Lima Layover

The quest to get to Quito was not as easy as we had originally planned. We arrived in Lima late Friday night of the 28th and were eager to make our way up to Equador. Unfortunately, we were trying to get a bus during the holiday season and it just wasn´t gonna happen until Tuesday. Which meant we were stuck in Lima for 4 days. Neither Julie or I was thrilled about this at first. Our hostel was on a noisy street corner across from a McDonalds that took up a full city block. We had spent a lot of time in Rio sightseeing and being a tourist and I was kind of over it by the time we got to Lima. I was ready to be in Quito and be in a place for awhile. But we made the best of it and explored the city. We went to an open air market where they sold fresh fruit, meat, spices and ate lunch at a local joint, elbow to elbow with Peruvians, Jules and I were the only gringas in the place. It was damn good and damn cheap. We also visited Museo Larco which had an impressive collection of Inca artwork and an Erotic Gallery full of pottery of Incans in compromising positions. All jokes aside, it was really interesting and great to go with an art teacher who educated me on many of the techniques used.


A nice repousse piece.


Interpret this how you will.

New Years in Lima was a good time. We went to a club which was decent and then tried to bargain our way into the most expensive club in Lima. They weren´t having it so we called it a night with a little late night KFC. On New Years in Peru, everyone wears yellow and it is custom that the women wear yellow underwear. We didn´t find this out until later but we did have some festive yellow sunglasses.


New Years 2008.

We finally got on our bus to Quito, of which the final destination was Caracas! Our bus ride took 38 hours but the trip to Caracas was 5 days long. I cannot imagine. By day two I had read my book, written every thought in my journal and was going a bit stir crazy. However, an adorable little Peruvian man made the trip much more enjoyable. I had dozed off on the bus and when I awoke I had a piece of chocolate next to my head, courtesy of our little friend. And I do mean little! He had to have been no more than 4´8¨ and was so kind. He owned a store in Lima and had all kinds of little candies and trinkets that he insisted on sharing with us and everyone else on the bus. He told us he was 75 and was going to visit his son in Caracas.


How adorable is he? It´s hard to
make Jules look tall, but he does!


Enjoying a coconut at the Equadorian border.

The bus ride out of Lima was incredibly eye opening for me. Having spent the past two months in two of the more developed countries in South America, I haven´t felt much of a culture shock. But the poverty was very apparent as we drove out of Lima. Piles of trash were on every street corner and the hills were scattered with multi-colored slums as far as the eye could see. I suddenly felt very far from home and for the first time saw poverty with my own eyes. The 38 hour drive was also extremely beautiful, winding along the coast past massive sand dunes and deserted beaches, small towns and lush jungle. I find that the long hours I spend on buses here is when I really feel connected and aware of this journey that I am on. Winding through different countries, through the window of the bus, vignettes of people´s lives zip by. And though we may have different cultures, different languages, different religions, these simple images remind me of how similar we all really are. Men sitting around a table sharing a laugh, an impromptu soccer match, a boy sitting in his windowsill playing a guitar, women carrying their food from the market, vendors selling their goods, dogs chasing each other in a flurry of dust..these images are what stay with me and remind me why I love to travel.