Frommers also recommended Cevicheria La Mar as well. Since it is not far from Antiguas Miraflores, I had to check that place out to see what all the hype was. Since I was so unfamiliar with the neighborhood, I still requested a taxi to take me there.

Cevicheria La Mar was not what I had imagined it to be. I had imagined it to be a small, trendy, restaurant that everyone packed on a daily basis. The Cevicheria, however, was gigantic, and packed. It had a familiar outdoor feeling I got when eating in restaurants while vacationing in Cancun many years ago. As soon as I sat down, the servers immediately brought me some baked potato chips and AMAZING dips. My favorite one was the red dip, spicy as hell but unbelievably addicting. The restaurant also has a wide assortment of foods available for its patrons, but their selection of ceviche is surprisingly small. I have to admit, though, that I do not have a comparison point to assess the magnitude of the variety of ceviches they provide, but I at least suspected a “Build your own” ceviche option. Perhaps that cheapens things, or maybe I am still just too American for this joint. I went with the Mixto dish, one of the few dishes with shrimp in it. The rest of the dish consists of octopus and some kind of raw fish I could not recognize.

The fish was my favorite part, and the ceviche itself tasted fantastic. It is essentially a salad made completely of raw-fish cooked in lots of limejuice, delicious! It sounded good when I watched the contestants prepare it on Top Chef, but I am glad to be able to taste it for myself. I also lucked out by going to the cevicheria on a Saturday, since markets and restaurants receive fresh shipments of fish on weekends throughout Peru. The meal was a little pricey for a Peruvian dish, but it was not too bad considering the quality of my food. It cost me around 40 soles for the entire meal. At least they did not charge me the cubierto tax as other places do.

Since the neighborhood between the hotel and the cevicheria did not seem to be too bad, I decided to take a walk back. It felt nice to walk around and soak in the sights of the city, even if the part of Lima I was in did not capture its true essence. I just walked back gleefully, delighted that my meal was good, and greeted passer-bys who kept staring at me. I encountered a large grocery store on my way back that I thought I would check out. There was nothing too special about it; it looked like a Safeway but with fresher fruits. Otherwise, the prices of everything in the store seemed similar but they charged things in soles. I did not bother to buy anything since I am not able to cook anywhere anytime soon. I did not even get any snacks for the plane ride tomorrow since it would only be an hour long.

Back at my room, I did not do much. I took a nap for a couple of hours and relaxed before Sarah and Melissa (a volunteer who was going to meet Sarah at the airport) arrived. It looked like the people at the front-desk were not too happy about having the three of us share a room. However, we were only going to be here until 3:00AM before we have to check out so it did not seem like a big deal to me. I just told them they were visiting.

We made plans for the rest of the evening to check out the beach, and grab dinner somewhere. The beach is not too far from the hotel, and we got there just in time to catch the sunset. The water looked gross, so I did not even go close to it. Moreover, the “beach” was just a bunch of rocks and large grains of sand. We just watched the waves from the distance, took some pictures, and headed out.

We decided to grab a bite to eat at this one restaurant with food that seemed promising. We did not eat at a “recommended” restaurant since Sarah hates doing that. Unfortunately, the food did not turn out so well, but it was enough to get me by for the time being. I had ordered spaghetti, which I had been strangely craving all day long, but ended up getting just noodles and butter instead. Eh? I definitely remember asking for Jugo de Carne (meat sauce) when I ordered but that never happened. I should have known the service would not be so great here, since workers seldom expect tips from customers. Oh well…

The meal itself was interesting. We sat outside. As Sarah, Melissa, and I ate our food, people kept coming to us to ask for money. It felt awkward to have our dinner interrupted like this. Moreover, children made up most of the persons doing the begging. I had a hard time resisting them; I am definitely a push over when it comes to children asking me for things. I also felt terrible that parents made their children go out into the city all night to ask strangers for money, just so they could get money. It is difficult for me to know how I should feel about this situation. I think it is wrong for parents to put children at work at such a young age. Nevertheless, I think it is tragic for parents to have to degrade themselves to beg for money and put their children in similar situations just so their family could survive.

