Besos

Well, I successfully "hailed" a taxi yesterday afternoon for my adventure to San Isrido. On a related note, I also had my first successful haggling experience. I asked a person at my hostel how much a taxi should cost to the address I had so I don't fall victim to the all too common "gringo tax". 10 soles...good to know.
I didn't even have to wave for a taxi: they saw me looking at their car from a block away and pulled right up. They almost took out a pedestrian in the process, but I guess it's poor form to leave a customer waiting for an extra 5 seconds. Cool - being gringo has its perks.

Me: I need to go to San Isrido. How much?
Driver: 25 soles
Me: 5 soles
Driver: 15 soles
Me: 6 soles
Driver: 8 soles
Sold.

The taxi sounded like it may just fall apart at any moment into a car part garage sale. I don't know a whole lot about cars, but some of the sounds it made were definitely not normal. Sweet, I thought, an authentic Peruvian experience (as I promptly tightened my seatbelt)! Highway on ramps are whole new type of a terrifying. Drive on the sidewalk? Of course, there aren't any cars in the way. Take a right turn from the left hand lane? Who doesn't like a challenge? The car next you won't share the lane? Have one of your passengers bang on the other car.
For those of you who think i'm ballsy for my thrilling skydiving and bungee jumping adventures - let me direct your attention to the cyclists on Lima's streets. OMG THEY ARE INSANE! They weave in an out of cars, which already have the most unpredictable driving patterns. Their handlebars skim the sides of buses, taxis, cars on both sides and somehow they don't fall over. Too cool for helmets, these cyclists ignore traffic signals (not that the cars obey them either) and kamikaze their way through intersections somehow unharmed. If you were to stick me on a bike in these streets, I probably would sit down and start crying while wiping my tears with the broken derailleur (typical for most of the bikes here). But really, I probably would.

So why San Isrido? My dear friend, Elisabeth (who many of you know as Ebetch) has a lot of family in San Isrido. In particular, my mission was to smother her grandfather in lots of kisses, per her request. The entire family was so patient with my Spanish and I had SUCH a lovely time with them. Juan played the guitar and we sang for a while, we told jokes, we ate amazing food... truly an unforgettable experience. I love your family, Ebetch!




I visited with other travelers in my new hostel this morning. I'm considering a super touristy adventure tonight to tour "The Magical Circuit of Water" which is supposedly the largest water fountains compound in the world. Otherwise, this hostel supposedly has a bomb happy hour in which I don't intend on getting 'too happy' for fear of compromised judgement. (Yes, that last comment has questionable legitimacy and may have been placed solely for my parent's sanity)