Peru, Nice to Meet You!

I am fairly certain that my level of depression would have prevented me from leaving Colombia had I not been looking forward to my next stop: Peru.

My flight departed Bogota around 1:30 pm on Sunday. I arrived in Lima at 4:30 after a three hour flight and was greeted by my friend, Don (most commonly known as "The Don"). The Don is a very close friend of my cousin, Dave, and I have known him for most of my life. As a result, he is a bit of a big cousin to me. The Don is originally from Pittsburgh (go Steelers!), currently lives in Ohio, and has never been to South America. He arrived on Saturday, a day before me, and was eager to pick me up at the airport. I am quite certain his excitement was in part attributed to my Spanish speaking ability. From the airport, we took a cab to our hotel for the night, Hotel Kamana. We were only staying in Lima for one night before leaving to Cusco the following morning. Therefore, we chose this hotel because it was inexpensive, 15 minutes from the airport, and located in the Historic Centre of Lima. Turns out, besides saving some money, we were given the opportunity to really get a glimpse of a typical Sunday night among the Peruvian population. The Centre of Lima and its surrounding sites are far from touristy. We were probably the only Americans, Europeans, or other gringos for miles. Therefore, our stay in the Historic Centre of Lima gave us a unique view of  Peruvian life.

Upon dropping off my bag, we ventured into the jam packed streets which were overflowing with people, mostly babies. It seemed like every other person was under the age of five and each family had at least three children. This was a major culture shock coming from Bogota. I figured both these enormous Latin American, capital cities would have something in common besides the langage, but that was far from the case. The Peruvian population is far more indigenous than Colombians. I do not mean 'indigenous' in a derogatory or negative way (see footnote). What I mean by the word 'indigenous' is that their features have far less of a European influence, as opposed to Colombians who wore very modern clothing, were taller, and had a flare for dyed hair, new styles, and familiar appearance. In Peru, you could see the artisan influence in their bright, woven clothing, and their strong heritage with very dark features and short statue. In other words, an outsider would likely confuse a Colombian as European or American, which is not the case with Peruvians, as their heritage was very apparent in their clothing, appearance, and features.



Categral de Lima en Plaza Major

After wandering around we stumbled upon the Plaza Mayor, or Plaza de Armas of Lima, which is the birthplace of the city of Lima, as well as the core of the city. This plaza is very large and is surrounded by various historical landmarks including the Government Palace, Cathedral of Lima, Archbishop's Palace of Lima, the Municipal Palace, and the Palace of the Union. At the time, I was only able to identify the Cathedral of Lima and the Government Palace, as it was ssurrounded by military guards and even a tank. Lima is similar to every other Latin American city as it has a main plaza which contains the main cathedral. If you are ever lost in Latin America, ask for the church. It doesn't matter if you are in a small pueblo/town, or a large city, such as Lima, every Latin American city has a plaza and the church always faces the plaza. This serves as a central meeting place, full of music, families, pedestrians, art, and great restaurants. Speaking of restaurants, I ate lomo saltado, a typical Peruvian plate, at a restaurant that overlooked the Rio Rimac and the thousands of pedestrians that walked along the river. From this vantage point, I observed the strangest happenings. There were hundreds of the same vendors set up in miniature booths along the river. They stood with thousands or balloons, hundreds of teddy bears, various key chains, tee-shirts, beaded jewelry, and other strange little trinkets. However, none of the pedestrians stopped to purchase anything except for ice cream. Also, I assumed that the thousands of families on foot were heading to a particular destination or main attraction, but it seems as though they were just walking in circles.

 After leaving the balcony, we headed down into the crowd to further investigate. Finally, we walked up to a large crowd of hundreds of people to see what it was all about. Turns out, at the center of the group there was a Michael Jackson impersonator. About a hundred feet later, another group was crowded around a mariachi singer. Later, a comedian/clown. This went on for miles - the same trinkets, similar street performers, and same families with five babies following behind. It was almost as though we got dropped into a twisted carnival in Peru, where the vendors were selling merchandise they uncovered from a shipwrecked cargo ship from the early 90's. Very strange indeed.

Early Monday morning we left our hotel for the airport. I had with me far too many bags to bring with me to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Hotel Kamana was nice enough to store my largest bag for the four days we would be gone. This made me a little nervous. As I handed off my bag, I figured there was a slight chance I may never see it again. We arrived at the airport an hour and a half before our flight only to find out it was cancelled. I later heard from another sales representative the flight was overbooked, then cancelled, then weather problems were to blame. Something wasn't right. I saw on the large flight monitor that there were several LAN flights going to Cusco that morning and was certain I could talk my way onto one. Especially since the cheapest airfare for an American from Lima to Cusco costs over $300. At first, the LAN flight counter stated there was nothing they could do besides get us on a 1 pm flight. Although we technically could have waited four hours for this flight, I refused to accept the fact we were going to spend my first day in Peru at the Lima airport instead of site-seeing in Cusco. I asked the sales associate to speak with her manager, clearly pointing out that our flights cost over $700. I also told them that we had a train to catch, which was true except our train wasn't departing Cusco until the following day. I wasn't trying to be intimidating but the sales associate appeared to be scared and after speaking to her manager, she told us to follow her quickly. I wasn't quite sure where we were going but I went along with it. She used her badge to get us through the security gates, put our suitcases through the security belt ahead of other guests, flew us through the long lines into the terminal, and led us into a maze of people that were waiting to board the next flight to Cusco. She then told us to wait.



View from airplane. Cusco, Peru

 I must say, I was beginning to feel bad. This sales associate went above and beyond, getting us through security in a little under three minutes. She also stood with fear in her eyes as she worked with the supervisor to get us on the waiting list. After the plane began boarding, she'd look up at me from time to time to see if I was glaring at her. I smiled and tried to show her that I was not going to be upset either way. Unfortunately, she was unable to get us on that flight and instead of giving up, she ran us to the second floor of the Lima airport! This floor had another flight boarding to Cusco. Just before the doors began to close, she personally lead our suitcases down the jet way and put baggage tags on them! She even handed us ticket stubs with the seat assignment crossed out and a new seat scribbled on it. This woman found a nearly impossible way to get us on the last flight to Cusco that morning. Right before we boarded, I gave her a huge hug. She seemed surprised but then gave me a gigantic smile, proud of what she accomplished. If this adventure taught me anything, it is that nothing is certain in Peru. People are very laid back and the rules are not set in stone. If you are friendly yet push hard enough, you can get anything you want. I practiced this new found knowledge later that day after arriving in Cusco...

Travel Tip: I learned from Peruvians that the term 'indigenous' is often considered an insult and has a negative connotation. The reason being is that the term is attached to poverty, as the Europeans would shun indigenous people from society. This is similar to the word 'cholo', which translates to a mixed breed dog. Sadly, the Spaniards used that word also to call indigenous people and those mixed with them. Therefore, be mindful of this if/when traveling in Peru and other Latin American countries.