After dinner, we decided to check out this large outdoor market located in the plaza in front of where we ate. Tons of artisans from throughout Peru go there to sell their goods. I love being able to shop in flea-market-esque settings so I can haggle my way to getting great deals. Sadly, I usually feel guilty after bargaining. I did not realize this until today, when I paid a lady thirty soles ($10 US) for three paintings that took her about three hours to paint each. I even managed to convince her to throw in this awesome drawing, which took her an extra three hours to do, free. I should have realized that I was taking advantage of her when I noticed that she even had no money to afford scissors to cut the tape used for wrapping up goods people bought from her. I wanted to buy her a pair of scissors to thank her for her work but after going to several stores, I had no luck finding a pair. What made me feel extra guilty was that when Sarah bought some art from the same woman, she had inadvertently gave her a counterfeit five sole coin she got earlier in the day. Anyway, I will be sure to tone down on my haggling now because the stuff here in Peru really is cheap.

After walking around, there was not much else for us to do, and so now, here we are back at my room. Getting into my room was a challenge for Sarah, Melissa, and I. When we reached the front desk, the receptionist questioned us on what we were going to be doing this evening in a contemptuous manner. I wonder what might have been going through her mind when I told them we were all going up to my room. *wink* Anyway, I have to wake up early tomorrow so I will end this entry for now. Hasta luego!

Machu Picchu: Te Quiero

After spending two awesome days exploring Peru, today felt like the queen-bee of the two. I finally saw Machu Picchu, Peru’s top attraction! Our day started at 4:00AM, when Sarah and I had to get ready for the SAS people to pick us up at 5:30AM in front of our hotel to go to the train station. I love it when travel agencies provide this service. It makes life so much easier since we are only responsible for getting out of bed. I also love how travel agencies take all the thinking out of planning trips for us; it takes the stress out of planning and all that is left is the trip for us to enjoy.

On our trip, Sarah and I met a cute family that would accompany us. Their names were Julia and Alfonso. Joining them was Julia’s nine-year-old son, Balto. Balto was Julia’s child from a first marriage that did not quite work out. I never could have figured out that this was the case since Alfonso seemed to get along so well with Balto. Perhaps it was the excessive coca tea from the morning, but I was delighted to see how their family dynamic fit so well that it was seamless. I know that the family I want to start will not be an ordinary “conventional” family. That prospect can breed some anxiety in me sometimes, and I just pray that the family I build with my partner will function as seamlessly. While I know that all couples have their own problems and worries when it comes to start families, Julia and Alfonso’s family hit home for me.

The drive between our hotel and Ollantaytambo, our train station’s location, took about two hours. I normally do not complain about travel time, but this one felt like it took forever. Our driver was fluent in the art of maniacal Peruvian driving, and fearing for your life certainly makes time go by much more slowly! As a consolation, though, the scenery was gorgeous. I was always in awe of what I saw, and I assume that all of the roads leading to the Sacred Valley of the Incas must be scenic one. Making our way through the Andes, we drove past the sights of lush green fields and rolling hills that stretched for miles, all of which were embellished with a workers who harvest fresh Peruvian crops for export.

When we finally arrived at the train station, I felt a lot less anxious. From there, we had to take the train to get to the last city of the valley, Aguas Calientes. Given Machu Picchu’s popularity, I was surprised to see that the train station was not something big and fancy. Rather, it was a simple station with a coffee shop and a few benches. Many villagers camped in front of the train station, where they sold snacks and souvenirs to travelers. We remained quite entertained as a result. We did not even have to wait very long before the train arrived.

I was slightly disappointed when I first saw the Vistadome. Since the floor is wooden and it was raining before we boarded, it quickly got dirty. The valley gets a fair amount of rain during this time of year. Sarah and I also received seats where we had to face another pair of passengers, lending us very little legroom. I still do not understand why we sat that way in the first place. Originally, the chairs we were in all faced a single direction. However, passengers could also adjust the seats so that the passengers in front of you could face you for the price of legroom, rather than have everyone be facing in one direction. For some reason, the passengers we sat with went with the less legroom option. We did not even talk to them, which made things even more awkward.

Regardless of some of its problems, the Vistadome still surprised me in some other ways. For example, we had fantastic views of the surrounding Andes. It was nice to be able to appreciate the flora around us. Since the Andes are so close to the equator, the Valley of the Incas rarely gets any snow, if ever. Therefore, the vegetation flourishes all year round. We watched the Urubamba River carve through the valley as we followed its path, which circles the perimeter of Machu Picchu Mountain and once served as protection for the Incas. In summary, what we observed made up for the slight discomfort we experienced.

