mrmiah

Lima is crazy! There are about 8 million people in this insane city.
Customs was a smooth hour wait. I couldn't speak any Spanish so the
frustrated customs agent just stamped my passport and and waved me
through. After picking up my bag the insanity started. It seemed
that half of Lima came out to greet me and all of them wanted to give
me a ride. My friend Hans who flew in a couple of days earlier had a
close call, but had the wit and balls to ward off a mugging from a bad
taxi driver. I had heard many such stories so I was very very careful
about which driver i picked out. I found a small old man that i knew
i could take, and he stunk of vodka, so I knew the odds were doubly in
my favor. I negotiated a price (challenging when you don't know your
numbers!) and off we went. Seeing Lima through that taxi window that
night was a sight I wont soon forget. My driver got lost, and we
eventually got a police escort to my place. Our place is great!
Fully furnished, two bedrooms, living room, patio out back, stocked
kitchen, all the first world things you'd expect in say, Miami. We've
got this place for all of January so hopefully i can save some money
for the rest of the trip.

Lima is host to one of the most amazing Paragliding launch sites in
the world. Ive spent a couple of days watching my friends, old and
new, pull their chutes over their head in the strong ocean breeze and
pull to the cliff edge 800 feet over the Pacific before catching an
updraft and soring out over the ocean and up over the high rise
buildings of Lima that stretch to the coast. You can catch thermal
off of the buildings and buzz right next to the tourists drinking cafe
americano on the roof of the Marriott. Cool stuff indeed. I'm
looking forward to getting up there myself. Soon hopefully.

Me and Hans decided to go see what all this talk about Peruvian night
life was all about. On Friday we went to the Baranco district which
is well known for having lots of bars and clubs in close proximity.
Strolling the streets, damp from a slight drizzle, warm inside from
Pisco Sour (national drink i think) and watching all the lovely people
watch me kept my grin pinned to my ears. We went into one packed
nightclub type place to see if all this talk about how beautiful
Peruvian women are was true. OMG! I was waiting for Hans to get beer
and felt a tug on my arm as a beautiful short girl pulled me down to
ask if i spoke Spanish. We conversed as best we could and she took me
and Hans to meet her friends. It was still early and i felt pretty
silly being able to understand and communicate so little, so we
slipped away from that group and melted into the dance floor. A
couple of minutes later the silly feeling of not being communicate
evaporated as the most beautiful girl i've ever seen approached me.
We danced, we talked (or something like that) we laughed at each
others pathetic attempts to get each other to understand and as the
hours passed, and with the prompting of her friends we started
kissing. WOW. I don't think she was the kind of girl that goes home
with some gringo she just met, and i like to think I'm not the kind of
guy that would take her, so we had a long kiss goodbye, and i walked
out of the club...... I love Lima!!

Our typical routine is to wake up, find food, maybe visit some
markets, or go paragliding. I've been skating a bit, wondering around
the beaches and relearning yo yo tricks. Actually, last night after
having dinner, drinks, and a movie with the very successful owner of
the Paragliding school here, I decided to skate back to the house.
Its probably about two or three miles from the beach, and at 2:00 AM
it was a bit unnerving. I just kept moving through the dirty streets
and past all the prostitutes and begging children. Skating is a
really special way to experience a city. Your going fast enough to
cover lots of ground, and slow enough to take it all in. Alone, at
night, in a foreign country, and a crazy city on your skateboard, your
senses are completely on edge. All the smells, the cold feeling of
danger crawling up your spine, its all so thick that its guaranteed to
stick with your forever. This is living, dirty, sweaty, and scared,
but definitely real.

Thanks everyone for your notes. It's really great knowing you guys
are out there and enjoying this with me.

Miah