Here’s the Arequipa flickr set.

Greetings from Arequipa, Peru! Don’t know where that is? I didn’t either. Here’s a map. Look south, geography major:

I’m Novel Again

There are many fewer gringos here in Arequipa than in touristy Cuzco and more people glance/look/stare at me and my golden frock here. I’m at a point where it doesn’t bother me anymore and I’ve taken to smiling at people who stare at me. Kids tug on their parent’s hands and point, girls either ignore me or giggle, young guys usually assume a macho stance, and middle aged men nod at me.

How to Ignore Your Hosts Safety Advice: A walk with some locals outside the Green Zone

Upon arrival at the Bothy Hostel here in Arequipa, the guy working at the hostel explained to me where it was safe to walk. With a green marker, he indicated the 3 by 5 block area I could walk on safely as shown in this picture. I would chose to disregard this advice.

I arrived in Arequipa by bus from Cuzco at 6:30 in the morning. The sun was just coming up over the nearby volcano which is called “El Misti.” Not a very bad-ass name for a Volcano, eh? It sounds more like an 80′s era melon-flavored aspartame soft drink or perhaps the name of a My Little Pony. I probably would have gone with something more along the lines of “Lavador de Muerte” or “Senor Fuego y Terror.” Whatever.

I was tired by the time I got to the hostel. I find it impossible to sleep on buses and airplanes and instead spent the quiet hours of 2 to 4 in the morning listening to Wu Tang’s “36 Chambers.” This was, of course, after I was done being riveted to our family-friendly in-cabin entertainment of “Free Willy 3.” No joke.

After a 4 hour nap and a shower, with my Green Zone Map in hand, I set out to explore Arequipa. After walking all of four or five minutes, I sat down in a small park. A group of people came over and sat down next to me. They talked in Spanish for a while, and eventually I was able to understand something they said and laughed with them in that psuedo-creepy “Ha ha, what a funny bunch you are. Yes, I’m eavesdropping on your conversation and want you to include me in it even though you don’t know me” way.

The ploy worked because they started talking to me (en Espanol) without even seeming weirded out. They are a group of students here in Arequipa. We talked more, exchanged phone numbers and emails, and then went on our ways. Manuel walked with me and suggested a restaurant that I could get some good food Peruvian food at. I got a double hamburger.

A few hours later, after walking around some more by myself, two of the girls (Paty and Kharol) called and said they would be in the park and I met up with them to go for a walk. …Out of the Green Zone!

It was cool in it’s Devil-may-care rebelliousness against the forces of the Bothy Hostel that would seek to hold me down (and keep me safe?). They were decent enough guides and told me about things we were walking by. They explained some common tricks people might use to rob me and pointed out some dangerous areas. We walked to a hill-top park with a nice view of the city.

Additionally, we were hit up twice by a guy selling some religious piece of paper – once in each park by the same guy. The second time we saw him I said, somewhat sternly, “No. Lo siento.” (No. I’m sorry.) This prompted a surprise mini-tirade directed at me that I couldn’t really understand followed by him walking off in a huff.

Arequipa Lesson #1: Be gentle with your rejection statements to so-called “darker” guys selling things at night. The girls said, “He is dark. He is not from Arequipa. He’s from the mountains. He’s a rat and he will rob you at knife point if you are rude like that.” It seemed racist and holier-than-thou as they were talking about him in this manner, but I respect and appreciate any advice that could preclude a gringo slashing. Sorry, religious paper-selling guy. I don’t judge you, nor was my intention to be rude to you. I just don’t want to buy your religious paper.

Pomp and Circum-Prance: Arequipa’s “First Gay March”?

As I was finishing my late-night sandwich in a small restaurant, a commotion arose in the street. Hooting, hollering, honking-horns, and heavy-hootered harlots passed before my eyes. There were scantily-clad women walking, scantily-clad women on floats, plenty of normally-clad on-lookers, and annoyed taxis who were blocked by the parade. I paid for my meal and went outside to see what all the fuss about.

