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Published: March 14th 2007
I watch Milo´s feet in front of me, quickly chewing in to the soft, red sand and spitting out a trail of broken, uneven footsteps behind.
"We just go over mountain and find people," he states firmly in his broken English. Momentarily I consider the attempt of responding in my shattered Spanish but think that right now we probably both don´t have the patience.
"Ah Milo, isn´t the highway
that way?" pointing in the direct opposite direction.
And so we were, two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl...no not really, but we had somehow managed to get lost even though we both knew a highway existed less than one kilometre, and two hours away. It is a fine feeling, however, being momentarily disorientated in a foreign, sun-swept desert with the full knowledge that true trouble is merely a voluntarily fabrication. Kind of like as children convincing the others that you
really did see ghosts in the local abandoned mansion. After an hour or so more of wandering (boldly exploring unchartered territory) we stumbled back on to the highway (no need to mention it was in my pointed direction😊, covered in sand and in need of a suitable
place to camp. We ate bread with tuna and cold hot dogs before retiring early, sleeping head to toe on my insistence at fear of the upcoming sequel: "Brokeback Desert: Lost in Peru.¨ Rising before the sun we flagged down a taxi and shared the ride in to the nearest town with two other passengers and about 30 small shark and stingray that lay in the open boot, slowly suffocating as we hurtled down the highway. Later that day we headed out to the Ballestas Islands, a rocky home to thousands of birds and sea-lions. It was impressive but I´d already been spoilt with the grandeur of the Galapagos and was happy to just to sit back and enjoy the wind in my hair. Back on terra firma, we caught a bus heading towards Lima and for the next two hours I strained hard to understand Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Spanish. And then we were home...
Home (travellers are inspiringly quick to determine a location as "home") is a small third storey apartment that I have been welcomed in to by the Loloya family. I have enjoyed Peruvian food cooked by Milo´s mother, Soyla, taken
salsa lessons with sister Pachi and enjoyed seeing the sights of Lima with my friend and host, Milo.
Despite all warnings of Lima as a dirty and unwelcoming city, I have found it chaotic yet charming. Admittedly I am staying in the “nice” part of town, a wealthier suburb fronting the ocean, with the “other” side being a crumbling, poverty stricken mass of shanty homes and dirty streets. There is a strong nightlife here and the few nights we have indulged have been late and adventurous. But as with many places that a traveller experiences, it is the small moments that capture the culture and the people. I will fondly remember Lima by the hang-gliders cruising the 150m cliffs that serve as a dramatic display of ocean meeting land, watching locals perform Capoeira (Brazilian martial arts) to the beat of tribal rhythms and simply watching the fire-red sun seemingly sinking in to the Pacific Ocean. It is the blind flutist playing for 10 cent donations on crowded buses, the mass of “Gringo” tourists clinging to their Starbuck cafes and McDonald restaurants like babies to their mothers or watching turkeys in the markets, nervously pacing their enclosures behind rows of
their recently slain brethrens. These moments fill your senses minute after minute, day after day. These adventures are the attraction that draws a person to the traveller´s lifestyle. Every day is an adventure; suspenseful, foreign, dramatic. And Lima has served no differently; soon I will move on but take with me these moments, that joined together have formed my experience and this experience drives me forward, in to the next adventure…
Happy B´day Tim! Have a great day-would love to be there celebrating with you but will have a beer for you here.
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GAB
non-member comment
Hey bubba boy, time for me to leave you a msg! These photos and words are so great and inspiring, they reflect your beautiful soul. Keep enjoying your adventures and enriching your spirit from your wonderful travels!! Missing you! Love, Gab