Lima, Peru: October 18th

Hola Amigos!

 

Late last night/ early this morning, Ozell and I arrived in Lima, Peru (population 7.6 million or so)- safely.  The flight was easier than I had expected.  Just about 8 hours in the air, and the time passed reasonably quickly.  I did not sleep much as is typically the case.  We arrived a little after midnight.  After finishing through immigration and customs, we were met by a shuttle from the hostel we had booked.  It is called The Point Hostel of Lima and can be viewed via their website:   www.thepointhostels.com  The one in Lima obviously.  The hostel is in the Barranco neighborhood to the south of the city center.  It is nearly oceanside.  The Barraco neighborhood is the "bohemian" neighborhood of Lima or at least the remnants thereof.  It is relatively run down, but so is all of Lima actually.  Although this is one of the better neighborhoods.  But more on that later...

 

The car ride from the airport to the hostel was an adventure in itself.  It was nothing different from what I expected, but I wasn't sure if my well intentioned expectations would be proved either correct or incorrect.  The neighborhood adjacent to the airport was pretty rough around the edges.  We mainly took a road along the coast.  While the buildings and overall environment were better, they were still not what you would see in the USA, Europe, or the other places I have traveled with the exception of the real Cancun in Mexico- not the gringo protectorate barrier island most of the tourists only see.  We are in a second world nation.  And I say that with as little prejudice or judgment as I can.  I am just trying to convey the setting.  The locals have been nice as much as I have interacted with them, and all of life's daily joys are experienced here as they are anywhere else.  The difference is the just quality of the infrastructure (although San Diego's is in comparably as miserable a state), the buildings, the cleanliness of the ground and the air, the stray dogs, and the overall reduced level of wealth.  There is nothing to regret or pity however because I think this could be a happier place than most places. 

 

We walked through the Mira Flores and Barranco neighborhoods today.  Mira Flores is one of the nicest neighborhoods in town.  We mainly stuck along the coast and found a shopping mall built literally into the side of the seaside bluff.  The top of the mall is at ground level of the top of the bluff.  We had lunch there today, and that is where the pic attached to this posting is from.  As you will be able to see from some of the other pics I will post soon, Lima is very similar to Torrey Pines, California for those of you familiar with that area.  Lima is perched above the Pacific Ocean on seaside bluffs approximately a few hundred feet high.  And like Torrey Pines, there are hang gliders and para gliders who use the bluffs to enjoy their sport.  Actually, it is more of a tourist activity, but I am sure some enjoy it for themselves from time to time.  I think I will try this out because it is something I have always wanted to do.  I have skydived before, but I have not done the paragliding.  And I think it would be more entertaining to me to do it here rather than Torrey Pines because unlike TP where there is no development, here in Lima the city lines the bluffs.  This will be my best chance to get a bird's eye view of the city.  I hope to snap another picture.

 

Another readily observed similarity between Lima and San Diego is the climate.  Lima is also a semi-arid coastal desert.  We are now in their Spring, and as with San Diego, this part of the year is famous for the fog and marine layer cloud cover that hangs along the shore.  That is what we had today.  However, it did start to burn off by the mid afternoon.

 

I am currently stoned as I am writing this blog entry.  One of the international workers at this hostel, and English bloke, inquired Ozell at the bar whether he smoked weed.  Ozell replied that he did not, but that I did.  In fact, I think he used the phrase "total pothead" if my aural reception was correct.  I was sitting in a slightly different part of the bar and was not paying closest attention at the time.  Anyway, the English gentleman offered to share a joint with me, and how could a pothead refuse the hospitality of such a gracious offer?  ;)  I did not refuse.  Europeans, as some of you may know, mixed tobacco with their weed when they smoke joints.  I learned this lesson in Europe when I was there in 2001.  I do not smoke tobacco and do not enjoy it.  Since I have narrowly had a drag of any tobacco products in years, even a decade now, the tobacco definitely contributed its own type of head rush.  That combined with the high of the weed and the double beers in my tummy has made for a pleasant evening thus far.  :)  I should probably rub one out before the high dissipates.  Lol

 

Well, I am getting sick of typing, and it looks like Ozell and I will be going to some of the gay clubs tonight so I am going to get offline.

 

Adios por ahora,

 

Sean