It was immediately evident that the well-endowed women I saw from inside the restaurant were men in dresses. I asked a middle-aged guy standing outside a different restaurant what it was and he said that it was the “first gay march in Arequipa.” It appeared more like Arequipa’s first transvestite / transgender march to me, but perhaps this particular Arequipenan isn’t as well versed as your average America at differentiating between the particulars of the GLBT community.

Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me. I didn’t want it to get taken if I ran in to the religious paper seller again.

The event made for an interesting, boisterous, fabulous, and surprisingly accepted occasion. I expected more negative shouts from the on-lookers, but most people just seemed to take it in and were curious about what was going to happen. Good stuff.

Hot Water and The Electrocutioner: A Silent Menace

Around 2 in the afternoon, the showers are at their hottest at the Bothy Hostel. The Incas would thank the Sun God for this. These cisterns are on the roof of the hostel. They have pipes that come up from the water supply to feed them. The water then goes through more pipes to these solar panels where it is heated. Next, the sun-heated water goes back in to the hostel and through this inline hot water booster that, while I’m having quiet, pensive cleaning time in the shower, I like to respectfully call “The Electrocutioner.”

I have yet to muster the courage to actually reach out and touch The Electrocutioner. It’s front three-way switch is very tempting – but more in a “Go ahead, Adam, eat the apple” kind of way. It silently and ever-menacingly does it’s job so I can enjoy a hot shower. A good system. A system of natural power charged by industrial fury and space-age plastics. A system I respect from a distance. Indeed, a good system.

Delicious Alpaca for Dinner and Dancing with Scottish Med Student Girls

I went for dinner on Friday night with a gaggle of girls who wanted to try alpaca meat. We went to a nicer restaurant in the Plaza de Armas with a view of the square – nice view. There were two Americans girls, me, and the rest of the girls were Scottish med students on an 8 week trip. I will also add that this occasion made for two more favorite pictures of the trip.

Alpaca is really tasty! It is a lighter meat – closer to beef than chicken – but very trim and not chewy. The entire table was roundly excited about the alpaca meat and gave it positive reviews. Que rico! Additionally, one of the girls managed to talk the restaurant tout in to giving us a free round of Pisco sours as he and three other people were vying for our business on the street. Nice.

From here we continued on to a bar called Deja Vu which we heard would have live music. It was a lot of fun. The America girls had to leave early so it was just me and the Scots. We compared cultures and talked about all manner of things. I got a kick out of the UK phrase “minger” (also used as an adjective, “minging,” meaning “ugly”) and they thought the US phrase “double fisting it” was about the dirtiest and most absurd way possible you could refer to someone with two drinks.

After Deja Vu, we went to a salsa bar. I tried. I really did. I’d call it a moderate success even. The Peruvian chick I was dancing with seemed alright enough dancing with me. She probably just had to ignore Dancing King Rico Suave next to us to avoid feeling like the Dancing Partner Gods gypped her. The Scottish girls, on the other hand, also had no idea what they were doing and were fine with all of it.

From there we went to another bar to dance and then yet another after that. By the end it was just me, Roisen (pictured above on left), and the tall blonde girl (right), who’s name I either never learned or have forgotten, dancing to a mix of electronica and Latin music. You should have seen the place erupt when a Shakira “My Hips Don’t Lie” remix came on.

After a bit of this I was exhausted and went back home. I reflected on the fact that I both had a fantastic evening and that I think my hips actually do lie. Whatever that means.

Go to Lima. Go Directly to Lima. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.

It’s been a good stay, but it’s gonna be a short stay here in Arequipa. Only three days and two nights. I’m headed back to Lima via another Cruz Del Sur Mobile Hotel Cruiser to arrive on Sunday morning in time to catch the Sunday morning paper, El Comercio. El Comercio is where Lima goes to find apartments and housing to rent. Sunday’s edition has the biggest selection of apartments in a convenient pull-out classifieds section.

