La Playa-The Beach

Things have improved significantly since The Day from Hell (it´s only up hill from here!). Two days ago, my room mate from Germany and I travelled to the beach, a taxi drive to the terminal, three and a half hours by bus, then a motorcycle-taxi-box ride to the beach, and we arrive as the sun is setting. It was so beautiful, but we were panicked because we had no idea what this beach would be like, and knowing how difficult it would be to set up my tent and get a fire going in pitch black, without a flashlight. We were told we could walk from where the bus dropped us off (we were the ONLY two people left on the bus at this stop, the end of the line, I presume), and with the rapidly setting sun, we booked it, but realized how far it really was, and eventually, with some luck, a taxi came by and picked us up. With so many possibilities to go wrong in this two day trip, nothing, besides some serious sunburn, did. Another girl was supposed to join us, but she had planned to go on another trip the next day, and ended up having to leave at 3am on the bus, so she didn´t come. Just Sabine and I, the roaring ocean, and thankfully, A LOT of lights (it looked just like any beach front, with the sidewalk, the pool, public restrooms (for which you have to pay) and the bright lights. There was also a caravan of people with their own tents, music, dancing, etc which we steered clear of. You never know what you´ll find in these places. We stuck to ourselves, chatted the evening a way (in English, thank god) and went to bed around 1 or 2. I hadn´t been in a tent since Maine, so it was a nice change of pace.

I woke before the sun came up, stumbled to the sea side to pee, and then back to bed for a few more hours...to be woken by some incredibly loud bang RIGHT next to the tent, which turned out to be a trash can they place out in the morning. Was it really necessary, I don´t know. I think the guy wanted to scare the shit out of some people early in the morning. Maybe that is how he gets his days started...in place of coffee. Much cheaper. We decided later in the morning to search for breakfast...which was more difficult than anticipated. The restaurants were just opening at 9am...and thought we were crazy to ask for breakfast. They serve only fish. Duh. So, we went to one of the semi open restaurants, asked for coffee. Nope. No coffee, okay, tea? Yeah, sure. Tea. Bread? No. Wait, yes. Butter? Cheese? Jam? Yes, no, yes, no, yes no. We ended up with two coffees, already prepared with milk and sugar. More sugar than you can possibly imagine. I can´t be sure there was even coffee in it. Then, two buns with cheese. At least we got something. We had been subsisting on bread, cheese and fruit, but mostly fruit, for all of yesterday , and we knew we could use something different, because that was all we had back at the tent. Oh well. We left with semi-full bellies.

After 9 am, we knew we wouldn´t survive with out one of the many umbrellas some vendor set up, of which hardly any was being used, so we rented one. They set it up right next to the tent. such service! We kept switching between the sun and shade, because the temperatures are so extreme, that ´staying in one or the other for too long can be terrible (freezing or scalding). Once the sun was unbearable enough, we went to the water. It was ridiculously cold. I felt like a little kid again, not wanting to get in for swim practice because it was just too cold. Once you get close enough to the water, the wind is so strong, you don´t even need to go in anymore to cool off. The sand is black, and the waves bring in teeny carcases of crabs, trash, and really black water. The pull of the water is so strong, I would be a basket case if I had to lifeguard something like that. You can barely stand up if the waves are above your knees.

The bus ride was beautiful, because we got to see a long stretch of Peru´s desert, which is one the West half is, for the most part. It is really quite bizarre, because for hours you see only desert, and than, once we get really close to the ocean, it becomes so green. There is a decent river, tons of agriculture (which is always so cool to see because the means of harvesting are so basic), grassy wetland areas, but this area isn´t safe from fires either. We saw one on the way, with firefighters, covered in soot, fought to put out the brush fire. I suspect it was from a cigarette, or burning trash, because it was right next to the road.

We saw beautiful flowers enveloping houses, acres of red peppers growing, potato plants with their innocent little white flowers, grazing fields for cows, and there is always a farmer never too far from his cows. They dont have fences, and instead tie their cows to corkscrew type things in the ground (similar to what people have for dogs in their yards). The cows can only graze in a small circumfrence, and therefore are moved every day, or half day. It´s a very controlled grazing technique, which can preserve land a lot better, otherwise they graze a little bit everywhere, rather than a lot in only one tiny space. One the way home, we realized how hard it must be for these farmers. The sun is so brutal here. They work every day, it seems, and harvest by hand...many of the farms are quite old, and look very fragile. There are as many women as men out in the fields.

