I haven´t posted in awhile, so there is much to talk about! Eric, a friend of Bibi´s and Ramon´s whom I have somehow never met, arrived about 4 days ago, and so began my surf exploration of Peru.



We went to Playa Makaja near Miraflores (in Lima) and scored a few mushy but decent sized waves. After jumping off my first good wave, I came up out of the water, forgetting to cover my head- and got dinged with my heavy wooden surfboard. It didn´t hurt very much so I brushed it off and continued my session. A few moments later Eric came over and informed me that I had blood dripping down my face. ¡Coño! Still I didn´t let it stop me. I finished my session and went in to warm up on the rocky beach. When I got to the tent where we rented our boards and suits, two young women there kindly attended to my hound ("herida"). The first gave me a napkin, and the second got ice for me from a nearby vendor. As I stood there with a napkin in one hand and a cup of ice in the other (half of which I had already spilled), debating whether to finish taking off my springsuit first or stop the bleeding- the second girl finally said "ya" and carefully dried and iced my eye until the bleeding stopped. This is what I love about Peruvians: they see someone in need and they help them, without even knowing your name.



That evening (Friday) was our planned "big night out." Bibi´s cousin, Carlos Alberto (who is actually a childhood friend who´s mom went to school with Pochi), instructed a friend of his who lives in La Punta to meet us outside our apartment. Franco, a lanky, blue-eyed native of La Punta, graciously met us at the corner of Grau and Larco streets. From there we shared a taxi (Bibi, Eric, Franco and I) to Luis ALberto´s (Carlos Alberto´s brother) apartment in the fancy business district of Lima called Miraflores. Luis Alberto´s apartment was very modern with lots of windows and a rooftop patio.

Luis and Carlos Alberto were grilling fish and steak when we arrived, and we shared several 4-packs of beer with their group of friends, which consisted only of men until an hour later- when the well-dressed and definitely sassy girls arrived. Another hour went by before we finally made it out the door to head to the club. Bibi and I were fortunate enough to ride in one of the girls´car- complete with champagne during the drive- while the boys shared a taxi. (Sidenote: during the girls only car ride I learned how to say "suck it!" in spanish... "chúpaselo!" ahh the pleasure of profanity- the universal language.)

The club was actually on the first floor of a very fancy (complete with a KFC) 2 story mall. We went in about midnight- no cover charge, no ID check, just a bag check- and didn´t leave until about 5am. The evening´s music began with pretty bad techno (including a remake of a Dirty Dancing song), and concluded with local favorites lika Shakira and various other latin american musicians. I watched carefull and realized I could dance without moving too much and kind of look like I fit in. Luckily I paced myself, not wanting a repeat of the weekend before, when I stayed in bed all day Sunday, getting up only to use the bathroom and eat soup.

We ended up sleeping at Luis Alberto´s apartment, and Bibi and I scored 1 of only 3 beds, while Eric took the couch and Franco the floor. Although we only slept a few hours, I felt refreshed in the mornig as we made our way back to La Punta.

Bibi, Pochi, and Vaughn went to the Abuela´s house for her 83rd birthday while Eric and I rested and showered. On our first solo micro (small public bus) adventure, we met the LeClair family about 15 minutes from the house. From there we headed to downtown Lima for a visit to the new "water park," although it´s not the water park that you´re thinking of, with slides and Breaker Beach. This park has a series of water fountains illuminated by colored lights. We got there right at sunset which made for some sweet photos. We also saw a show od one of the largest fountains that had laser beam graphics shot through the water. Era muy bonita.

Immediately after the show, we picked ourselves up off the ground where we were sitting, to stretch our legs. Eric also needed to stretch his lower back, so he was bent over for a couple minutes. I noticed a small family standing directly behind him and being typically short as Peruvians are, were almost eye level with his rear end. Thankfully they didn´t stare, but they certainly noticed the gringo derrier close to their faces. They graciously ignored the situation and only briefly glanced from the fountain to his ass a couple of times. All of this passes in about 30 seconds and when it was over I took one look at Bibi and knew she had witnessed the scenario as I did. It was only a matter of seconds before we were laughing hysterically, while poor Eric stood there with a confused look on his face. We tried explaining the situation, but it just didn´t seem as funny to him. Thanks, Eric, for that bit of comedy that continues to make me laugh even as I type.

Leaving the park we knew we needed to eat, but finding "dinner" in Peru is problematic because lunch is the main meal of the day. We scored, thanks to Vaughn, and I had my first- and probably best- "chicharron" at a restaurant calle "El Chinito" ("the little chinaman"). This sandwich is made of sliced, roasted pork, sliced yam-like potato, and grilled onions with spices and spicy chunks of hot pepper. With a little mayo and mustard...mmmmmmmmm ¡Que rico! I ate it like an animal! We returned to the house full and content, and crashed out hard after watching a DVD.