I’m going to try to find a cheap place to stay for a month and call my own. I’m going to take some Spanish classes. Maybe I’ll join a club. (Do they have a model rocketry club in Lima? If not, maybe I can start it. For the kids. And for Steve Stiles.) Maybe I’ll even whore myself and my English language skillz out to people that want to practice speaking English with a native speaker! All of these could be both productive and a good way to meet more locals.

I like this idea. I like the idea of spending more time in one place than spending a little time in a lot of places. I’ve enjoyed seeing Cuzco and Arequipa, but it seems clear that – at least as I like things – I’m more prone to have meaningful experiences if I can take the time to be in one place, get to know it, and make friends. That has started in Lima, but, on the other hand, I had to leave Cuzco and friendly bartender Junior before I really even got to know them.

So, after a month in Lima, I won’t be an expert by any means, but I’ll have a pretty decent idea of what it’s like to live in the capitol of Peru. Pretty cool, eh?

Arequipa Flickr Set

Link to the Cuzco Flickr set is here and also at the bottom of this post. Plenty more pictures than included here.

From the living room of my Cuzco hotel, my shirt says it all:

My New Favorite Grocery Store. (Just try not to step on the skinned, severed cow heads after you’ve enjoyed your $1 lunch.)

The plain exterior of this building belies the awesomeness within. I’ve been in Cuzco for the last few days, and I’ve found a new and wonderful way to shop – in the Cuzco Municipal Market. Out of curiosity, I randomly walked in to see what was inside.

Before my eyes, aisles upon aisles of small vendor’s booths spread out before me. This place has everything: fruits, vegetables, cheese, bread, flowers, restaurants booths, and meat, MEAT, M E A T ! A full lunch is available for $1 and repared before your eyes by little old ladies. Two cups of fresh-squoze orange juice is 70 cents.

Everything is just piled up. Especially the meat. It sits on the floor, the counter, on top of other meat and various animal parts. At night when it’s time to close up the market, the meat is covered with tarps. As I was speaking with this young meat-seller and admiring the pile of intestines lying before him, I did not realize that my feet were literally inches from a skinned, severed cow head lying on the floor. It even came complete with a small pool of blood! (Click the image below if you’re ready for the cow head!)

I love the market. I sat down at one of the booths for soup. This was the incredible potato soup I ate for about 40 cents. I then washed it down with two glasses of orange juice prepared by this lady. (Sorry, Lady. Not the most flattering picture.)

The Soup:

The (not actually) Crazy-Eyed Juice Lady:

In summary: Right store, Right price! Take that, Kroger.

Welcome to Cuzco, Nathan

Well, the 21-hour bus ride is over. Even with kitten-top seats, that is a really long time to be on a bus that even included some nice bi-lingual signs telling me what parts of my anatomy the bus is not. Fortunately, my bag was not mis-routed to some other city.

I like Cuzco, though it’s a bit on the touristy side. The city itself has a really cool look to it. Nestled in the mountains, there are great views about anywhere you look. The temperature here varies much more than Lima. I’ve been wearing a heavier jacket and my IndyCar Series pull-over when I walk around at night.

A lot of people are affected by the altitude here, but I don’t seem to have any issues with it. I’m able to walk around without getting winded. My first day, I ran in to a friend from my hostel in Lima and he and I took a walk up to the hill at the top of the city. Not only is there a magnificent view, but a great big statue of our man, JC looking down on everybody.

I’m also enjoying the fact that if I smile at little kids around town, the usual reply is, “Gringo!” with a big smile back at me. It’s not limited to kids, either: even middle aged ladies will look at me and say “Gringo” as I’m walking down the street. Awesome.

Pirate DVDs for only 50 cents!

