the armpit of Peru

These are the phrases that people used to describe Lima when I told them I was going there: armpit, hellhole, "nothing nice." Does this look like a hellhole to you? In all the trash-talking, it had completely bypassed me that Lima is on the Pacific Ocean. I hadn't even brought a swimsuit with me.



The beach in Miraflores is my kind of armpit. A beautiful, verdant park stretches along the top of the cliff, where paragliders take off and float on the warm breezes. Our hostel--about 50 meters from the beach--was full of surfers. To be fair, Miraflores is a swankier part of town, about a 20-minute cab ride from the town's center, which is considerably more armpit-like. A cab driver told us that Lima was nice...except for, you know, these dozen neighborhoods. Then he asked me what my favorite soccer team was.

I loved Peru.

Party Market

This psychedelic scene is hidden by a few, scattered dark doorways in the Barrio Chino (Chinatown) of Lima, Peru. I almost walked right on by.



It's a maze of vendors selling centerpieces, party favors, gigantic styrofoam signs, invitations, and linens, mostly for weddings, children's birthdays, and quinceaneros (the big fifteenth birthday celebration for girls). My brother was shaking glitter off of his sleeve when we exited. Outside, though it was dark and almost 10 p.m., the streets were also filled with people shopping for food, clothes, and sundries. I wondered if all these shoppers had been working during the day, or if they just preferred to shop later at night when it is cooler--in both senses of the word.

PMTV

Stuart and I were walking back from the beach in Miraflores, a beautiful neighborhood of Lima, Peru, when we came across this highly entertaining scene.



This was just to the side of a very busy pathway leading to the beach, so other people kept stopping and staring. Apparently they were singing a well-known Catholic song. I don't remember how it goes other than there was a whole lot of God in there. Most people just slowed their pace as they passed by, eyes wide; teenagers burst into their own rendition of the song as they walked by with their friends; some stood and stared and asked us what they were doing. We could only imagine. It was a family of six (or seven, if the videographer was a member of the clan). They had two younger boys watching on. They were dancing up a storm in their matching pink outfits on that sweaty day.

Anyhow, I feel like this photo kind of symbolizes our entire trip to Peru. More on this later.