The Adventure Begins Again - Tales from Peru!!

Well goodness gracious, my how quickly time ha pasado!! When I last wrote, I was in Jackson, MS, hanging out at my dad´s house, walking my smelly dog, driving myself wherever I needed to go, and not thinking twice about paying 3 dollars for a drink or 8 dollars for a sandwich and salad. Well, Im baaaaaaaaack. Happy to be attempting to find my way in the chaos that defines Latin America and back to being my insanely frugal self. After being in Argentina and Chile, I cannot get over how inexpensive everythign is here - even in the ultra-touristy town of Cusco. I ate an insane amount of delicious vegetarian food last night for $1.30. Woohoo!

But shall I rewind? After two more days of lounging on my dad´s lovely porch, hanging out with the various guests sleeping and working at the house, catching up with Kilby and Mary Preston one last time, eating my daily muffins and even an afternoon stint of babysitting - I now think of paychecks in terms of how many days I can survive in South America, and, thanks to the Maloufs, I was just rewarded 4-5 more days of life down here!! - I finally threw my backpack together again (this time I brought only the bare minimum) and was whisked off to the aeropuerto Thursday morning to once again bid adieu to my homeland and arrive anew in Sudamerica.

And this time I landed in a new country - PERU!! And as luck would have it - I sure hope luck keeps staying on my side (currently knocking on wood) - Doctora Blanca Baldoceda, a friend and co-worker from my days at PCC South in Chicago last year, was in Lima and was able to meet me at the airport. And you have NO idea how much this helped calm my nerves. There are many events, situations, etc. on this journey that I find difficult, challenging, and sometimes downright frightening, but nothing insights this fear inside of me like the idea of being one gringa ant among a hustling bustling crowd of travelers, vendors, taxistas at big airports and bus terminals. These are the places where people are most likely to hassle you, rip you off, or - worse - rob you. I like to go into such a situation with my head held high, my eyes straight ahead and act like I know what the hell Im doing. But I usually dont and after a couple of weeks of living the "easy" life in the States where I didnt have to worry about how I was going to get to a particular place, where I was going to sleep, or if the food I chose to eat is going to make me sick (giardia, anyone?!?), I was admittedly a little nervous about resuming my trip. I kept asking myself (as I did back in November), "Can I really keep doing this? Am I capable?" So with all of this weighing on my mind, I WELCOMED Blanca´s offer to pick me up. I only hope I was able to properly convey my gratitude for such a seemingly simple gesture!!

And so I was quickly reintroduced to all that is beautiful, crazy, chaotic, and often utterly amazing in Latin America. And I was lucky (there goes my luck again) to get to spend the first few days of my Peruvian adventure with Blanca and her mom. Blanca´s parents were born and raised in Lima and Blanca herself has spent a lot of time with family in Lima and traveling all over Peru. Most recently, she has taken a 6 month break from work to volunteer in clinics around Peru in an attempt to set up an international rotation for residents at the PCC clinic in Chicago. She is nearly finished with her time here, but has spent weeks living in the jungle and the mountains, meeting with countless doctors, directors, nurses, and seeing patients in some of the harshest environments with a severe lack of resources. The day after I arrived, I had the opportunity to accompany her to one of the poorest neighborhoods in Lima to visit a site where they hope to one day have a clinic. For now, the "clinic" is little more than walls made of woven wood or bamboo perched atop the sand and swaying in the wind - no roof, no resources. A large group of children and mothers met us there to receive toothbrushes and books donated by various organizations. The town has no electricity and water is retrieved from communal water buckets that are filled every few days by trucks traveling from Lima. It is one of the starkest places I have ever laid eyes on. There is not a speck of green in the town. It offers an odd contrast as this dusty, sandy, desert town made of wooden huts dives down into the Pacific Ocean.