Machu Picchu: The Glory of the Incas and the IndyCar Series

After an early night on my first day in town recovering from the long bus ride, I got up at 5:30 in the morning to catch the train to Machu Picchu. It’s a beautiful four-hour train ride from Cuzco to the city of Aguascalientes, which is at the base of Machu Picchu. The train passes through the country side where you see farmers working and eventually gets to the mountains. Through the mountains, the tracks follow a beautiful river and pass through lots of forest.

Once you arrive in Aguascalientes, you take a bus up a winding mountain road to get to Machu Picchu itself. I met up with my tour guide and group and elected for the tour in Spanish rather than English. I think I even understood almost half of the general gist of what he said!

Machu Picchu is stunning. Maybe it’s cliché to say, but the picture that you’ve all seen of the Inca ruins against the picturesque mountain backdrop really doesn’t do it justice. Many people I’ve talked to about it say that they feel “magic” and “an energy” there. I’m not sure if I’d say that, but it was totally incredible. Quite worth the fairly expensive price to get there. Even a bumbling tour group full of overweight, gasping senoras could do little to tamp the spectacular views.

What’s more, I even brought my Nike Golf IndyCar Series pull over for it’s own Machu Picchu photo op! Way to go, IndyCar Series.

Inti Raymi: The Glory of the Sun God, A Plaza-turned Human Sardine Can, and Sexy Woman.

So, the main reason I decided to come to Cuzco in the first place was for the Inca Inti Raymi festival, which is a traditional celebration of the Inca Sun God. Apparently a LOT of other people thought the same thing because this town is packed with people.

There have been all sorts of public shows, dances, ceremonies, fireworks, and vendors around. It’s been quite a spectacle to behold. Especially yesterday on Tuesday, which is the actual day of the main celebration. It’s immediately evident that the people here take a lot of pride in the history of the event.

It’s also immediately evident that there is not enough room in the main plaza to watch the event. I was smashed like a sardine in a sea of people around the square. It was a bit unnerving if you let yourself think about what could happen if there was a stampede. People were constantly pushing as more and more tried to squeeze their way in to the limited space. Some people got panicky and had to leave, but once the parade finally arrived, it was pretty cool to see the people in traditional Inca garb doing traditional Inca ceremonies.

From the Plaza Mayor, the festival moves to the top of the hill to the Sacsayhuaman ruins that I walked to on my first day. No one that doesn’t speak Quechua seems to be able to say it without it sounding like “sexy woman.” I’ve enjoyed asking people if went to the sexy woman for the show.

Walking through the Inti Raymi Herd from Nathan Shipley on Vimeo.

Evening Inti Raymi Music and Dance! from Nathan Shipley on Vimeo.

Peruvian Cuisine: The Glory of Meat, Fries, and Rice!

French fries count as vegetables, right?

Ask a Peruvian and they’d probably say yes. It’s a bit hard to order a balanced meal at a restaurant, but, di-zamn, do I love this food. If you like lots of really tasty meat, fries, and rice with eggs on top, stop what you’re doing right now and come to Peru.

I still don’t have faith that I’ll actually gain any weight with this Peru’s caloric conquest of my stomach, but I’m enjoying the cholesterol like a person who’s never heard of the food pyramid.

Mobs of Gringos and Touts: Thoughts on touristy versus less-toursity things.

I think this will probably turn in to a more complete thought and perhaps it’s own entry as I spend more time traveling, but I really don’t get super-stoked about touristy things. Cuzco is touristy. It’s been interesting being in Machu Picchu after being in Lima. As I’ve mentioned, I like it here, but I’m just as happy (if not more) walking through Decapitated Cow Head Market with the locals as I am watching the dancers and parade of the Inti Raymi festival. The dusty, dirty little towns we passed through on the bus ride to Cuzco seem just as interesting to me as the decadent Plaza de Armas in Cuzco.

I think it comes down to an interest in talking to people and getting to know them for me. I have pointedly avoided going to crazy, bumping clubs full of Europeans in the evenings here and found a smaller, more local watering hole. It was both fun and enlightening to talk to the 18 year-old bartender named Junior, the owner of the bar, and the waitress for a few hours. Not that I wouldn’t have a grand old time grinding my junk (“dancing”) on drunk Euro girls in a smoky, bumpin’, flashy club, but I think good conversations can fit the bill nicely at times.

