Fractions in time.

Yesterday night Ivan had to go back to Tortuga to finish his internship. We embrace our goodbye as he puts me on a trustworthy cab and I yell at him while passing by: Que en tan poco tiempo ya se puede aprender a querer alguien no? (That in so little time we can learn to love someone.) We had loads of fun while wearing the mask of spiderman, eating grapes and going to the beach. Most stories got recorded, but unfortunately, I can be so unthoughtful.
I had put my camera in the back pocket of my newly received bermuda and went into the pacific. I have still some hope left that after cleaning my card and camera with alcohol some of the material might have survived, but I fear the worst.

Herless, his girlfriend Diana and me in a taxi on our way to meet up with Ivan and his friends in order to have a blast. The taxidriver receives a call and stops to take note. He takes more than 5 minutes when we tell him, sir, we are in a hurry in case you didn´t notice. Sir, we CAN take another taxi too. He seems to ignore us and is so focused on his next ride appointing the directions.. I decide to get out of the car. Herless and Diana get out when another taxi comes by. Only now the driver comes to his senses ad asks whether we do not wish to continue. I had never seen Herless get mad until that moment. 'Que andas a la mierrrrrrda, te reviento el puto caro si no te vayas inmediatamente!' Wow. Now that is some serious latin heated attitude. I crack up since Herless is the most harmless guy I know, always calm and at ease. He just threatened to trash the taxidriver´s car with some serious anger. How unexpected and therefore how funny it seemed. We take another taxi and arrive at the peruvian hour (one hour late).

We danced our asses off in ´el serjante pimienta´ it was saturday night carnaval. Some people had paint in their faces becasue of the tradiation to splash water on eachother or even paint the face of the person standing close to you. We got pretty drunk too.

I came to Lima by nightbus (buscama) after leaving Huaraz. I suffered from some Sorroche during my trip to Chavin at 4200 meters altitude that even the coca tea couldn´t undo. I felt dizzy and with nauseas during most of my waking hours. Nontheless after having met up with Reed and Lauren and our personal mountain guide couchsurfer Victor Hugo, we went Rockclimbing there and man, did we love it. I managed to climb over an upside down obstacle into a vertical route and surpassed myself in doing so. When I arrived at the top I was glowing with the feeling of havin managed while my lungs hurted because of the lack of oxygen. A great experience.

We kept circling the main square and market to find the most precious small gifts. A llama like creature spat at me without saliva after having carressed his left ear. I had a tea with a girl that told me about Huaraz in the first place. She worked at a casino where I picked her up and while waiting won 20 soles on the slotmachines. After having stayed two nights in a hostel with great views over the snowpeaked mountains we surfed Victor Hugo´s apartment for travelers for two more nights and watched a movie or played chess. Victor said he sucked at it, but turned out to be lying. The first day he took us hiking through the area and we had milkshakes and coffee. My last day there he promissed to beat me in 8 moves. Instead I won, but he was high on rum.

The woman in the hostel told me all sorts of stories about climbers and their deaths for not wanting to bring a guide while ascending. She seemed to be a lovely caring woman who had the families of the dead in her hostel crying over their lost sons.

My time in Lima is ending for now. I will fly to Cuzco tonight at 05:40. Lima is not as ugly as people advised me on forehand. I´ve learned to recognize the kind of taxi´s to take and the kinds not to take. People have been mugged taking the wrong taxi. My judge of character and the presense of danger I seem to be able to feel quite clearly guide me through streets and faces.

Two bricheras (girls that try and get with tourists in order to obtain something) approached me the other night. One seemed to be learning from the other. My intuition stated clearly that they were up to something. It made me feel sad. Such a pretty girl learning how to play out foreigners in order to rob their wallets, or god knows what. I told the younger student about my gutfeeling and how I felt about it. They left shorly after. Nothing bad happened. My Limenean friends were there to keep an eye on the situation. Still the experience of looking them in the eye in direct contact looking for one another´s intentions was a weird experience. When they left the ambience cleared up and we danced boldly. I shared the afterbite of being drunk, my chicken burger, with one of the streetcats before taking the taxi home.

Peruvian food includes shells with onions and seafruit, the cow´s heart, giant rats, big corn and loads of different methods to prepare chicken mostly drained in a hot sauce called Agil.

I´m almost off to the mountains and jungle. I will need either ginger of pills, along with coca tea, lots of coca tea. Then it´s further to Puno and into Bolivia, La Paz. The ambassador of couchsurfing La Paz will host me. People told me I cannot miss out on the desert of salt with all kidns of colours. I hope my camera can be revived.