Back in Lima

I spent a few days in Huacachina, near Ica, which by bus lies 5 hours south of Lima. Ica is perhaps best known for its bodegas (wineries). Here, the famous Pisco is produced. It's a type of brandy that is made from the grapes that also make wine. Pisco comes in several different qualities: some for mixing to produce the famous Pisco Sour (the national drink containing Lime juice, sugar, ice and egg white), and others to be had straight up. I went to two separate bodegas, both of which offered free tastings and a tour through the complex, including a try at stomping on grapes. It was a lot of fun, but I'm glad I did not do both tours on the same day only because pisco is so strong...

This is Huacachina:

It's literally an oasis in the desert. There is only one road that goes around the lagoon and a walkway between the buildings and the water. The town exists only through tourism and is therefore unfortunately a tad expensive. I found a nice cheap place called "Salvatierra" though, which housed me in my own private room with bathroom for only around $5/night. The night when I arrived, I spent at the popular "Casa de Arena" (house of sand). For $7/night I had to share a room with 19 other people, and a bathroom with 20 more. That wouldn't have been so bad had they not built a bar/disco area right next to the dormitories whose windows didn't have glass and then blasted really obnoxious music until 4:30 every morning. This kept not just the sleeping people, but also the rest of the town up. Even when I stayed in Salvatierra I had to fight with myself not to close the window because of the noise. The desert heat always wins the argument in this case though.

Behind the person who took that picture of Huacachina are miles upon miles of sand dunes that are riddles with the notorious sand buggies (pronounce "boogees") that fly over huge dunes, often catching air and descending steep windy hills, eventually transporting thrill seeking tourists atop high dunes so that they can glide down on sand boards. Yes, I did it and I got to sit in the back of the buggy, which is of course the most fun! The sand boarding consisted of me lying down on the board, propped up on my forearms and shooting down the dune, trying to keep my mouth closed at all times to avoid getting too much sand between my teeth. 3 days afterwards I still found some sand in my ears, but I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it was!

I also went to the local museum in Ica, which had some great findings including creepy mummified people from the Inca empire, well preserved skulls showing intentional skull deformation, and even intricate textiles and pottery from over 200 BCE. Downtown Ica had some nice churches as far as I could tell, but the 2007 earthquake left the most impressive and important one in the state of being half-collapsed with one of the towers having fallen into the roof. I couldn't enter any of the churches unfortunately.

The following day I had plans of going to Nazca to see the lines. But I had to cut my trip through the south short due to the unexpected event of a taxi driver in Ica taking off with my backpacks which contained all my clothes for the travel, my camera, iPod, diaries, books and shoes. Nothing happened to me and the important things like my life, passport, money and computer were all spared.

I was lucky to have the help of many locals in Huacachina who offered me their help in not only finding the culprit but also in making me more comfortable. I went to the police to have a report written and looked at pictures of taxi drivers in the agency. All in vain.

The bus ride back was pretty emotional, surprisingly in a good way. In my hand I carried a small plastic bag with a bar of soap, a toothbrush, and some toothpaste. I didn't have to worry about people stealing anything and I was very happy to have my life and people that care about me--whether I've known them for years or just met them a few hours ago. Although it sucks to have your stuff stolen, I loved learning the value of non-material things.

The important thing is that I am safe and back in Lima now. I have moved into my apartment and it's awesome:

http://www.student-apartments-peru.com/index.htm

The owner is a young woman who has been extremely helpful by picking me up at the bus terminal (she actually has her own car, which is extremely rare here) and driving me to pick up clothes, towels, shampoo and a bit of food. I've mostly gotten everything back together now.

Right now I live with a French dude, a French girl (both students), one Canadian and a Colombian (both work) in Miraflores, very close to the center. It's a great apartment complex. It was sort of startling though coming from Ica, where I took a shower using a bucket of cold water, and coming here where I have hot running water and cable television.