Maybe I’m getting old? I’ve just said no to the people trying to get me in to the tourist night clubs thus far. I don’t even slow my roll when the guys in the alley tell me they’ve got cocaine and weed. Thanks, elementary school drug PSAs.

Who knows. The good thing about going solo on this trip is that I can do whatever I want to do, even if it’s just sitting in a plaza and watching people go by for an hour and a half.

The next thing I’m going to do is head to Arequipa for a four night stay before heading back to Lima. My bus leaves in 4 hours. No idea what I’ll do there, but I look forward to it!

I Won’t Deny It. I’m a Straight Rider. (For Dan)

So many battlefield scars while driving in plush cars.

Finally, I managed to capture an image of the elusive Tupac combi here in Cuzco.

Here’s a link to the Flickr set for Cuzco!

As mentioned in my previous post, here’s some video of one of the sweet fountains at the Ciruito Magico del Agua in Lima:

Fountain in Circuito Magico del Agua in Lima Peru from Nathan Shipley on Vimeo.

Editors note: This post is arguably too long, but I don’t have the energy to pare it down right now. Latest flickr set is here.

Ride Like a King, Pay like a Pauper, but No Numero Dos!

I am currently sitting on a bus that is nicer than my house as I write this. I am headed on a 20 hour bus ride from Lima to Cuzco at the moment riding in the premiere-class level of a Peruvian Cruz Del Sur Bus. They refer to the leather seats as beds due to how far back they recline. They are as cushy as an over-stuffed couch covered in a layer of down pillows and a pile of fluffy fluffy kittens on top of that. They have a room on the bus for internet access. They played Lord of the Rings in Spanish. There will be a bus-wide Bingo game for a free ticket.

So, it’s very nice and all, but holds little chance of anything too out of the ordinary happening. That said, if I’m gonna be on a bus for 20 hours, this is how I’d want to do it. Cheaper than flying, I save a night’s hotel cost, and I get to see the country side. I might take a junk-o-tron chicken bus for the run back from Arequipa to Lima just for the hell of it.

The only thing I need to remember is not to take a dump in the toilet. Part of the attendant lady’s job is to come around and explicitly tell everyone not to shit in the bus bathroom. Page her if you need to drop the kids off at the pool. It made for a funny conversation in my psuedo-Spanish that ended in me finally understanding the meaning of the word “urinar” and saying, “Oh! Si! No numero dos! Entiendo.”

Oh. And I think my bag is on the wrong bus, but have no way of checking until I’m in Cuzco.

Heading to “The biggest festival of the year.”

Today is the first day in a week and two days I’ve left Lima. The roadside scenery quickly started to remind me of driving through Mexico once we got out of town. I’m enroute to Cuzco, high in the mountains and home of the Incas and Machu Pichu. I’m told that I should drink plenty of coca tea upon arrival to help me deal with the altitude sickness that I might encounter. Coca tea as in tea that uses coca leaves – the same ones used to make cocaine — but without anything illegal or druggie about it.

This idea started when someone at the hostel mentioned something about the “Inti Raymi Festival” in Cuzco and said it was on Tuesday the 24th. They mentioned something about it being an Inca celebration of the Sun God and “lots of fun.” Being the plan-less man who enjoys “fun” that I am, I booked a bus ticket and reservations in a hostel a few days ago. I don’t really know much about what I’m getting in to except that there are supposed to be a ton of people there, some elaborate parades and dances, and that it should be a big party. Word. I also want to take the train up to Machu Pichu.

As we passed through smaller towns on this bus, it gave me a hankering to make a stop in one of the small, dusty places once my Spanish is a bit more up to speed.