After about an hour and a half, we eventually reached Aguas Calientes (recently renamed Machu Picchu Pueblo by the Peruvian government, lame, no?). Aguas Calientes reminds me of a downscaled version of Cuzco. However, in place of countless grandiose cathedrals, a large market dominates the heart of this village. Despite being the thoroughfare for Machu Picchu, thus attracting tons of tourists, Aguas Calientes still possesses an air of authenticity. Unfortunately, Frommer’s mentioned that the government is pouring extra money into this city in its efforts to modernize it for tourists in the future. I can only hope that it does not fall under the same ills as Lima, and maintains that countryside feeling that gives it its charm.

The last part of our journey to get to Machu Picchu was one bus-ride to the top of the mountain, which lasted about forty-five minutes. When Sarah and I got to the gate, we had to wait for our tour guide to arrive. We ended up joining a much larger group of English-speaking tourists. While there were many of us, the quality of the tour was still pretty good. I loved our tour guide. He was funny, and spoke with a very interesting accent. He gave every syllable he spoke an emphasis, but still managed to nuance each syllabus as well: “WEL!-COME TO MA!-CHU PI!-CCHU” Whenever we arrived to a new site, he started his presentation with a “Dear Friends.” The author of five books, the guy also clearly knew his stuff.

Machu Picchu itself was amazing. Literally breathtaking, but that was probably because exploring it also involves a lot of climbing at high altitudes. Whenever I visit ruins built by the Incans and Mayans, the mathematics and astronomy underlying the designs of their structures always amaze me. Machu Picchu has this one amazing temple for worshiping the sun god, and every summer solstice (June 21), the sun illuminates the entire temple. Our tour guide showed us a picture, beautiful.

After our tour, Sarah and I had some free time to explore the ruins and take some pictures. We found a pair of llamas on the terraces and decided to take pictures close-up with them. We also had some extra time to reflect on Machu Picchu’s exquisiteness for a while before it started raining and we had to head back down to Aguas Calientes. The drive down was scary. The road was incredibly wet, and the bus was slipping and sliding all over the place on the narrow road. A twelve-year-old dressed who was trying to earn some money dressed up as an Incan child and followed us all the way down the mountain, waving. Can you believe that? What was sad was that he only received tips for doing this, meager tips. I probably saw him receive two soles (sixty-six cents) from each person at most. This made me feel incredibly guilty, so I ended up giving him a couple of US dollars.

Sarah and I had a couple of hours to explore Aguas Calientes before having to catch our train back to Ollantaytambo. We were starving, so we first went to grab a bite to eat. The food at the restaurant tasted decent, but its service was not the best; the food took forever to get to us. I cannot really blame the owners though, since there were only two people running the restaurant. I assume that they were a couple. The wife was a server at the restaurant, and the husband worked as a chef in the kitchen. The couple was in charge of taking orders and preparing food for about fifteen customers in the restaurant, and most of us ordered very different dishes. It must be tough to work under that pressure on a daily basis because one person was responsible for cooking at least ten different dishes. Although Sarah and I grew impatient, I think we realized what they had to work with and we still spared a good amount of change for a decent tip.

After our thirty-minute-turned-two-hours meal, Sarah and I explored the market in Aguas Calientes. The rain poured everywhere and everyone was getting wet. Luckily, a gigantic blue tarp protected all of the booths from the rain. Rain or shine, the sellers were there to stay. I purchased some souvenirs for a couple of friends of mine in the booth right in front of the restaurant, but I did not find anything I liked in the market. I had also just realized that I lost my damn umbrella so I was in no mood to spend any more money, considering how I had just paid for the tour as well.

Nothing notable occurred on the ride back. I noticed that the trip home went by a lot faster since I slept most of the time. I heard that the train attendants threw a little parade, which many of the passengers enjoyed.

After the ride, I had my first Spanish-faux pas. Well, it first started on the train when the attendants were kind enough to pass out dinner to its members. I was not very hungry; it was also the same thing we had for lunch. I decided to save the food for later in case I got hungry. As soon as Sarah and I got off the train, we saw a mother and daughter begging for money for food. When I passed them, Sarah suggested that I give my untouched food to them, which was a great idea. Although, I hope it was not a terribly offensive gesture. Anyway, I originally wanted to ask them “Do you want it?” which is “Tu quieres?” in Spanish. Instead of saying that, I accidentally said “Te quiero?” which is “Do I love you?” To which they responded yes. That was a horrible thing to mess up on, but I did not realize it until it was too late. Sarah noticed too and I would not hear the end of it for the rest of the evening.

