Peru Day 1 & 2
Hey guys! It's Andrea typing again!
Finally the day we had been talking about for over two years had arrived. The morning we left seemed so surreal. My mom, Jackie, Maria, and Sarah were in one car. And I was in another with my wonderful boyfriend, Patrick. The ride to the airport was filled with mixed emotions. I've never been the one to leave before so it was difficult knowing what to say to make things better. When the final good byes occurred I balled like a baby! Then we were on the plane!
This plane ride seemed different than all the ones before. I don't know if it was because I knew we weren't coming home for a while or if it really DID feel different? I kept waking up and time felt like it was moving as slow as molasses. After the fifth time of "Tarzan" playing on the TV screen we finally landed in Lima! We got our packs when I was stopped by an English girl who accused me of stealing her bag and insisted on looking through mine to be sure. I continually said to her that it was mine and it was in my Osprey cover bag. She reluctantly agreed it was mine but I could still feel her eyes on my bag as if it was hers! We passed through customs and found our driver with a sign with Jackie's name on it. We got into his car and was whisked away to our hostel "1900 Backpackers." The hostel itself was an old mansion, and it definitely felt that way as soon as you walked through their doors. We arrived so late and could tell there were people sleeping in our dorm room that we all slept in the clothes we arrived and we didn't even brush our teeth!
The next morning we awoke for breakfast. "MMM breakfast!" was my thoughts! But I was quickly put in my place that breakfast from here on out would consist of bread, butter and jelly. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for breakfast and food in my belly but I LOVEEEE American breakfast...and it is setting in fast for me that I will have to wait to enjoy that again when I get back to the states! We got ready after breakfast and met our room mates. They were from England who just visited Mexico before landing in Lima themselves. They were super friendly and we talked with them while we re-arranged our packs. Then we headed out into Lima. Lima, what can I say about this city? It was filled with wonderful smells, smiley people, and it felt like any other city I've been to. Maybe it's just me, but I don't particularly love cities so my opinion is bias. I am much looking forward to getting out into nature soon and seeing the sights there! We ate lunch at a little restaurant in an alley. Now if someone asked me where this said restaurant is located I couldn't tell them even if there was a gun to the back of my head! But the food was good! The kitchen was the size of my bathroom at home! And I still don't know how they shelled out gourmet food from it! It was a good sign when we were the only "touristy looking" people amongst all locals. Jackie and Maria ordered Lomo Saltado and I ordered a chicken dish. It was muy bien! All three meals amounted to $9 USD! What a steal! We then made our way back to the hostel where we ordered an Uber and headed out to our next hostel.
We arrived to Pirawana Hostel that evening. We explored by foot the streets of Mira Flores District. We found the same Super Mercado Jackie and I bought food from the last time we were here! We all bought fruit, cheese, and other snacks for dinner and we walked back to our hotel. Today, I think we walked about 7 miles all together! DANG!!!! And by the time we got back to our hostel and ate our dinner I was ready for bed...but first we showered. I used the Lush bars Jackie purchased for us prior to leaving. The Lush bar was AMAZING!!! I'm suggesting it to everyone who uses shampoo! My hair is silky and soft and it's thanks to this miracle bar! After we showered we all went to bed!
This morning (10/27) I woke up in our dorm style hostel around 6AM. I felt like I was at sleep away camp. Everyone was still asleep and all I wanted to do was use the bathroom but that required me to get down from the top bunk. So I laid there for a solid hour before making my way to the bathroom. I know, I know! I should have just gotten up right away but I'm sure if you all were in my shoes you would have done the same thing! AMIRITE?! We all then woke up around 10AM and made our way down to breakfast. Again, it was bread, butter and jelly but this time they had oatmeal and cereal! I LOVE cereal so I of course got a huge bowl of what looked to be COCO Puffs. I sat down at the table and took a bite and it was the most disgusting bowl of cereal I've ever had! I know, that sounded way dramatic, but it's the truth! Jackie then reminded me of the oatmeal they had, so we both got up and got some. Jackie ladled me some in my empty bowl and I couldn't help but make a comment about "how it feels like we are in prison!" We both laughed and sat down and ate it. The oatmeal wasn't Quacker Oats but it was a lot better than the bowl of "CoCo Puffs." We then got ready and made our way to Barranco District.
It was a scenic walk along the Pacific Ocean about a mile and a half away from our hostel. The town was so quaint and cute! There was live music playing and we stopped by a fountain to eat our mid day snacks. We kept saying "This still doesn't seem real!" But you know what? I hope it continues to feel that way for the rest of our trip! I hope there it always feels new and exciting so I never take this for granted! But I will say that transitioning from the corporate world to an unemployed nomad was an easy situation! Too easy...which makes me question: Could I ever go back?! I guess that will be a topic we will cover post trip. Right now, we will keep focusing on the task at hand! We explored the district and stumbled upon a place to purchase bus tickets. With my choppy Spanish and the ticket holders broken English we were able to buy tickets for tomorrow's bus ride for $13 each that included lunch! SCORE!
It was a scenic walk along the Pacific Ocean about a mile and a half away from our hostel. The town was so quaint and cute! There was live music playing and we stopped by a fountain to eat our mid day snacks. We kept saying "This still doesn't seem real!" But you know what? I hope it continues to feel that way for the rest of our trip! I hope there it always feels new and exciting so I never take this for granted! But I will say that transitioning from the corporate world to an unemployed nomad was an easy situation! Too easy...which makes me question: Could I ever go back?! I guess that will be a topic we will cover post trip. Right now, we will keep focusing on the task at hand! We explored the district and stumbled upon a place to purchase bus tickets. With my choppy Spanish and the ticket holders broken English we were able to buy tickets for tomorrow's bus ride for $13 each that included lunch! SCORE!
After exploring the Barranco District, we made our way past the famous sculpture "El Beso," and took a couple of pictures. We then found a spot where locals and tourists alike were running off a cliff to paraglide! It was pretty cool to see and it got Jackie and I pumped about hang gliding in Rio De Janeiro when the time comes! We made our way back to the Super Mercado where the same man with the cheese samples from the day before showered us with more cheese and we bought dinner for the evening. We went back to our hostel to eat and after a 9 mile day of walking we were hungry! After dinner we hung out in our hostel and re packed our bags. Tomorrow we are catching a bus at 10AM to head to Huacachina, Peru. Will update everyone tomorrow! XOXO
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