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Published: April 8th 2008
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Well, well, well!! It’s been a bit since I’ve written and I’m a little overwhelmed!
...some stories then...
I had to end my brief but passionate love affair with ceviche...after three times in a row (wow) I got a little sick and now whenever I think of that heaping plate of raw stuff...I kind of vomit a little in my mouth. No worries though...there are lots of other great dishes to try...I highly recommend the chifas (Chinese restaurants).
So Lima has great museums. I had been hearing that the best one is El Museo de la Nacción (the Museum of the Nation) a bit outside of Central Lima. Central Lima isn’t supposed to be the best place to walk around - but I really enjoyed it and didn’t see why anyone would have a problem (bearing in mind simple travel rules...don’t flash your shit around). Anyway - I had heard a lot about this particular museum and set out one morning after glancing at a map (it didn’t look that far). Six and a half hours later (take 45 min out for a nice lunch) I get there. I was filthy...walking along express ways and crossing four lane
highways...the exhaust was reDICulous! So, needless to say, I was pretty excited to get there! I walk in all smiles (a little tired - but excited) and the woman at the front desk tells me that they’re closed for repairs and will be opened the first week in April. Wow. She didn’t understand me at first when I told her I had walked there from Barranco...she was all, "no me digas!" (literally means don’t tell me that...but is slang for like - shut up/get out of here!)...we were laughing and got a kick out of it...
So yeah. I was yelling taxi before I even walked out of the museum. And a ride home put me back about $3...
I’ve met up with some LOVELY people as well...Mic (from Leeds, England) and John Paul (from Montreal)...so they’re in a lot of my photos. I remember meeting a lot of people traveling...but I just always forget how EASY it is. We had quite a time exploring various parts of the city - going to Lima's China Town...a couple of museums, and a pool joint.
China Town was great! my favorite picture is of the guy carting the HUGE,
FINALLY!!!
...wait...is that scafolding?? just slaughtered pig in layers into the market. He put his hand up when I asked to take a picture...I thought he didn’t want me to photograph the cart...but then he goes and grabs the head!! He just wanted me to get a really great picture! ...But I was all...wow...I’m a vegetarian.
Now, I love meat - don’t let the hippy name fool you...but there are many times where I know that if I had a closer relationship with the meat I eat (i.e.: slaughtering it) I would be forced into a rather pouty life as a herbivore.
Anyhow, at the market, people got a huge kick out of my reactions...I’m telling them that I’ve never seen meat like this - and they were just loving it. One woman called me behind her counter because she was determined I was going to hold this gigantic crab for a fun picture. Seriously she wouldn’t back down - I begged and said it was too hairy and any other words I could think of in Spanish that meant "disgusting" but she wasn’t having it. In the end I grabbed my ovaries and said, ok...give me the damn thing!
And
to quench my thirst for museums (since the Museum of the Nation will remain closed for a couple of weeks) Mic, JP and I visited a couple...El Museo de la Inquisicion (the Museum of the Inquisition) and the Monasterio de San Francisco. The Museum of the Inquisition was so weird. The building where the museum is was used by the Spanish Inquisition from 1570-1820 and subsequently became the senate building. You can explore the basement by tunnel (really long tunnels) where prisoners were held, and ghoulish waxworks of people being tortured. We didn't talk to anyone before going around the exhibits (if we had, we would have known that the electricity wasn't working on that particular day and the tunnels were off limits due to lack of light)...so when we came upon the dark tunnels - JP and Mic laid on the peer pressure to go in. They were very tiny, the path went over BRIDGES(!!), and they were COMPLETELY dark (we're talking PITCH BLACK) and stretched for what felt like forEVER! At one point, Mic pointed out that she thought we were standing next to a cell of some sort - she had touched the bars by accident -
so we took a picture to have the light of the flash and the wax figure of a conquistador scared the SHIT out of us! When we finished the tunnels - they led us into a room with a couple of wax figure torture scenarios. Gross.
On to the Pool joint...I have no idea how we found it and I couldn't get back there if I tried - I also thing everyone in there was quite confused as to how we found the place as well! You had to go through a door (obviously) then walk down this long hallway, up a couple of sets of really dark stairs.
After Mic and John Paul left, the rest of my time in Lima was spent with Walter and Lilly and their son, Allan -who I enjoyed hanging out with talking politics and sociology...using quite a lot of words I hadn't had the chance to use yet...and he was very patient. I got quite sick though my last two days there...not sure what it was, but Lilly was so great taking care of me and making rice and other good things for my sensitive stomach. So sweet. I'm in love
with them.
In the end though, the exhaust and dessert atmosphere of Lima was getting to me and I wanted to see how I would like Cusco, located about 3100 meters (apx. 10,170 ft.) above sea level in the Andes Mountains where people generally go to marvel at Incan ruins and maybe hook up with a hiking group to Machu Picchu. We were flying for a bit (i.e.: we were quite high already) and all of a sudden, you see these ridiculous mountains and it looks like we had just taken off...many of them reach 20,000 ft I've heard...completely awe inspiring.
So, now I'm in Cusco and have been here for three days now. My altitude sickness wasn't too bad. You're generally light headed, dizzy, easily winded and possibly sick to your stomach. Aside from feeling quite out of shape while climbing the steep streets of Cusco, and rocking a wee headache, I was great. I think it was the two pots of mate de coca (tea made from coca leaves) I drank when I got here. It really helps with altitude sickness and tastes a lot like green tea - but with a little kick...
It's
a shame that they're illegal in the States. I'm tempted to stick a bunch down my pants and smuggle them back with me...but then, would I really want to drink them after that?
Anyhow, the place I'm volunteering with, South American Explorers, set me up in a beautiful place to stay for the first two nights called Amaru II. It has amazing views of the city and even my very own private bathroom! But alas, without them picking up the bill, I was forced to move today into a cheaper hostel until I can find a more permanent place to hang my (alpaca) hat. I haven't gotten to explore the city much since I went to work right away with SAE - but this weekend should be great for getting a nice feel and seeing if I want to spend a significant amount of time here. Stay tuned!
(this entry is from last week - but never properly got published. :-( booooooo
I've been in Cusco now for about a week and will be writing again very soon...)
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Cathy M.
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¡Qué aventura!
¡Gracias por hacerme reír! Me gusta muchísimo leer lo que tú escribes y mirar las fotos excelentes. Parece que tú estás aprendiendo mucho sobre la cultura peruana, y estoy muy contenta (pero no sorprendida) que encuentres personas interesantes y amables. Espero que el resto de tu viaje será tan excitante y llena de buenas aventuras. Y que tú puedes encontrar un hogar (semi) permanente hasta el verano. ¡Buena suerte!