Calgary to San Francisco, via Peru: Lima

Picked up Elizabeth and Sarah at the airport all by my lonesome self. Eli wanted to stay within about 8 seconds of el baño, so I got to go alone. Poor big fella. Which is good cause I can work on my Spanish. Had a nice chat about Michael Jackson. Driver was grinning ear to eat when I dropped some Billy Jean lyrics.

Hotel in Lima was pretty stellar, killer views of the plaza san Martin. Beds had the resilience of a hammock. Day in Lima included some top notch food, a stroll through the market and a 9pm 16-hour bus ride to Arequipa. In arranging for the hotel to keep our bags while we went out for the day I was successfully able to say, "I am a bus at 9pm". Hmm.

El Mercado. I love them. They fascinate me. Regardless of what town I am in I always have to go to the market. I like seeing the chickens hung up with a hook through the throat, baskets full of guinea pigs, men cutting cows up with hacksaws, the endless rows of vegetables and fruits (many of which I've never seen) etc. I love that markets provide such a tangible link to food growing in the fields, carried by individuals to the market and passed on to the consumer. I love that you can actually see what part of the cow you are eating, or the blood spurting out of a recently slit throat of a chicken. In America, boneless chicken breasts in styrofoam packaging or a nice clean slab of ribs separates the masses from the production of food. For the most part- "I don't know and I don't care. Bartender?" How often do we eat chicken and have no idea where the chicken was raised, how it was killed, where all of its bones went etc. I love that other countries are a little more connected to the products they consume. Elizabeth claims I like markets because I can't smell them. To soak up the full atmosphere I asked a lady what all these strange meat items were- liver, kidney, heart, lung. The full 9 yards. I quickly jumped behind the counter and did a little of the So I Married An Axe Murderer meat scene. "So do you live in New York? Really? Just tell me if that's too tense. You guide me. You guide me. Mom can you get the school nurse? Get the school nurse, help. It was an accident in shop." To really get the full feeling I got behind the counter and gave a little meat massage. It was right on.

16 hour bus ride. "Not so bad, it´s more tingly than hot." Ham sandwich for breakfast, Zac Efron speaking spanish. It was pretty stellar. Had a pretty itchy scalp, gonna look about a shower and some shampoo this evening.

In Arequipa we jumped on a public bus to ride into town cause some taxi driver was trying to rip us off, $3, can you believe it. It's hard taking a public bus in a city you've never been in and not knowing Spanish. I tried asking a couple folks where we were to no avail, so eventually decided to have all 4 of us get off. When I asked where the Plaza was they pointed way back from where we had previously been and kind of laughed. It was a little comical getting off. The four of us were seated, screaming at each other with Peruvians standing in between us. We all got up to get off but the bus keeps going so we have to try to keep our balance and ask for another stop. By now everyone is kind of staring at us- who are these crazy lost gringos and why are they on this bus. To add to the mix I decide to shout out some broken Spanish to add a little humor: donde estas Lima, Peru. Soy perdido. (I'm a lost person, again screwing up the ser vs. estar problem). When you're lost and don't know where you are, make sure you enjoy it. I wish that I was lost more often. It's a nice feeling of, I don't know where I am, I don't know where I'm going but I sure am enjoying it. "We're there."

Showered in Arequipa. First time in a week almost. Clean. Had to wash my hair three times to get the shampoo to foam. The first two times it was just kind of absorbed. Also had handfuls of hair come out. Stuck it all over the wall. Felt like a woman.