Yesterday we got to have lunch with the family at the Racing Club ("rah-ceeng cloob") where we had barbequed pork chops with chimichurri, baked potaoes with cheese sauce, corn on the cob, and fresh tomatoes with lime juice salad dressing. MMMMMMMM! I LOVE Peruvian food- lots of garlic, onions, spice, and cilantro. Afterwards Eric and I went to a small bar so he could try a Pisco Sour. The owners were very friendly, and made the drinks so strong (which is typical) that I was beet faced halfway through, and couldn´t finish it.

As we planned earlier (which is a mission in Latin America), Eric and I had the family taxi driver, Miguel Angel, pick us up around 8pm to head to the Cruz del Sur bus station. From there we took an overnight, coche-cama bus to Trujillo in the north, where we then took another bus to Puerto Chicama. Waiting for the second bus was hilarious; we were at the corner of a busy intersection where buses were constantly passing by for pickups and dropoffs. Our first 2 El Dorado buses to Puerto Chicama were full, and the bus stop attendant told us "you have to run!" ("¡Tienen que correr!" When we finally saw another El DOrado bus, we hauled ass to get on almost before it stopped, and behind us the attendant shouted "that´s how you run!" (¿Así is como corren!)

About an hour later we arrived in Puerto Chicama- home of the longest left hand wave in the world. Within 2 hours of arriving, we were in the water after checking into the hostel "El Hombre." And here we are- whew! Sorry for the long post, I had some catching up to do!!! Pictures yet to come! I love you allll!!!!!!!!

Viene el sol

I posted some photos below- I guess I´ll need to make them smaller!

Bibi, Pochi, Vaughn and I went to downtown Lima yesterday- sensory overload to say the least! Crowds of people were shopping and eating and chillin in a huge plaza surrounded by government palaces..er...housing. We also visited a huge department store that used to be a bank- complete with marble flooring and looming columns.

Today the sun came out so I went to the rocky beach and enjoyed watching the locals enjoy their Saturday. It´s surprisingly cool here in La Punta, with a near-constant ocean breeze. When the sun is out however, I can feel my tan coming on!

Currently I await the return of the family from a visit with Grandma so we can eat lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, and it´s normal to not really eat dinner. Yesterday for lunch I had rice with deliciously seasoned ground beef and a fried plantain. MMMMMMM! Sorry Eric, I don´t know how well the food will travel!

Until next time- cheers!

The Journey

¡Hola a todos!

I have been in Peru only one day and it already feels like a lifetime! I departed Oceanside, Ca at about 9am yesterday, after missing the train I was originally supposed to catch. That left me at LA´s Union Station at 1115am- 15 minutes before I was supposed to be at the airport. Luckily the shuttle bus left promptly at 1130 and there wasn´t much traffic to LAX. Lines, lines, and more lines, however, got me to my gate right as they began boarding (whew!). I landed a middle seat between a Mexican businessman and a Korean kid who only woke up long enough to drink a beer.

The Mexico City airport was grandiose to say the least, and much nicer than LAX! I enjoyed my 4 hours there (after 2 bag searches) in the typical American fashion- with a burger and a beer in Chili´s Too. They had awesome classic music videos on like ¨YMCA¨and ¨Strangers in the Night¨- good times!

The second flight went off without a hitch, despite some disturbing rattling and banging noises as we took off. We arrived promptly at 650am and Bibi´s dad was waiting at the snack booth in a Detroit Red Wings hat as promised.

Since my arrival I have had the pleasure of getting to know Bibi´s (Yvette´s) parents, Vaughn and Pochi. They have fed me and given me a tour of La Punta, which is a beautiful and almost utopian town reminiscent of Cadiz, Spain. Vaughn has some fantastic stories ranging anywhere from local politics to life as a kid in Detroit, Michigan. Funny that my whole extended family is from Michigan- ¡pequeño mundo!

That being said, I am safe, well fed, and loving Peru already! Bibi arrives at midnight tonight and I am excited at the ventures we will embark on.

Much love to all my peeps!!!

Antes del viaje...

First blog post for South America trip! Super excited! Preparation has been thorough- from completing my taxes to finishing a documentary I've been working on for Outdoor Outreach (will post that eventually).

I leave this Thursday for San Diego to visit Ramon and other sorely missed friends. Then on Feb. 16th I leave from LAX to Lima, Peru via Mexico City. The emotions passing through my system right now run the gamut- anxious, excited, nervous, ecstatic, apprehensive, fortunate... any aspect of the human condition that you can name I've probably felt in that last 2 weeks.

I really look forward to hanging with Bibi and her family in Peru, and doing a mountain adventure journey with Jess and Ramon in Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. I wish everyone I knew could join us! You all will be with us in spirit, however, as I will be thinking of you constantly!

Now back to preparation! It's a sunny day here in Rough and Ready- great weather for getting things accomplished!