Lima Peru

OHLA!!! Beth and I have been having an amaizng time. Since Riobamba we have only been to two more cities! We spent Saturday evening in Guayaquil where our true adventures started...cabs to nowhere, restaurants not around when you are hungry, and bus stations that do not exist! Despite the minor setbacks (we label them adventures), Beth and I had an amazing night. Our hotel room was only $9 (total!!!) and we visited the waterfront (one of the largest urban renewal projects in the world). Guayayquil is extremely humid and warm and the bayside stretch offered an enchanting breeze and a very peaceful atmosphere for some serious discussion and conversation.

Sunday we finally located a bus company that would take us to Lima (imagine being in the Twin Cities and having to search for a bus comany that would drive you to Atlanta Georgia...we were walking and taking cabs every which way). We bought our tickets, rushed back to our hotel to pick up our packs, rushed back to the station only to have our bus two hours delayed. No problem, the weather was beautiful and there was a massive used car market next door...completely alive with activity. Our 24 hour bus ride went smoothly (depsite the bus breaking down and us being two hours late for a total of a 26.5 hour bus ride), both Beth and I could not believe how quickly the bus trip went.

We arrived in Lima with a friend of Beth's friend's phone number in hand. We put in a call and they told us how to get to their place. We got here and man is it a nice flat! The couple we are staying with are incredible!! They are in Peru for a year studying, volunteering, researching, and teaching! We have had such an amazing time we decided to extend our stay in Lima from two days to five days!!! Liz and Omar took us to their church in one of the shanty towns in Lima to meet their priest. BRILLIANT is this man! Even better was that one of the nuns joined us and we had an incredible discussion about Liberation Theology, politics, war, football, traveling, and so many other topics. When Beth and I got back to our room we just sat there in awe of everything we have talked about. I am sure that we will be talking about these people for years to come!

Alright, tonight is our last night in LIma and we are going out for dinner (after having made dinner with Liz and Omar all week from superb produce grown by farmers involved in the program that Omar is working on (sustainable agriculture)). I know this blog is a bit all over but you will have to bare with me! I have a headache from a game Beth and I just played that left me laughing so hard I have a serious headache.

Off to Nasca tomorrow and then to Cusco!!!

Thanks for the emails and all the love being sent our way!

Adam

*No, Beth and I have yet to fight at all and no love has surfaced.