The Complete (Abridged) Peru Journal: Day 1

So a while ago, I said I would upload parts (maybe even all) of my travel journal from Peru.  It's taken me a shamefully long time, but I'm finally going to do that.  I have more to share than I thought I was going to (and photos!), so I'm going to do it one day at a time.  I'll also try to skip the boring parts.  I may upload the whole thing somewhere else eventually, for those of you who are interested, but for now, here's the abridged Day  1:

Note:  The ellipsis (. . .) represents an interruption in journaling, not an omission of original content.

Today, we arrived in Lima.  It only took us three flights to get here, starting with home to Miami yesterday, then a 7:20ish flight from Miami to Bogotá, Colombia this morning, which seems like forever and a continent ago.  In Bogotá's airport, I spoke more Spanish than I think I ever have, and am continually learning that two semesters of Spanish may not be sufficient.  Add to that the fact that I've also been elected the family currency converter, and I feel like the expectations are piling up faster than I can juggle them.  I managed to ask for and purchase some authentic Colombian candy, but when I asked for the time, I couldn't understand the answer.  Go figure.

Anyway, we are now in Lima, in a very nice hotel—the Ferré.  A guide named Carlos and Roberto, the driver, brought us here.  Carlos is very friendly; Roberto didn’t talk much.  Carlos was holding up a sign with our name on it for us when we got through customs, which was pretty cool.  He recommended that we eat dinner at this “underground” mall on the waterfront, so that should be interesting at least.  I’ve also managed to find out that the drinking age here is 18, so we’ll see how that goes…

The view from the restaurant

Back now.  I didn’t drink anything haha!  I mean, I had pretty much the greatest cappuccino after dinner. (We ate at some touristy place near the water with a fantastic view and a waiter whose English and my Spanish were evenly matched.)  It was surprisingly good.  The guy at the front (not the host, but the restaurant’s spokesperson, however self-appointed) assured us that we didn’t have to worry about the water, the ice, the vegetables, etc.  That stuff is sketchy here in Peru.  For example, we have to brush our teeth with bottled water (of which we just bought five from a scary convenience store from a guy who spoke no English.  Also, we’re taking Pepto Bismol four times a day to avoid traveler’s diarrhea, in addition to the numerous vaccines [click] we’ve already gotten and the Malerone we’re all taking daily to avoid Malaria.  This is a fun place.   I’ve also got a new job—I’m the tip calculator now, too.  Yippee.

The mall

We went shopping a little, because although our bodies think it’s past midnight based on the time change (just an hour, but still) and the time we got up, it wasn’t nine yet and the mall was still open.  We went into this place called “Sol Alpaca,” where everything is made out of Alpaca wool, which is cool.  The thing is, I took two semesters of Spanish to prepare for this trip, but it’s been more than a year since I’ve had a math class, which was clearly a mistake.  I did buy a rather fantastic scarf, though.  I love the colors and it wasn’t ridiculously expensive.  I think it came to about sixty bucks, USD.  It was 169 soles, which is the Peruvian currency.  I can’t believe I’m in South America!  Tomorrow we wake up at four again to catch a one-hour flight into the jungle.  My grandma says she’s not going; we all know better.  I have to take a shower, but I can’t get the water in my mouth.  I can get it all over my body, just not in my mouth.  I hope I’ll have an opportunity to journal every day, but no promises!

If you need a dining set taken someplace, call this guy

P.S. This is my 50th post!!! Yippee!!