My Current Plan

After 3 nights and four days in Cuzco which will culminate on Tuesday’s Inti Raymi festival, I take another overnight bus to the city of Arequipa. I’ll be spending four nights in Arequipa and then heading back to Lima.

I find myself really enjoying Lima. Before I stop in the above-mentioned small and dusty town, I think I’m going to stick around Lima for another month and possibly take a Spanish class, though my Spanish is getting a lot better. I’m also looking in to getting a room or apartment in Lima. I have three days reserved in the hostel when I get back in which to look for a place to stay.

So what have I been doing these last few days?

Why, exploring and making friends, of course! I’ve been heading all over the city with my friend, Gaby — “Gabriela” if you’re not in to the whole brevity thing. She is a dental surgeon and knows all sorts of interesting things to see around the city and we’ve had a great time seeing them.

We went to Lima Centro and got to see some cool museums and an old Franciscan Cathedral with creepy catacombs. The catacombs feature 25-meter deep pits of human bones and 25,000 people buried there. Nice.

We also took a perilous bus ride to the top of a mountain overlooking all of Lima. It was pretty foggy, but gave a great impression of how honkin’ big Lima is. I got to light a candle and make a wish, as is tradition at the top of the mountain.

The coolest part of the day was our night walk through the fountain park. It was just recently completed and was made by the mayor of Lima to be the most elaborate and technologically advanced set of fountains in all of South America. He pulled no punches and it made for an awesome walk and sit.

Mobbed by Elementary School Kids (Featuring my favorite photo of the trip. See below.)

The next day, Gaby and I got together in the morning to go lap swimming at a recently built pool at an elementary school she has access to. I hadn’t been lap swimming in a long time, but it was refreshing and fun. I even managed to go a full lap of the pool under water without coming up for a breath. My flip-turn needs work, though.

I finished my shower and sat in a glass-walled room outside the pool and immediately next to the playground area as I waited for Gaby to finish showering.

It took no time at all for several elementary school kids to notice the out-of-place blonde gringo sitting there on the other side of the glass. One or two cautiously approached at first and then ran away when I looked up at them. Within two minutes there was a full-on mob behind me of screaming kids banging on the glass and rapidly asking me questions that I had trouble understanding.

I managed to isolate one kid’s question which was “WHAT IS YOUR NAAAMME??” They couldn’t understand my reply, so I wrote it on a note pad and held it up to the window. There was much giggling and “Ahh”-ing.

Next, they asked where I was from. I wrote on the paper “EEUU,” which stands for Estados Unidos. Upon writing the last “U,” all 30 of them screamed with delight, ran away from the window, and then ran back jumping, shouting, and banging.

Eventually, I got stuck outside with them and was cornered against the glass wall as rapid-fire mostly incomprehensible Spanish questions flew at me. The girls grew more and more gutsy and moved beyond basic demographic questions and started giggling and asking me all sorts of personal questions that Gaby translated for me.

We actually had to wait until recess was over to leave the school to avoid a mob. The rest of the day was spent walking, sitting, eating, and doing some apartment research.

This is pretty amazing, people. I have moments where I’ll stop, think about what I’m doing, and then just laugh and smile.

I think I’m finally getting used to not having a cell phone in my pocket. Every time I stood up and patted my pockets for a few days I felt partially naked without it. However, it’s now been replaced with my trusty pocket camera. Good deal.

Dinner, Skee-Ball, and Drinks with a Peruana

I met up with a friend here in Lima named Johanna on Monday night. We met in a park near the mall in the Miraflores part of Lima, which is a nice area of town. We walked around, talked, looked at the ocean, had dinner, and quickly ascertained that she is an absolutely terrible Skee-Ball player. Terrible as in she didn’t even get the ball beyond the gate into the hole area for the first six or seven throws — more of a baseball throw, really. That said, it was funny and turned out to be a great night. Our prize we bought with the 5 tickets we earned was a single-serv Halls cough drop.

Afterwards, one of her friends joined us and we went to a little bar and saw some live music featuring this guy, who included a quite good cover of Across the Universe in his repertoire. I call him Peruvian Dan McDowell.

