Arrived in Lima

So Keri and I both arrived yesterday. Unfortunately for Keri, the hostal did not get the message to pick her up and she had to catch a cab. But luckily for me, there was someone there when I walked out of the customs gate. Granted, he was holding a sign that read "ALISON PEATER" but I figured he must mean me. I finally got to the hotel around 1am. I had that bad grocery store line karma working against me in the immigrations line. Although I had made my way quickly down to the immigration area, I picked the wrong line and watched as people who were way behind me in the queue pass through before me. However, I was happy to see the sign with (almost) my name on it when I made my way out into the throng of welcomers.

I promptly woke Keri up when I arrived, made sure to put the fan on b/c it is hot and humid here and we chattered away into the evening. Our hostal is cute with a very powerful shower, and after the long hours of traveling, all I really cared about was a good shower. It is taking a bit to get used to not flushing toilet paper. I have this immediate feeling of guilt whenever I forget and this thought that I'm single handedly going to break the plumbing. These things take time!

Keri and I had a really nice day just wandering around the Lima neighborhood that we are staying in. It is called Miraflores. We walked all over the place: down to the beach to watch the surfers, over to a huge pyramid made from mud bricks that dates back to the 4th century (yes, that is OLD! and really not that exciting, actually), we saw some beautiful churces and parks. The Parque del Amor (Park of Love) reminded me of Parque Guell in Barcelona. I've been taking pictures so I will post them soon. Although it was overcast today, we still managed to get some REALLY sexy sun burns. I will be using the SPF 30 tomorrow!

So all is well. We plan on exploring the city center tomorrow and then the other neighborhood called Barranco on Thursday.

I'm flexing my Spanish muscles (and only hoping that people can understand me!). I was able to have a 20 minute conversation with my taxi driver, Antonio, last night so although I am rusty, I've still got some skill!