Oy!

Anyway, tomorrow I am going back to Lima. I cannot say that I am too excited, since I think I saw everything there was to see already. I think I am going to try my best to go to this Cevicheria that Frommer’s recommended. I am excited about that! Ciao!

Cuzco: LanPeru Blues

Today was the first of many early mornings to come for me. I woke up around 6:00, after only getting four hours of sleep- thank you insomnia and wireless Internet, to shower and refresh before going to the airport. The breakfast at Hotel Antiguas Miraflores is good. They serve the food a la carte, and not as a buffet. This can be good or bad depending on how big of a rush you are in since food preparation time can push you back on your schedule sometimes. It did not bother me much since I woke up early. I decided to order the chicken tamales for breakfast, a decent choice. The problem I had was that there was hardly any chicken in it, but the savory high-on-lard content made it worth finishing. A heart attack on a plate, anyone? Speaking of heart attack, I also found myself drinking some strong coffee this morning. I have no idea what was in it, but I felt so jittery all day. It was a trip, for sure!

To get a ride to the airport, I had the lady working at the front desk call a taxi for me. By luck, Rafael came and picked me up. On the drive over, he warned me about Cuzco’s elevation (about 10,000 feet) and altitude sickness. As usual, Rafael also gave me some advice on how to combat its affects, for which I dutifully made mental notes. When I arrived at the airport, I could see how the benefits of waking up early continuing to pay off by getting there about two hours prior to my flight departure. The line at the domestic check-in was ridiculously long for LanPeru. The people in line sure were on edge that morning, most of them cranky from being at risk for missing their flight. As for me, I was delighted and proud that everything was going well. I just stood there, shook a little, as the coffee worked its magic.

When arriving at the security checkpoint, I realized that I skipped an entire step I forgot existed in Peru. For departing flights, travelers are required to pay a departure tax to the airport, not charged when you buy your plane ticket, apparently. It was not too expensive, around $6.00. However, it is something that I will have to factor into my timing when I fly back to Lima, as well as in and out of Ayacucho. Getting past the security check-point was easy, probably because I am so used to flying and know what I need to do to make getting to my gate faster. What I thought was nice was that I did not have to take my laptop out of my backpack as I usually do when flying between Maryland and California. Although, I took the shortcuts too far when I did not take off my shoes, which has metal in them SOMEWHERE and caused me to make a second go-around through the metal detector. Well, now I know better.

As soon as I got to my gate, I felt relieved that I made it there in time. I sat there, relaxed, thinking I was home free and that it was going to be a fantastic morning. Boy was I wrong. It was actually the start of a horrible morning. It was about 8:45AM, and my flight to Cuzco was scheduled for 10:00AM. Sitting patiently at Gate 13, I read my book for about an hour, and saw that it was 9:45 and nobody had begun to board. I looked at the screen overhead, departure from Lima to Cuzco at 10:15AM at Gate 13, it said. Yep! That is the one...but... where is everybody? I go up and ask the attendants if I was at the right gate. No. No? NO!? It is at gate SIX!?!? Crap! Before I even have the chance to yell at them for being misleading, I run off to gate six, only to find the flight I was so confident about being on time for pulling away.

When I get to the gate, I talk to the nice LanPeru assistants and they immediately help me reschedule, no problem. I just have to fly on the next flight that departs an hour later. I do not mind waiting a bit longer. Oh, wait, my ride to the hotel from SAS is expecting me to arrive with the other passengers at 11:00AM, but that is my newly scheduled departure time! Yikes! Moreover, Sarah, a girl I met online through Cross-Cultural Solutions, and am supposed to be traveling with for the next couple of days, was expecting me to be at the hotel. What do I do? I cannot call. I had no change, and the pay phone would not accept my credit card. I look at my cell phone, and I think, "How do I work this contraption?" I call Laura, from CCS. Crap, she is at a meeting. I pace a bit, and call my mom. I ask her to call the hotel so she can leave Sarah a message. My mom then tells me that Sarah has not checked in yet. Has not checked in yet? She was supposed to have arrived several hours ago. Where the hell is she?? I try calling Laura again and reach her. Since my mom had a lot of trouble communicating with the people at the hotel, I ask her to try talking to them to find out more about what is going on but she reports the same bad news.

