My Observations After One Day in Lima

So the adventure has begun for me. I made it safely to Lima last night, and it was pretty smooth getting to my hotel in Miraflores. Although the mix of the heat and a noisy street made it hard to get much good sleep. Today was my day to check out Lima (AKA waste some time until I fly to La Paz). Here are my thoughts right now:

• It is really hot here! Chicago was the last place I´ve been that is warm and humid like this. My body and mind are used to the rain and cold. I probably have already gotten sunburn! I definitely packed too many warm clothes for now, but it may be worthwhile in the Andes in June.
• My Spanish is not as good as I had hoped. I started to gain a little confidence on the plane... going through a Spanish workbook and listening to some movies in Spanish. But people speak it so fast. I´m pretty confident that my learning curve will be fairly fast as well. I´m learning words on the bus, walking down the street, etc. by listening.
  
• Travelling is tiring. I don´t sleep too well on the plane. I´m looking forward to getting to Yanayo and being in one place for a few days.
• I think Bolivia will be a lot different than Miraflores (in Lima). Miraflores is very posh and there is shopping everywhere. There are some nice views of the ocean and la playa, and it definitely feels very safe. La policia are everywhere.
  
• Lima is a big, crazy city. This afternoon I took a bus from Miraflores to Central Lima and the traffic and exhaust were incredible. Then I got out of the bus a bit earlier than I wanted to and wandered around not knowing where I was. Finally I decided to go into an art musuem, which was very cool, and it gave me a chance to sit down for a few minutes. Then I hopped a bus back. It is intimating to be in a gigantic city that has more confusing streets than Seattle (and I´m not yet an expert with the language).
  

I´m heading back to the airport in a few hours and I can´t say I will be sad to leave Lima (plus I´ll be back soon). I am really looking forward to meeting up with the EWB group, and getting out to Yanayo. I´ve been curious about what that place is like for a long time. I´m also formulating a plan to hang out with Doc Odle (a connection from Seattle) during an extra day I have in La Paz on the way back. The options include mountain biking or heading up to 17,500 ft to check out some receding glaciers!

Brian