Day 2: Juice and Catcalls

Had set our alarm for 7:30am, woke up reluctantly at 8am.

We had decided we would walk downtown rather than taking a bus. The street by the hostel was Arequipa St, and would take us all the way downtown (directly north), so directions would be fairly easy. We had some tea y pan, and set out on our way.

Traffic is completely insane in Lima, so the most difficulty we had was crossing the streets every block. We also got a lot of catcalls, honking, and greetings in English. It got old really fast.

An hour and a half later, we found Q street (Quilca, but Carrie had forgotten the name--typical) and Plaza San Martín. Tired and dehydrated, we walked around the outskirts of the Plaza and found a tiny hole in the wall place where we could get water and some food (couldn´t buy it earlier because no one would take big bills for a S/ .80 water. Carrie got some coffee, and then I tried to ask for some papaya (as we saw a platter sitting in a cooler) in Spanish. I, sucking at Spanish, didn´t recognize the word "jugo" and just nodded. We ended up getting papaya juice, which is pretty much just liquified papaya. I got an egg sandwich, which was just fantastic. We had to bother her to change S/ 50 for the meal, but we thanked her profusely. We walked to the Plaza de Armas, saw the changing of the guard (complete with a marching band) and went into the cathedral. I enjoyed the crypt most with its baby coffins and skulls, but it was a very beautiful cathedral, excepting the tomb of Francisco Pizarro. Carrie enjoyed the nativity scene with blinking lights.

We wandered down some random street and across the river, then turned back and got empanadas (weren´t warm, sadly) and water and called gringos. A bus to return to Miraflores took 30 minutes and cost around S/ 3. We walked back to the Parque del Amor, and saw Japanese tourists and people taking wedding photos. Showered back at the hostel before meeting up with Amaru in front of another cathedral. Took a bus to Barranca, where it was quiet and not very touristy. It was nice getting a tour from a "local". Walked down to beach and had "getting hit on in Lima" summed up by a group of less than reputable teenage boys.

Our feet hurt so much, but we walked all the way back to Miraflores along the beach, and I tried to explain the obseity-cancer link to Amaru in Spanglish. Carrie made fun of me when no one understood a word I was saying. We saw a pelican and the sunset, and terrifying cliffs beside the road that houses and buildings were built on. Terrifying.

Back in Miraflores we went to the best sandwich play on earth, and had fantastic juice. We sat and talked with Amaru for about an hour or so, and eventually left when the creepy white guy staring at us wouldn´t go away. The breeze had also gotten quite cold. We walked with Amaru to the supermarket and argued over the size of water bottles. Heard the song "Girls just wanna have fun" over the intercom and laughed.

We said goodbye to Amaru, and gave him our email addresses. Went to buy tweezers at the pharmacy (it had become a very necessary purchase).