Lima, Peru (Miraflores)

It is the first day of summer but it is overcast. It is humid. It is windy. Ashley is cold. I am warm. It is breezy but the humidity and the ocean have created a fog of sorts. The kind of fog that the breeze cannot clear away. I could not see the city when we flew in; it was dark. I cannot see the city now; there is fog. The smell of the ocean is familiar. The smell of the trees and bushes is not. The smell of gas fumes is familiar. The smell of humid, dusty concrete is as well but only from distant memories; Delhi and Minneapolis.

We walked down the road today and saw a busy Friday city. We were not greeted, hustled, harassed, smiled at, or asked questions of. There are many travellers in Lima. The people keep to their own business; not unlike home. Unlike home the buildings are very worn. Many are in disrepair and construction is all around. Garbage bags are piled in random places waiting to be picked up by the unseen garbage service seen last night at 4am.

We were told to go to the market. We went. We went to a mall that was building into the cliff facing the ocean. We found Peruvian hand-crafts; it was right beside Gucci. On a large balcony was TGI Fridays and around the corner was KFC pollo. It was exotic. We will be going downtown tomorrow to see the sights. We will buy bus tickets to Pisco and continue south from there.



Erik