The town neighboring the little beach we went to is highly agricultural, with nothing more than a school, homes, some little stores, kiosks selling candy and other random things, bicycles, and many cows being walked in the streets. They hate being led through the streets-no one likes to be the spectacle. Surrounding all of this are the many fields.

At the beach we also got to see some men in speedos, or their underwear, hard to tell, fishing with big nets. We´re not sure what they were catching, though there was an abundance of crabs running all round. What I liked best was how exciting it was for the kids. The trailed behind the men wherever they went, like seagulls flocking behind lobster boats in Maine.

It was a pretty relaxing trip to the beach, although the return trip took longer than arriving. We waited at several stops for far more time than we needed, and as we pull away, still more people are chasing after the bus to get on, and of course, the driver stops for everyone. They try to get as many people on the bus as possible, as it is more profitable, I am sure. By the end, the bus was full, the sun was setting, and I was ready to get home. I don´t know how people spend so much time on busses without even giving it a thought. I get so uncomfortable so quickly.

Now that we´re back at home, we have our Peruvian visitor, and she is really lovely. Sabine, Chris, the other American, and I went out with her to a few bars. We nearly got trapped in one after deciding not to stay, but to use the bathroom first before heading out, when about 50 police filed in without letting anyone out. This was a discotec, with tons of foreigners from all over the world. It seemed like a fun place. They wanted to see our ID´s, which of course I don´t bring with me, nor do I have a copy, and my Peruvian friend (we don´t know her name! ahh!) didn´t have hers either. They initially told us we couldn´t leave, but she talked to them, and I did, telling them we only came for the bathroom, and we didn´t drink anything. They let us go. There were police everywhere in the street. She suspected it was for drugs...but in my experience, it´s because there is underage drinkers (which is 18 and over here). I guess I will have to wait to see it in the papers, if I am lucky. Who knows how long we may have had to wait. Yikes.

What is so cool about this girl is that she is so independent. She´s on holiday, she lives in Lima, and decided to come to Arequipa to do some of the touristy stuff. She´s at the huge convent now (she missed the bus to go rafting because she slept late), and before that she went trekking in Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world, which has massive condors. All by herself, all without regard to needing a companion to go around with...Her profession is basically teaching pedagogy to teachers in Peru. She studied education, works for a textbook printer, and works with teachers about how to use the text books and how to teach children properly. Many of the teachers here in Peru are really below par. They lowered the standards so they could get more teachers, but the standards were already quite low. It really depends upon the salary, of course, as to what level of competency a teacher has.

Anyway, once I get more money (still don´t have my debit card) I am going to visit the convent, which is considered a citadel...and is one of the few buildings in the world that is permitted to wave the Vatican flag, which is kind of cool. There are still nuns cloistered there...about 2 dozen...as well as shops, restaurants and religious stuff all intermingled in this very very very old structure. I can´t wait. It´s right in the city, too.

After last night, I am convinced it would be a good idea to go to Lima. Maybe I could stay with our new friend when I go. Both Sabina and friend agree that there are way more cultural activities to attend and participate in...Lima is considered the London of South America. It´s really noisy, filthy, and a big ugly, but the content is really what matters. Music, art, museums, dance, educational facilities, historical sights...all in large quantities. We´ve got that stuff here, but just not as diverse. Apparently you can hear every language on the street. There is always someone you can talk to in your native language.

Next up on my agenda is to go to the Doctor. I am having some stomach problems that aren´t going away, and antibiotics didn´t do the trick either, making it impossible to travel without a bathroom nearby. That should be difficult, confusing, and probably will take a long time...but maybe by the end I will have some tests, and a conclusion. Hooray.

I will also be serving breakfast to the children twice a week in San Isidro, which means I get to go there twice in one day (four hours on the bus!). I may also help with going to the dentist...and on Tuesday´s and Thursday´s, I will go to Capoeira in the evenings. I really like it, but it´s really hard. This last practice, I just couldn´t muster the energy to finish the whole class. I had to leave early anyway for our weekly meeting. After a while, unless we are learning something new (of course, that depends on the group, not just me!), it gets really repetitive. They teach very rapidly, and if you don´t get it, they teach it to you again...but the demonstrations are often difficult to follow because they are so fluid and fast. The good news is, I am challenging myself, and there´s nothing wrong with that.