I sit for a bit, feeling very distressed that everything went awry so quickly. I then hear a short announcement: The flight that I was rescheduled to go on had its gate moved upstairs. Ha! They were not going to outsmart me again. At least I got the right gate this time. While waiting, I saw that there was an iPeru booth right in front of me! It was just what I needed. For those of you who do not know, iPeru is a tourist information and assistance service located throughout the country. By going to them for help, they were able to work with me to figure out what was going on. First, they called the hotel again to see if Sarah checked in, which she had not. Then, they called SAS travel and were able to notify them that I was going to be an hour late, and that they should fix their schedule to accommodate my flight change. Sadly, she was also able to figure out that SAS did not pick up Sarah. I was more perplexed than before. Where is Sarah? Is she at the airport? Did I get the details of our rendezvous mixed up?

To get at least an idea of where Sarah may be, I provided LanPeru with the details of Sarah's flight, and they told me that her flight was later than originally scheduled, and that she is already in Cuzco. LanPeru is obviously notorious for having flight mishaps and that one needs to always pay attention when flying with them. I got a peace of mind when I found out Sarah was where she needed to be, since I heard that she was ill last week. At least she is in the right country now! The best plan, then, was to just get to the hotel in Cuzco and meet up with her there, hopefully. There was not much else to do except move forward. The plane ride was not a long one anyway. I befriended a lady on my plane who was from Rhode Island was traveling with a senior group. We bonded from suffering from the same messed up plans and schedules due to how unreliable LanPeru is. Complaining helped make me feel better. When I arrived in Cuzco, I had forgotten about all of the frustrations that plagued me while in Lima. My luggage was behind the check-in counter, ready and waiting for me as promised. An SAS worker was waiting outside to pick me up, as instructed by the helpful iPeru agent. Everything fell into place again.

The overall atmosphere and vibe in Cuzco is fantastic! The weather was a little wet, but not the kind of humid and gross kind of “wet.” Rather, the air smelled like crisp fresh rain. Houses lined the mountains and so I immediately likened this city to San Francisco; although, the buildings and homes look dilapidated. This place is not like Lima, which can be like city that is trying too hard to become a major urban center, but only assimilates the negative aspects of one as a result.

When I arrived at the hotel, I was relieved when I discovered that Sarah had made it there safely! When she came down to get me and let me in the room, I knew that everything was all right. Fortunately, The San Agustin Hotel- International Cuzco is also a very nice place. It is not a five-star hotel, but a fantastic deal given how I only paid sixty dollars for two nights (sharing it with someone else with two beds per room). It also offers steal-able wireless internet, courtesy of the Libertador, an actual high-end hotel whose wireless radius seemed to reach the San Agustin. They also offer an unlimited supply of coca tea! I am sure the term “coca” looks familiar for those of you who do not know what it is. Coca leaves are the raw source for cocaine. However, Coca is legal in Peru and is often a remedy for headaches and altitude sickness. Since Cuzco is about 10,000 feet above sea level, locales throughout Cuzco offer Coca to relieve people of altitude problems. It also tastes delicious!

I did not have too much time to relax in the hotel since there were many things Sarah and I still had to take care of. We had originally put down a $100.00 deposit for our Machu Picchu trip for tomorrow, but we still needed to pay the rest of the costs to the SAS travel office. We also have no idea what the plans for tomorrow are so we had to go figure that out too. When we got there, Sarah and I found out that the price of the tour was only going to be $155.00 total for each of us tomorrow. Well, Sarah’s was around $137.00 since she had an ISIC card. Nevertheless, that is a fantastic deal, especially since I originally thought the price for the full day tour was going to be at least $200.00. Anyway, the package includes transportation from our hotel to go to the train station, the price of the train tickets and bus tickets, and a tour in English. It also includes everything for the return trip as well. I am totally stoked for tomorrow!

After dealing with tomorrow’s logistics, Sarah and I decided to explore the city. We could not do a satisfactory tour that would explore all of Cuzco since it was so late in the afternoon. However, we did explore the Plaza de Armas and basked in its beauty. Cuzco’s grand plaza is not as nice as Lima’s, I will admit. Nevertheless, it is not as congested, which makes me appreciate it a lot more than Lima’s. Everything felt more accessible, and open, despite Cuzco being a more popular tourist destination in the first place. After getting some nice pictures in the plaza, Sarah and I then went to the Incan Archaeology Museum. It cost us around five soles to explore. It would have cost us more had we requested an English-speaking tour guide, be we thought it would be more convenient if we just walked around at our own pace to check out the artifacts. We also erroneously believed that there would be English captions for the artifacts as well. That was dumb of us since that was definitely not the case so we had no idea what anything was. Thus, I would recommend people to purchase the tour should they decide to visit the museum as well!

