Guillermo and Christy in a park in Magdalena watching the sun set over the ocean
On Wednesday night after dinner, Christy, Guillermo, and I went to the dance show Brisas de Titicaca with our two friends Luis and Martin. We had a nice view from the second-floor seating and enjoyed watching all the different dances and dancing a little bit in between the performances. On our way back to my house, Christy noticed the casino called New York right across the street from my neighborhood. Since she loves playing black jack, she convinced all of us to go in for a little while. It was funny to see Christy gamble in Peru and we left not too long after with Christy content with some winnings.
One of the dance performances at Brisas de Titicaca
On Thursday, New Years Eve, we woke up and breakfast in the house. We then walked around the neighborhood to drop off our laundry and waited to pick it up. In the mean time we started looking for a particular pharmacy that my family had told me has a doctor working in it, since my throat was still really sore. We had some trouble finding it, but ran into this sweet older woman who brought us to her home and had her housekeeper bring us to the pharmacy. The doctor in the pharmacy gave me some antibiotics, which cleared up my sore throat within the next day. After having lunch near my home and picking up our laundry, Christy and I headed to Miraflores. It was a pretty day out and we started out walking along the parks on the cliffs and passing through Parque de Amor. We really wanted to go paragliding over the city, which I had never gotten to do before, but when we got there we realized that the prices were pretty steep for our end-of-vacation budget. Instead we just walked around enjoying the view of the ocean, browsed the mall in the cliffs called Larco Mar, and then walked to the center of Miraflores, Parque Kennedy. We browsed some street art and jewelry vendors, tried to go the the pre-Incan Huaca ruins which ended up being closed for New Years Eve, and then shopped around. Guillermo and Luis (Chuliso) met up with us in Miraflores and we went to the Inca Markets to buy some last-minute souvenirs.
Christy and I viewing the ocean from the mall Larco Mar in the cliff in Miraflores
After the day in Miraflores we took the bus home and Christy and I got ready for the night. We had made online reservations to eat at La Rosa Naútica, a fancy seafood resaurant on a jetty in on the ocean that I had always wanted to go to, for a New Years Eve dinner. Little did we know, the restaurant didn´t open until about 10:30pm due to New Years and the prices were extremely high. Instead of waiting around, we paid the expensive taxi ride back up the cliffs to Miraflores and ate dinner at a nice café in Parque Kennedy. After dinner, we headed off to Guillermo´s house. It was his father´s birthday that day so they were having a combined birthday and New Years celebration with friends and relatives in the house. In Peru, none of the celebration for New Years really starts until midnight.
Right before midnight, Guillermo told me and Christy to come outside. Outside of his cousin´s house they were getting ready to have a big bonfire in the street! Every year it is tradition to burn big stuffed scare-crow-like dolls to burn out the old year and welcome the new one. As soon as midnight hit, everything in the streets went crazy! Guillermo and his uncle and cousin´s lit their huge bonfire in the middle of the street, and every other street had a bonfire lit too. People everywhere were running around setting off fireworks. Me and Christy ran for cover under a stoop! Eventually we got the courage to light off a few fireworks ourselfs though. After the crazy fireworks displays we went back into the house to congratulate everyone on the new year and then headed off to a party with some of Guillermo´s high school friends in the next district over. The party was fun and everyone was dancing, although it was a little difficult for Christy to communicate since not many of his friends spoke English. Christy and I left the party around 2:30am to try to get some sleep before the next day.
At midnight on New Years, frightened ¨Gringas¨ watching the bonfires and fireworks!
On New Years day it is tradition for Guillermo and his friends to go strait to the beach from the party without sleeping. Luckily Christy and I snuck in a little sleep and then met up with them again to take the bus to the beach. We were skeptical of the plans since it was sprinkling rain in Lima, but we took the 2-hour bus ride to the beach Santa María. Although it wasn´t too sunny, the weather was warm and we relaxed on the beach and went swimming a little bit. We enjoyed a nice lunch of ceviche and later in the afternoon headed back to Lima. That night after dinner with my family again, Christy, Guillermo, and I went to the fountain park. We had a lot of fun and Christy liked it a lot, although Guillermo got me soaked after we ran into the middle of one of the fountains!
Christy and Guillermo posing in front of a fountain at the fountain park
On Saturday, Christy´s last day, it was Guillermo´s 20th birthday. We met up with him and with my friend Martha in the center of Lima. We showed Christy the Plaza de Armas with the government palace. Although we hoped to enter the Cathedral since I had never seen the inside, it was closed. We walked to La Iglesia de San Fransisco to get a tour of the church and the catacombs beneath. We then went to a Museum of the Spanish Inquisition. After we took a bus ride past my University so that Christy could see it, although it was closed for holidays and we couldn´t enter. We went to the gastronomic festival that I had gone to with Meredith and my friend Karen in the past to have Guillermo´s birthday lunch with Martha and Guillermo´s parents. Although it was difficult to choose one of my last meals in Peru, I chose Sopa Seca with Carapulcra, one of my favorite dishes that is from Chincha. After some Pisco Sours and Algarrobinas, Christy and I headed back to my house to start packing up our things. Christy said her goodbyes to my family and then we headed to Guillermo´s birthday party with his friends and family at his house. Christy and I had to leave the party early to head to the airport for her flight, but Guillermo´s uncle was nice enough to drive us and Chuliso came with us too. It was sad to say goodbye to Christy after such an amazing adventure together, but I knew I would be seeing her soon.
Christy and I with my good friend Martha in front of La Iglesia San Fransisco
Guillermo´s birthday lunch with Martha, Christy, and his parents
After dropping Christy off, Chuliso and I returned to Guillermo´s party for the rest of the night. On Sunday I woke up with a strange feeling in my stomach, knowing that it was my last full day in Peru since my flight would leave the next morning at 8am. I had breakfast with the family, packed a little bit more, and had my fairwell lunch with the family too. Then I went to the mall at Plaza San Miguel to meet up with my friend Karen to say goodbye. We had some iced coffee drinks together and chatted about the future. It was sad to say one of my many goodbyes to Karen, who had been such a great friend from Photography class all along. I returned to the house, got all my things together and then said my goodbyes to the family. It was so hard to say goodbye to a family I had grown to call my own and I couldn´t prevent the tears. After I went to say my goodbyes to Guillermo´s family which was a teary goodbye as well to such a wonderful family. Guillermo and I went out that night and reminisced on the last 5 months that we had known each other and all the things we had done together.
Saying goodbye to my house, mi casita :(
Saying goodbye to my room
The next morning our director Julio and Guillermo were both at my house around 5:15am to take a taxi to the airport. It was so surreal to be leaving the life I had lived for the past 6 months and the life I had grown to love. After I checked my bags and Julio left, I was surprised when Guillermo´s family arrived in the airport as well. We all walked to the security entrance and it was a very tearful goodbye before entering the door to security. I spent a while crying and remembering all the wonderful things that happened in Peru on my flight to Miami, sat sadly in the airport in Miami for my 6-hour layover, and then got my spirits up a little on the flight to Boston. Arriving in Boston, my parents and my best friend Jenni were there waiting for me and it was really nice to see them after so long. It was a whirlwind of events, and although bittersweet, it was nice to be home.