The whole evening made for great Spanish practice and I actually got to hang out with locals rather than just the hostel crowd.

Lima Exploration, Food, and Public Transport:

Earlier in the day, I took a combi to Lima Centro, the downtown area and went to the main plaza. Combis are Lima’s public transportation solution. They are crappy, loud, thick-smoke-belching buses of all different sizes that go on specific routes around the town. Each route has buses with a distinctive paint job and the names of the places the bus goes to painted on the side of it. The cost for the 45 minute ride was about 33 cents. The bigger buses leave a wake of dark smoke and screaming car alarms after them as they barrel through the streets.

I’ve also quickly learned that pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here. If you’re in the street and cars are headed for you, get the F out of the way because they are not going to slow down for you. It doesn’t matter who you are. Our combi almost took out a little old lady today who lurched into a psuedo-run to get out of the way of the Green Monster.

I also had a delicious Peru style lunch. Some fantastic slightly salty mixture of beef, tomatoes, and onions on top of a pile of fries. There were two over-easy eggs on top of that and a side of rice. It was a veritable ton of artery-clogging goodness and it cost all of $3.50 to sit down and eat in a restaurant.

Yesterday I went on a walk with a couple friends I met at the hostel — Joe from Seattle and Melissa from London. We went to the Chorrillos area south of where we’re staying and went down to the beach. The sun was out all day long which is quite a rarity for Lima in the winter. It was quite refreshing. Here are some shots from our outing:

Sunday Evening: Observing the Sabbath. Keeping it Holy?

After the walk, almost everyone in the hostel ended up staying in for the evening, talking, having some beers, laughing, and sharing travel stories and reflections. It was pretty interesting in that I could already relate to some of what they were talking about in the short time I’ve been here. Especially the way that people flash in and out of your life. You meet someone, you might really connect with them, you spend time exploring a new place with them, and then off they go to another place. I’d say my first one would be Eitan from Jersey. Cool guy. I’ll be sure to pour one out for him.

So what next?

Good question. I’m planning on heading south as previously mentioned. I thought I would go right to Ariquipa, but I may go to Cusco first instead for the Inti Raymi Festival, celebrating the sun God. However, I think I may put it off a week. It sounds like I’ve got a chance to go on a side trip with Johanna, her daughter, and some of her friends and family on Friday/Saturday. They want to show me the city of Ica. Going with a group of Peruvians sounds like a great way to get to see the place.

The only issue is that my hostel is full and I’ll have to find somewhere else to stay for a few days. I love this hostel. I’m also told by numerous people that it’s one of the nicest one they’ve been in and not to expect this level of comfort and general coolness in other place. I’m sure I’ll figure it out.

To be eloquent about it all: Lima is cool. Peru is cool. Traveling is cool. This trip is already incredible and horizon-expanding. I’m glad I’m here and I’m even getting used to the usual stare I get at my bright blonde hair.

Shipley out.

-EDIT- Brian, who was not being an idiot, helpfully pointed out that I had accidentally set the pictures to be private. Photo gallery should work now.

Things are still going well, people! I’m currently assessing my next move once my 4 days are up here at the hostel. I’m stepping back a little bit from renting a place in Lima and considering heading south to Ariquepa next. Maybe after a week?

It’s been a fantastic atmosphere at the hostel. I’ve met and hug out with people from all around the world. Aussies, Canadians, Americans, an Israeli, Londoners, a French girl, and, of course, a bunch of Peruvians. We all went out last night as well.

I’ve got a lot more I want to say, but don’t have time to write it now. Peru is playing Colombia in a soccer game tonight that everyone is all excited about. I’m gonna go catch the game at a bar after a meal – should be fun.

In the mean time, here are some pictures. Check out this set on my flickr page to see some of what I’ve been up to!

http://flickr.com/photos/citizenplain/sets/72157605611023930/

That’s all for now!