Dinner was fantastic this evening. We decided to eat at the Inca Grill, a restaurant highly recommended by Frommer’s. It is a bit pricey in my opinion, about $15-20 per person. On the other hand, it was worth it. Since Sarah and I were spending so much money, we decided to splurge this evening and ordered the cuy (guinea pig) and alpaca (a llama-like animal). Both dishes were delicious, especially the cuy. The meat was tender, and the flavors were amazing. The alpaca tasted like chicken, so I could not complain. I was just happy to eat two things I have never eaten before. I am always down for an adventure when it comes to trying out new foods.

It started to rain as soon as we finished dinner. We wanted to get a taxi, but could not direct the driver on how to get us back to our hotel since we thought we had lost the map (which I later on found in my pocket! ugh). Instead, we chose to walk back to our hotel using our memory. The walk was not bad at all. It was even pleasant. The rain did not hit the streets too hard. Furthermore, we got a glimpse of the nightlife in Cuzco, which rain apparently cannot hinder.

When we got back into our room, there was nothing left to do but to relax and prepare for tomorrow. And, so, here I am now. It is still surreal to think that I am so far from home right now and that I have been in Peru for two days already. Maybe it is because we are watching the results of the Iowa caucuses on CNN, the only English-speaking channel we get in our hotel room. I cannot believe that Huckabee won on the Republican side. Is our country really that driven by religion? Sheesh.

Tomorrow, Machu Picchu awaits! I am so happy to be here.

Lima: I Heart Rafael

After many days of hardcore preparation, I am finally here in Peru!! My day was extraordinarily long. Yesterday, I had dinner with my family and two of my best friends, Johanna and Jenya. It was a great way to end my short homecoming. Johanna was also nice enough to drive me to the airport so my parents could go home and rest up before going to work. Last night was crazy though. I had forgotten to pack my inhaler (yes, I am one of those nerds with asthma). I freaked out when I realized this. Luckily, Jenya had told me that I had left one with her a while back, and that it was in her apartment in Berkeley. What sucked was that we had to drive back to Concord, so Jenya could get keys for her apartment in Berkeley, and we had to make the actually detour through Berkeley to get it. After all the insanity, I still managed to get to the airport in time. I was already experiencing some cultural barrier issues by then. The lady who worked at the check-in counter did not speak English all that well. I knew it was going to get downhill from there.

My flights to get to Lima were fantastic. Thank goodness for red eye, I slept most of the way so travel didn't feel like a big deal. However, one thing that really sucked was that I tore my favorite pair of jeans on my second flight. After cursing TACA under my breath for a couple of hours, I realized that it wasn't so bad and that I was getting all worked up over nothing. I hope that I will be able to patch up the tear either in Ayacucho or Baltimore, because the jeans will pretty much be useless during those cold winter days on the East Coast.

When I arrived in Lima, I was luckily able to find whoever the hotel arranged to pick me up no problem. He was holding this sign "JEFREY DOUNG," cute. I went with him to his car, and off we went! Honestly, my initial reaction to Lima was not positive. The weather felt like Baltimore on a bad day, the city looked like it was in shambles, and the drivers were maniacs. I was surprised that I even made it to my hotel safely.

Riding through the insanity was well worth the stress and incessant praying. The Antiguas Miraflores Hotel is simply gorgeous. Upon entering my room, I was greeted by a window that opened to the courtyard. The room itself was well-kept, spacious, and homey.

Since my room was so comfortable, I almost decided not to go out to explore the city. However, I was not going to be a fool cheat myself out of this rare opportunity to be in a foreign city all alone! I took a quick shower, armed myself with my Frommer's guide, Lonely Planet Latin American Spanish Phrasebook, camera, insect repellent and was ready to head out.

Like many cities, Lima is divided into many districts, or barrios: Lima Centro, Miraflores, San Isidro, Chinatown, San Borja, and Barranco (Frommer's Peru). All of the historic must-see locales of Lima are in Lima Centro. However, my hotel, along with a majority of others that tourists tend to stay in, was in Miraflores. It is easy to explore each district by foot, although I don't even recommend doing that. Meanwhile, transportation by car is the best way to travel between each district. Since taxis are so cheap, that was my transportation mode of choice to get to Lima Centro from Miraflores.