During the second week of March I'll move to another apartment, owned by the same person in a different street. It's basically the same complex just on the other side of the main street, even closer to the main supermarket etc. Currently it is being painted, which is why I'm here for the time being.

My back-bench seat partner from the dune buggy was a Dutch man named Jan, who'd been travelling through Southamerica for 6 weeks. I found him again in Lima yesterday, sitting in a cafe in Miraflores and two of my housemates and I took him to this restaurant called el Punto Azul (Blue point) that serves almost only seafood dishes that are all to die for! The wait generally is about 30min-1hr and everybody is okay with that because they know what grandeur awaits them inside. It was truly fantastic!

Today felt like Christmas because I picked up my things that I had left in the South American Explorers Clubhouse and I could unpack some clothes that I hadn't brought on my travels. I feel a little more whole again. I also did my first load of laundry and visited a few bookstores in hopes to find The Fountainhead, which I couldn't finish before Mr. "christian" cabbie took off with it. I have a lead to a big bookstore and hopefully I can find that tomorrow.

Miraflores

Today I brought my luggage to The South American Explorers´club house where they can safely store it for me until I return to Lima. I decided not to bring my laptop with me for fear it would get stolen somehow. It´s just not worth the risk, especially with so many Internet cafe´s etc. around.

I took a taxi to the house, dropped off my stuff and walked to a German-owned vegetarian restaurant. The food was decent, unfortunately a little bland, but the neighborhood and customers were of a really interesting mix of people and cultures. I encountered a great many tourists and a lot of businesses that directed themselves towards foreigners (Like the ¨Sport Corner¨ bar and restaurant). The area looks completely different than Lince and other boroughs as it´s clean, rich and riddled with very expensive looking establishments.

At the very southern end of Miraflores is the ocean, covered in a dense layer of fog. There are some lovely look-outs and very friendly people everywhere.

Unfortunately I didn´t bring my camera with me today, but I will have ample opportunity to take pictures of Miraflores once I live there.

Tomorrow I´m off to meet with a fellow couchsurfer to have some coffee and after I´m taking the bus to go to Ica.

I will hopefully be able to find a computer there

El primer día en Lima

¡Hola!

I arrived in Lima around midnight last night and after waiting for 2 hours in line at inmigrations, I finally made it to Joel, who graciously picked me up and brought me to my first couch surfer host, Oscar (who has yet to arrive--right now I´m living with his house sitter/cleaning lady Señora Martha). Joel came back today and he showed me around town all day long. We went to a resaurant where I had ceviche (a traditional dish with raw fish and seafood meat that´s cooked by the acid of a lemon with lots of spices) as well as some kind of beef dish with lentils and rice, and this awesome drink made from a jungle plant, whose name I promised not to forget, but did. We walked around for hours, purchased a cell phone for me, visited la plaza de armas and la plaza de San Martin (the liberator of Peru from Spain) and went to a few parks and churches. Once I actually live here, I will be taking tours of the churches and surrounding area where I can really dig deep into the touristy information. Today I was just so grateful to be able to get a feel for this crazy city and find out what I do and don´t want to see. This city is full of life and people who are outside for the sake of being outside. The weather is beautifully hot and humid, but I´m preferring it over snow! On our way back to Joel´s house, we picked up a German couple that is currently travelling through the continent, after working in Ecuador for 6 months. They´re spending the night at Joel´s and I will probably meet up with them again tomorrow.




These pictures, again, are in no particular order



Bones in the catacombes

Pretty colorful houses on the mountain

Perro peruviano.

The churches here are full of colorful and bringt shrines.

Iglesia de San Francisco.

Basicila Catedral de Lima.

Plaza de armas. The fountain is original!

Remnants of the old town wall and Joel

Francisco Pizarro, conquistador de Peru

I saw the president of Peru, Alan Garcia Pérez, on my first day here. Mind you, I haven´t seen the president/chancellor of my own countries.

We arrived very late in his speech, but he ended it by saying that tremendous efforts are being made to protect our environment etc.

