Sheila and her friend Maddie live in a REALLY nice apartment in Miraflores right near Parque Kennedy. We were a mixed group: Me (North Carolina), Marie Louise (Norway), Dean (England), Sheila (Mississippi), Maddie (Mississippi), Korteza (Oklahoma), Katie (Indiana), and Gerardo (Peru).
In the course of the conversation, Sheila and I figured out that her high school guidance counselor was my aunt, Juawice! Juawice even wrote Sheila her college recommendation letter! She also went to high school with my cousin! Apparently the McCormicks are famous in Starkville. What are the chances that we would meet in Lima for the first time and yet have this weird thing in common?
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| Part of the group: Dean, Sheila, Maddie, Marie Louise, me, Korteza |
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| Dean, Katie, Maddie, Marie Louise, me |
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| Maddie, Marie Louise, me, Dean, Korteza |
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| Maddie, Marie Louise, me, Dean, Korteza |
After the get-together we went to a club in Miraflores. What we didn't know is that it was the last day of Carnaval and so it was a paint party.....people had bottles full of different colored paint and they were squirting them everywhere. We got completely covered within the first 2 minutes. Crazy.
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| Marie Louise, me, and Korteza |
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| We look like creatures from another planet |
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| Katie, Dean, Marie Louise, me, Korteza, and some Brazilian girl from Uni |
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| PAINT! |
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| group picture! |
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| me and Katie looking......interesting |
After we left we went to McDonalds (and got some interesting looks from the other customers and cashiers) and had to document what we looked like:
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| selfie in McDonalds in Miraflores |
I was the one covered in the most paint so Marie Louise wanted to take my picture....and I had some guest stars who also wanted to be in the photo:
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| This is just great on so many levels |
On Saturday we went to the beach in Miraflores. We had to walk down about a million stairs down the cliffs. Mid-way down we stopped for a rest/photo opportunity:
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| me, Marie Louise, and Dean |
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me, Marie Louise, and Dean
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The "beaches" in Lima are not like beaches I am used to in the US. There is no sand, only tons and tons of stones (like several feet deep) that have been smoothed by the ocean. There were many Limeños out enjoying the summer weather seemingly unaware of how uncomfortable sunbathing on hundreds of small stones is.
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| before I went into the water |
We must have looked ridiculous: not having brought water-proof shoes, we had to pick our way down to the water in our bare feet, which was extremely painful. Then when you get near the water, the shore slopes down sharply - because of the hundreds of stones, we were slipping and sliding down to the water.
Here I am tentatively dipping my feet in, looking very uncertain, while Marie Louise tries to get me to come into the water further:
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| me reluctantly being dragged further in |
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| #touriststatus1000 |
In case you don't know, the water in the Pacific Ocean along Peru is cold. The Hunboldt current runs along the Peruvian coast and brings water from deep in the ocean to the surface, making the waters colder than normal. So even though the day was warm, the water was still very cold. Eventually, however, I was convinced to go deeper. Here I am getting hit by the first wave:
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| realizing how cold the water is and how strong the waves are |
We decided the best approach (so as not to be knocked over by the waves) was to sit down. It was all very funny to watch for the Peruvians I am sure: we were shrieking and flailing all over. Not only are the waves strong and the water cold, but the water also brings in rocks with every wave, so your legs and body are constantly being hit by rocks - my legs are still bruised!
As you can see here, our feet are buried in several inches of rocks:
To get out of the water, you have to climb back up the hill of slippery rocks. It must have been hilarious to watch us - every step we took we would just slide back down, so we had to do a fast crawl up to the top. It was hilarious and painful. Note to self: buy water shoes next time. All in all, a very good day!
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