To get a taxi, all I had to do was ask the nice people behind the front desk to call one for me. They can get to the hotel in as little as 5 minutes, which happened in both the instances I asked them to call one for me. Another reason why I asked the people at the front desk to call for one was that they had more knowledge about the more reputable taxi companies/drivers. I could have easily hailed a cab on my own, but taxis in Lima are not regulated by the government and can be somewhat dangerous. All it takes to be a taxi driver is for one to own a vehicle. Crimes in these things are not unheard of (Frommer's Peru). Furthermore, just by being in the city for a few minutes, I realized that these people were the same maniacal drivers that littered the streets, and merely stuck "Taxi" stickers on their dented vehicles to make things "official". It's crazy. Even the hotel's taxi driver maneuvered in such a way that nearly gave me a heart attack, but at least I trusted the guy.

Driving issues aside, my taxi driver was amazing. His name was Rafael Rojas, a real affable guy. There were no moments of awkwardness while riding with him downtown. Moreover, he gave tons of advice on how to stay safe and what were some must-sees for Lima. Towards the end of my ride, I asked him to drop me off at the main Plaza and then wanted to know if he'd be willing to pick me up after two hours if I paid him extra. Instead of accepting, Rafael actually offered to be my escort for the city instead! What a deal!! For 40 soles ($11), he drove me around town, showed me some noteworthy buildings, explained some of the history behind the buildings, let me get out of the car whenever I wanted, and took me wherever I wanted. What resulted were some amazing shots, some of which he took for me. *will upload the rest soon!*




After showing me around, I was ready for dinner. I had originally been looking forward to going to this one expensive restaurant my guidebook recommended to dine at, La Hamaca. Yet, Rafael resisted my stubborn desire to spend an exorbitant amount of money there and took me to a restaurant called El Seniorio de Sulco instead. He did a great service by doing so. The location of the restaurant, right in front of the coast, is fantastic. My seat next to the window gave me a great view. However, just by looking at the lay out of the restaurant, it seems like all the patrons must enjoy the scenery whenever eating there. In Baltimore, many of the restaurants at such a location would have cost a fortune to eat at. I was the only one there, which was awkward, but also afforded me a great deal of attention from the servers, especially since I was a foreigner.


After being seated, I was convinced that Rafael knows only best. I ordered what Rafael recommended, Lomo Saltado, which "comes from the scorching fires of the chinese inns." It is a beef tenderloin dish served with "crunchy onion and juicy tomato strips sauteed in the wok for just a few minutes." It also came with beans, french fries, and an egg (Seniorio de Sulco Menu). He also recommended that I drank Chicha Morada, a beverage "prepared from maiz morado (purple corn). It is usually sweet and consumed cold like a soft drink" (Wikipedia). Both were delicious! The Lomo Saltado was so tender and juicy. Unfortunately, it also seems similar to many saucy chinese dishes I have had before, except with beans and french fries. The Chicha Morada was a whole new experience though; I have never tasted anything like it and it was GOOD.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the bill was a lot lower than I would have spent elsewhere. However, one thing that had me taken aback was a curious "tax" I had never encountered before called the "Cubierto Salon," approximately 10 soles ($3). I saw the bill and thought, "What the HELL is that!?" I was appalled. I didn't order SALON! (durrrr). I had to reference Frommer's, again. I swear; I live by that book now. Here is what it told me: "Some upscale restaurants will place a couple of small plates of cheese, sausage, olives, or other tidbits on your table to nibble on as you wait for your meal. In almost all cases, you will be charged for these items, called a cubierto, or cover. Usually, it'll add 5 soles to 15 soles ($1.40-4.30) to your bill. If you don't touch the stuff, in theory you shouldn't have to pay for it because you didn't order it..." Oh, so that's what it is. But you're telling me that the 3 pretzel sticks I ate cost me a dollar each!? Holy cow! On the otherhand "...many restaurants automatically tack on the charge- and few are the customers who don't consider the cubierto part of the cost of eating out." Well, now I know what to expect, at least.