The fact that it has been continuously raining in the eastern part of Peru is not only draining the country of vital fiscal income through tourism, but should really alert people about climate change. This is becoming really scary indeed.

Lots of indigenous people

Palazo presidential.

This is a really pretty covered alley, unfortunately the picture doesn´t do it much justice. Just know that it was very impressive in person.

Tomorrow I shall figure out where I´m going on Wednesday and hopefully store my luggage in Miraflores.

Napa Valley

Yesterday Kristina and Pablo took me to Napa Valley to go wine tasting. The drive up was beautiful:





We went to il Castello di Amoroso which is built by some very rich guy who had 30 years and a lot of money on his hands. He imported original stone from Italy to build this very elaborate castle.









The bathroom window was open and had toilet paper on the sill :)

sheep!!!

The wine was very good too

A day in San Francisco

I took the Ferry from Larkspur into San Francisco to go explore with my friend Laura.

I got another great view of the San Quentin prison (I'm not sure why I find it so fascinating).

Golden Gate Bridge!

It rained while I was onboard but it all miraculously cleared up by the time we docked on the city and the rest of the day was absolutely beautiful.

Alcatraz:

This street drummer is apparently pretty well known and makes all his money through "hard work." He refuses welfare and says he would never beg or panhandle. He's got a pretty good groove going. Most amazing though was that he was playing when I arrived at noon time, and was still at it when I left the city at 7 pm.
At first, Laura and I took a walk through the Mission to have lunch at what she heard was the best burrito place in all of the Mission. This is no small feat since the Mission is perhaps the most Latin American (especially Mexican) populated area in the city and is positively riddled with taquerias and burrito places. The one we went to is located on Mission St. between 24th and 25th, and is simply called "La Taqueria." It's a tiny place but boasts a whole wall full of awards and a few Zagat plaques. The vegetarian Burritos we had truly were amazing although finding a seat and figuring out the ordering system did take a little bit of time.

Walking through the Mission after our lunch really was like a little introduction into Latin American culture. I heard Spanish music flowing out of every store, saw only hispanic people and smelled only hispanic food. It was great!
We came across this alley way--Clarion Alley--that is known for its street art. All horizontal spaces (and even the ground in some parts) are covered with paint and apparently the works are constantly changing as artists are inspired by existing pieces and either add more things or cover up older ones to express themselves anew. Alongside simply aesthetically pleasing and colorful murals are political messages that cover a wide range from peace and the state of our environment, to anti-religion pleas.







"Now finish you program hun. You know children in other countries don't get sensory overload"
"The same wind that uproots trees makes the grasses shine"
The beautiful Women's Building: It houses a highly-involved NGO that fights for and celebrates womanhood.
Orange Cable car. It's really neat when you stand on top of a steep hill and you can hear the chains rattling under ground like a roller coaster.
The Castro--former home of Harvey Milk and many many gay people. It's a beautiful place where people are proud of their sexuality and have no shame in looking into gay porn windows. For a simple New Hampshire girl like me it was truly uplifting to see so many gay couples holding hands and rainbow flags hanging along the streets and being integrated into municipal trash barrels. Go gays!
A pier next to the ferry house

China Town the day after Chinese New Years.
On our tour through the city we walked through the comparatively beautiful China town. It really is much more colorful and a lot happier than the NYC and Boston ones. We walked into a small side alley that housed a fortune cookie factory...well, it really was just a tiny old room and three women sitting on small stools alongside an ancient steam-engine cookie machine, folding the still soft dough into fortune cookie shapes. They charged you $.50 to take pictures and sold flat round, not yet fortune cookies in large bags. It smelled delicious!

China Town sort of bleds into North Beach, another very culturally and historically rich neighborhood. Perhaps most known for the birthplace of the Beatnik movement, it was also filled with landmarks like Cafe Triest, where the Godfather was written, and the City Lights Bookstore where Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems was discovered and first independently published.

And of course there was this: