The Great White Fog, o/w known as Lima!

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We are currently in Huancayo

Ron

So, we arrived at the airport in Lima at around 7:30 pm and as we came out of immigration/customs there was a man standing with a sign that read "Nun Nanzak - Camino". Now, our hostel's name was "Kaminu" and i thought now how many people have a 'ZAK' at the end of their name in Peru? And it turned out that he was, indeed, waiting for us,so as after a short wait we were on our way by taxi to our hostel in Barranco, which is a small distant suburb of Lima, known as an artist community and its night life. Kaminu hostel had communicated with us via email that they didnt have a big enough room for all 3 of us so they had suggested a room in their apartment that they rented occasionally. It turned out to be a great spot for us -- clean, with a big double bed and a smaller bed for rumi. And it was in a residential area a few blocks south of the central square, a little noisy at times but great for our needs.

For our first venture into a restaurant we chose a chinese rest.,o/w known as a Chifa. Our command of spanish is not great so there was (and still is) alot of handsignaling and speaking english to non-english speakers and frustration and, finally, mucho wonderment at what we were going to get but, in the end, we and the waiters were satisfied and, let me tell ya, we are not starving down here! Rumi likes the fried rice and as we slowly expand our Espanol capability, our restaurant choices expand as well.

We met craig peter peter's brother's family for dinner on thursday evening to give them the stuff that craig gave us to carry to them. They live in Miraflores, the next suburb up from Barranco, and they are very nice, especially their cute as a button 7 year old muchacho, Anderson. We had a nice meal with them and they were especially helpful in translating some of the menu choices (that i've already forgotten!)...Thanks, jessica and chris and anderson, for the nice time!

On Friday (7/26th), we left our hostel and moved to the 1900 Backpackers hostel in downtown Lima to be closer to the train station for our departure from Lima on saturday. This was a big change from our little Barranco to the big city of Lima!! All of a sudden, we were immersed in people and honking horns and traffic and big city stuff! We dumped our bags into our room, and we launched into the bedlam! We found our way to the Pedestrian Street (Union st.) and had coffee, then we ventured into the Peruvian lunch world with our first el menu!! Most peruvian restaurants offer a set meal for lunch and it's a fantastic deal - an opening soup or salad, 2nd course main dish plus a drink and dessert for a set price. On that day in Lima, for our first El Menu, it cost 10 Soles (or about 3.60 $) for each of us. Since then, we have seen El Menu for as low as 5 Soles!! Great deal!

Afterwards, we continued down the Pedestrian st. and found the train station for the next morning and then ventured over to the Monasterio de San Francisco, where the tour eventually led us down into the Catacumbras (catacombs), where the remains of 60K people lay interred. When we first entered the catacombs, Lisa had a very negative feeling, very claustrophobic and i thought she was to run screaming from the catacombs (but there really was no place to go since it was so tight and there was another group right behind us)! But she somehow was able to keep it together and to finish the tour.

The 1900 Backpackers was a very nice place! It's in a old building but its in very good shape. They let us take over an entire dorm room at the price of a triple room and it was very clean and friendly. We had our first Pisco Sour there in the evening and it was delicious!! We had bought some groceries that afternoon and Lisa threw together a delicious meal of veggies and noodles in a tomato sauce. We had also bought a bottle of Peruvian wine but it turned out to be very sweet so it wasnt very enjoyable.

So, that's about it from Lima! Oh, yeah, about that heading and it's reference to the great white fog, i bet you were wondering...Lima, in the winter, is covered with an unending thick fog layer -- everthing is damp and bone-chilling and white! The Garua, as it is known, permeates everything from your clothes, towels and bedsheets to Peruvian songs and poems and probably social relationships and financial transactions! Melville was known to have stated,"It is the strangest saddest city thou can'st see; for Lima has taken the white veil and there is a higher horror in this whiteness of her woe." And it is under this shroud that the intrepid travelers sleep tonight...

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