And after seeing the poorest of the poor in Lima, we went to one of the nicest neighborhoods to eat Peruvian corn - OMG, it has been YEARS since I have had the luxury of chowing down on the FAT kernals that evidentally only grow here in Peru adn in Ecuador - sooooooo YUMMY!! And later cool off with some yummy ice cream while walking along the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This time the cliffs were covered in green and the ocean felt much less out of place. And THEN, at 10 PM, we got dressed in our dancing best to go to a Peruvian peña. I know, I know. For those of you that know Spanish, pena (the closest word to Peña) means shameful, but no, no, no, this is a party like no other. A folkloric dance extravaganza. And not one designed for ogling gringos to come and experience a taste of Peruvian culture. This is a nightly happening full of Peruvians themsalves. In Blanca´s mother´s words, Peruvians LOVE to watch and experience their own culture! And why shouldnt they?!? So we sat and watched as a folkloric dance from each of the many many indigenous groups from all around Peru danced in their native dress. And in between each dance, we were invited up to the dance floor to let loose. I cant say what my body was doing looked anyhting like the folkloric dances, but it sure was fun!! I was just beaming all night, so excited to be experiencing something so authentically Peruvian. Oh, and the pisco sour and yummy yummy fat corn I ate during the evening were just the icing on the cake!

Then Saturday, Blanca, her mom, and I headed 4 hours South along the coast to the beach town of Paracas. This town was destroyed 2 years ago as a result of an earthquake and is only just beginning to be rebuilt. Which was evident as we approached driving through the sand dune desert-like landscape toward the water and saw NOTHING. Are we going in the right direction? Or driving through the land before time to a ghost town? Eventually, the tiny town rose out of nowhere, and the next three days were spent relaxing by the pool(la vida es MUY dificil, no'!), enjoying the incredible views of the ocean, hiking among mountainous sand dunes, and visiting an island full of comorants, sea lions, Peruvian boobies, and Humblodt penguins - kind of like a mini-Galapagos. I felt so spoiled the whole time I was there and, once again, am so grateful and appreciative to have been invited to join Blanca and her mom on their mini-vacation!! Thanks again and again to some wonderful Peruvian hospitality:)!

And after so many days of the truly pampered life, Blanca and I said our goodbyes and while she adn her mom headed North back to Lima, I boarded a bus for the town of Nazca - known for the Nazca Lines which I opted not to see. While I waited for another bus to make to 14 hour journey to Cusco, I wandered among the town, ate some tasty fried bananas, and made friends with Roland who inflated my ego by telling me I speak like Im from Spain....hmmm...is he serious or just terribly confused?!?! I hopped on my bus and settled in for one of the scariest rides of my life. All I can say is that I am glad I did not do the ride during the day. The few times I could bring myself to look out the window, all I saw was a very very steep drop. The road climbs and winds its way through the mountains and was barely big enough for two cars and here we were making our way (at far too fast a speed) in a freakin´double decker bus. I just closed my eyes, decided to have faith the guy knew what he was doing - I mean, what other choice did I have?! - and chose to focus on being happy that I CAN travel these roads. Not sure how much it worked, but I arrived in Cusco the next morning in one piece without having peed in my pants.

And now Im HERE - Cusco!! I was here 4 years ago with Victor and did most of the tours que hay - Machu Picchu, Maras Moray, and rafting on the Río Urubamba. So this time around, I have enjoyed wandering along the beautiful, narrow, STEEP, cobblestone roads, exploring the many markets, drinking fresh juices, and attempting to acclimatize. Tomorrow, after doing some hiking to visit some nearby ruins, I am meeting up with a Cusqueño friend whom I met back in Futaleufu, Chile. I assume that since he´s from this here town, he amy have some ideas of places to visit. But, if not, I am content to wander among the many winding streets of this town, ogle at the array of things one can buy at the markets (I keep asking the vendors - "And what´s this? And cant get over the varieties of corn and potatoes one can buy here!), and strike up conversations with locals. One guy invited me to his family´s celebration of the Lighting of the Cross - a city wide religious and cultural event to take place Sat night which evidentally involves much dancing and drinking. Hasta la proxima! VIVA!