So, while I have a moment (and a decent internet connection), I thought I'd share some disconnected (and in no particular order) thoughts about Peru that are not linked to any one location but rather have occurred to me at random moments throughout this voyage.
- In the last couple of days, people have been assuming I am French. "Bonjour!" they say, with a knowing smilee. I think it might be the mustache. And the fact that I've taken to wearing a beret.
- Once I open my mouth, however, they're convinced I'm Mexican. Could be the mustache, but also I think maybe I speak Spanish like a Mexican, because I learned the accent in Southern California. For example, when I didn't hear someone, I say, "¿Mande?" and also I say "pues" a lot, both of which are not trademarks of Peruvian Spanish.
- All over Peru are these signs trying to end sexual exploitation of children. I knew this was a problem in Southeast Asia, but I never heard about in South America. Must be a major concern, though. On the other hand, also everywhere I go are children dressed up in tradional garb, carting around a sick llama, begging for coins for a photo. Seems like a slippery slope to me.
- Speaking of kids, the school uniforms here are adorable. I mean, seven and eight year olds in three-piece-suits and full military dress. So cute.
- Some of the more worldly among you probably already knew about this, but I'd never heard of the paperback exchange before. At all these hostels, you can take a book from their library, just by leaving the one you already finished! I love it! Who wants to cart around that Carl Hiassen novel you bought at the airport for the whole trip, when you can trade it in for an entirely different Carl Hiassen novel?
- I'm SOOO glad I came to a country where I speak the language. Not just because it makes flirting easier, but because I've been on a couple "bilingual" tours and the English version just doesn't come close to the Spanish version, most times. Of course, sometimes having the Spanish doesn't help at all. To wit: At Machu Picchu the tour guide told the following joke. Why are farmers so hard? Because they eat their work. Huh?
- Speaking of tour guide humor, these ads were shared with me by the guide at Pachacamac:
Get it? Russians, Scots and Mexicans are notorious drunks, but even THEY can't handle the high alcoholic content of Pisco!
- A piece of travel advice I received: To avoid diarrhea, have a Coke with every meal. It's so acidic it will kill any parasites lurking in your food. I haven't gone that far, but I do buy all my water in bottles. And guess who's got the monopoly on bottled water down here? You guessed it! Atlanta's favorite multinational.
- It's funny how you keep running into the same tourists, even though you're in completely different cities. Hey, isn't that the Taiwanese couple from Lake Titicaca here at Machu Picchu? Wait, weren't those Argentineans on my bus from Puno to Cusco the same ones from the airport at Nasca? There are a couple of Limeño brothers, Baltazar and Manuel Carbajal (don't ask me which is which), who have almost an identical itinerary to mine, only about 24 hours behind. We always seem to be eating in the same restaurants or staying at the same hostal or hanging around the same Plaza. One is a cop and the other a lawyer, but I have a better mustache than either of them. We'll meet up on my way back through Lima so I can finally see that peña I've been looking for.
- My favorite Peruvian television show (what, you didn't think I'd be able to not watch television for a month, did you?) is called ¿Como Va?, and it's basically Don't Forget the Lyrics (which I don't enjoy) only there are bikini-clad dancing girls, the host looks like a South American Joey Ramone, and I don't know any of the songs. It's damned entertaining, though, and sure beats watching subtitled episodes of One Tree Hill.
- And finally, I leave you with these, from a newspaper a couple of weeks ago. In case you never really believed that our President was a global joke:
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