After I ate and paid my bill, I had to wait a bit for Rafael to come pick me up to take me back to my hotel. While I was waiting, I chatted with Joseph, a server at the restaurant who gave me a glimpse into the hardships of living in Peru, as if it was not evident already from touring the city. The gentlemen was from Cuzco, but had come to Lima to work temporarily. His friend had just moved to London, and had promised Joseph that if he moved to Lima to work, he would help him immigrate to London so he could join him. The plans never came to fruition; He never even heard from his friend. Now, he works twelve hour days, six days a week, and has high hopes of saving enough money to get out of Peru and make a better life for himself. His story was very inspiring, and reminded me of all the stories I had heard while working with those at the Hispanic Apostolate back in Baltimore. Once again, he left me thinking how I wished I could do more for him and others like him. The best response I could give was to encourage him, and tell him that he had a decent chance of living a better life in America, considering how his English was strong, and he possessed computer programming skills.

Shortly after my chat, Rafael finally arrived, and took me back to my hotel where I could recover from traveling on the plane and being out all day. So here I am, sitting on my bed in a room all to myself, and reflecting on what I had seen. I know I said earlier that Lima left some crappy first impressions for me. However, all of that seems trivial now. After being driven through it for a couple of hours, I felt like Lima possessed an irresistible charm that cities like Baltimore have. Lima is definitely a resilient city. In 2001, it suffered a devastating earthquake that damaged much of the city's infrastructure. Yet, many parts of the town are currently undergoing construction to rebuild landmarks and structures. I am also starting to remember that Joseph is but one of the many examples of the people in Peru who are trying to turn their fortune around by working extremely hard to make better lives for themselves. By the end of the day, the city and the people really grew on me.

Busy Busy Busy.

Prospero Año Nuevo everybody!

I am sorry I haven't reported back in a while. Things leading up to my trip have been freakishly hectic. Surprisingly, I managed to get everything together!

Although it took me a while, I was able to figure out how I could have a cellphone for my trip: I just had to frickin' call Verizon, my wireless service provider, and I then had to call this one number to update my phone's software. That was all it took. I did not have to rent a phone. I did not have to go to other providers. I just had to call Verizon. What did I originally do? Well, I first went to AT&T because I knew their cell phones worked abroad. Then a sales associate told me that I could buy a GO-Phone to use for Peru, and could even get one for cheap at Wal-Mart. So I went to Wal-Mart, and saw that Verizon had GO-Phone-esque phones. Instead of buying one, I went to Verizon to double check and ask. They thought I was an idiot, because those phones do not work abroad. I then ran to Target, to just stick with the AT&T GO-phone. By then, it was late, and I was tired. I did not bother to program the phone and saved that for the next day. When I finally went, I found out that GO-phones do not work outside of the US either, looking like a fool once again. That is when I finally called Verizon to ask them what I should do. In 15 minutes, they had me ready to go. Yeesh!

After the cell phone fiasco, I was still trying to figure out what to do with my vaccinations. I am currently insured by Kaiser, and while they provide a wealth of services for cheap, it is really difficult to get appointments with them. Their system for getting vaccinations was also complicated. I first had to schedule a phone-consultation with a travel-nurse. I then had to book an appointment to get my vaccinations afterwards. I could have opted to go to a Safeway pharmacy, and all it takes it filling out an online form and getting an "okay" from them. However, it would have cost me $200 as opposed to $0. I think I got really lucky with this one; I almost could not have gotten ANY vaccinations because I scheduled my consultation for the 28th, which was a Friday. Therefore, the soonest I would have been able to get my shot was Monday, the 31st. I had no idea whether or not Kaiser would have been available since it was New Year's Eve, but they pulled through. I just had to go in at 8:30 in the morning. Ugh.

The last issue was packing. Even now, packing is still an issue that I am trying to sort out, and I have already begun my trip! The weight allowance for one of the flights I am taking in the program is 22 lbs for checked luggage, and 10 lbs for carry-on. That means I had to travel LIGHT, which is a good thing. However, I had a really rough time prioritizing what stuff I needing to bring to Peru. What kind of clothes will I need? How many days worth of clothes should I bring? What other miscellaneous, but necessary, items would I need to bring? It also did not help that the weight limits made my laptop seem like a brick all of a sudden. Those were all things I had to consider while packing. *sigh* I still think I am a little bit over the weight limit now. What I am hoping though is that my backpack could be counted separately from a carry-on, since it's something I can keep on my lap and not put in the overhead bins, but I do not know how that will fly. ;). The core of the weight limit issue was the WEIGHT, and not the number of bags I would be bringing on the trip. We'll have to see.

So all the loose ends are tied up, for the most part. My pick-ups from the airport have been arranged. All is good. I am nervous, yet excited. I will let you all know how it goes!