Lima, Peru!

Holy cow we made it.

Our final hours in North America were hectic to say the least as we scrambled to make sure everything was in order and we had all the equipment we may need for the next six months.  Our dear friend Bo was kind enough to give us a ride to the airport as we stuffed my step dad’s SUV full with our bikes in boxes and our luggage.  I ended up sitting in between the two front seats as there was no space elsewhere.  I kept wondering how on earth we were going to make it to our friends apartment once in Lima – were there going to be vans big enough without burning a hole in our small pockets??

We arrived groggy eyed at San Francisco International Airport at 4:00am for check-in and took off with no hiccups and an extra seat to stretch out between us on the way to our Miami connection.  In Miami, we watched as dark ominous clouds floated above the airport making me question if our next flight would be delayed.  Nothing ever came of the clouds, however our flight was still delayed due to mechanical errors.  We finally arrived in Lima, Peru at 11:30pm on Thursday evening.  Both of us had elevated heart rates as we held our breaths watching for each piece of luggage to arrive on the belt at baggage claim.

I realized immediately Toto was not in Kansas anymore – I knew we were going to a country where English was not a national language, but for some reason I thought communication would be a bit easier.  I know a little French – that should help me right?  Negative.  Justin went off with some luggage carriers to retrieve our bikes while I waited in a luggage security check out line.  When I went to find him, a guard stopped me and proceeded to speak in Spanish extremely fast.  This was my moment to work on my newly learned Spanish thanks to Rosetta Stone, a gift from my mother.  But after a long’s day travel, the only thing I could come up with to explain to this gentleman that my boyfriend went through this security door to pick up our bicycles and I am checking on him was, “um… bicicletas?” in a shy hushed voice.  He proceeded to speak fast pointing in six different directions and I just nodded my head until I heard Justin call my name in the distance and I simply stated, “Gracias” and ran to Justin.

“They were rolling our bike boxes… not carry them,” Justin said shaking his head.  Great – our bicycles which were packaged in just a thin cardboard box, had been doing who knows how many cartwheels on their way to Peru.  We both just let out a quick sigh before our next task. Taxi?

Surprisingly, we found a huge van cab with ease for 75 Soles/about $30 after some negotiating in broken Spanish- not bad when you consider a gallon of gas is nearly $20!  We quietly rode the 45 minute drive with our kind driver to Miraflores, a cleaner upscale part of Lima where Justin’s college buddy Chris Newman and his girlfriend Patricia have an apartment.  We arrived at 12:45am on Friday morning, gave big hugs and huge sighs for successfully making it with our crazy over-sized gear, and hit the hay.

Lima reminds me a lot of Bangkok, Thailand.  Cars have the right of way, not humans. Street lanes are a suggestion.  Exhaust is not regulated whatsoever here and the streets are filled with looming black smoke.  I often feel as though I am struggling to find oxygen to breathe amongst the fumes.  Don’t drink the water – you must buy bottled water.  No one speaks your language, but your white skin and blonde hair may as well be gold because every vendor runs up to you begging you to buy their item.

However, when you look past the dirt and grime of a city that grew too fast you see a more beautiful side – the kindness of strangers.  Beautiful smiles everywhere you look.  Locals wish for you to learn Spanish so they speak slowly, use hand gestures to teach words, and resort to speaking broken English as a last resort.  We were in the grocery store trying to buy food for the next few days of bicycling up to Huaraz and we were having trouble figuring out what types of food we were holding.  Clerks would try their best, speaking solely in Spanish, to help us understand what we had and how to use it.

Tocino (Bacon). That was one of my first words learned today.  I learned other important phrases such as “uno mas tiempo por favor” (“one more time please”-when asking local to repeat themselves to better understand).  Justin had a good laugh when a salesclerk asked me for my name and I responded “Diez” (10) which was our table number… Numero (number) v. Nombre (name)… oops. My name is Ten today.

The dense fog that lays over Lima makes the days cool and the nights brisk.  Patricia, who has been a HUGE help today showing us around the city and translating for us, explained to us that Lima is covered in this fog for six months, never seeing the sun.  However, once it burns off, the sunsets are spectacular here.

To our cyclist friends! We have news that a Specialized bike store has opened this January in Lima!  The owner, Neto, is very friendly, speaks great English and has been a great help in letting us know which roads are the best for travel by bike.

I am off to tuck away in my sleeping bag and get a good night’s rest before we set of on our bicicletas tomorrow. We shall write again soon when we arrive in Huaraz, Peru. By the way, pictured below is the best dipped cone I have ever eaten.

Bien Viajes,

Buckeye

Below is a link to our SPOT gps locator showing our location in Peru.

http://fms.ws/5fu5M/12.13416S/77.02902W