Gracias Perù

I returned to Switzerland a little over a month ago. Upon entering my parents house, the house where I grew up and spent most of my life to date, I almost burst into tears or perhaps I did, I'm not even sure. I had not realized how much I had missed Lugano, my parents and my friends until I actually got back. The rolling green hills, the clean streets, the quiet peace, the lake. Now don't get me wrong, I loved Perù, every single instant of my stay and I really miss Trujillo and all the wonderful people I met. I miss the children at the USDA school and Simon Bolivar, well, most of them at least. I miss the guys in 499 Paraguay and tia Carmen too of course, I miss the Huamanchumo family, I miss the guys at Muchik, I miss doña Maria, I miss the USDA friends. I miss the blaring reggeaton on the combis, the dry warm climate, the waves in Huanchaco, the maracuyà sours. I miss the smiles of the people, I miss warnings about "how dangerous it is here, gringo be careful", I miss the 3 hour lunches. I would like to thank all Peruvians for making my stay so special and would also like to thank all the foreign volunteers that shared this wonderful experience with me. I especially want to thank Elizabeth for organizing the schedules and all the great help, and David for setting up Espaanglisch, without it I wouldn't have heard of the existence of Trujillo.I want to thank tia Carmen for looking after me as if I were her own son. Thank you Anna, Anna, Sally, Billy, Ruwan, Anjana, Michelle, Patrick, Amber, Emily, the numerous guys from the "Sally and Patrick" crew, the Skip crew for giving my Peruvian trip an interesting gringo flavor.

The last time I updated this delirious online travel diary, I had just embarked on a trip around Perù. The country is 40 times the size of Switzerland and I crossed it North to South and coast to Andes... the jungle will have to wait for the next visit.

This is what I wrote:

I crossed this beautiful country, taken mototaxis by the palm fringed beaches of the North, sweating in the humid heat. Walked along the beach at 6 am with a 20 kg backpack on my back. Flown in airplanes that where "tan peruano como tu".Got rattled and rolled by taxis, minis & comibs in the hustle-bustle of the man-eating metropolis and capital city. Rafts on the chill Chily river close to the white city of Arequipa, arrogantly and defyingly sitting in the shade of the imposing volcano that goes by the mystical name of "El Misti". I have asked countless taxi drivers if they are voting for Keiko or Ollanta in the final round of the Peruvian presidential elections. My heart is fulled with the images of the children playing soccer at school, or shouting out answers to questions, or eager to play a game or group embracing me upon arrival or departure.

I am sad that I will soon leave Perù, but grateful for the opportunity I had.

Querido Peru, te llevaré siempre muy dentro de mi corazon! Y trataré de volver muy muy pronto!

Chilling in Los Organos, Punta veleros!

Lima, the capital of Perù

Anna and I at Taquile island, lake Titikaka, approx 4000m above sea level

Impressive inca ruins in Cusco

Cusco, main square

Anna and Cesar, the best taxi driver in Cusco, with the city in the background

Macchu Picchu, we hiked up to the tip of Wayna Picchu, the one in the background

Wayna Picchu seen from on of the many inca doors in Macchu Picchu

 

and as I promised in my last write-up, here goes the Peruvian way or how to do stuff if you wanna look Peruvian:

-how to speak on a cell phone: hold the cell phone right in front of your mouth and speak -or better yet, yell- into it, occasionally hold it close to your ear to hear if you are winning the shouting match with whoever it is that you are speaking with.

-how to behave if you work in the service industry: take everything real slow, and for extra measure make sure that you forget orders and look real bored. If someone tips you stare at them in disbelief.

-how to attract the attention of anyone working in the service industry: take a 1 Sol coin and repeatedly hammer it against a hard surface until everyone in the restaurant has heard you except for the waiter, then hammer the coin harder and a little longer, and then a little longer... while you are hammering the coin against the table also shout "Amigo!!!" or "Amiga!!!" to attract the waiters attention. This also works in combis.

-how to pretend that you are Peruvian: be loud and very friendly. Warn everyone about how dangerous the country is. Blame all medical conditions on the "temperature of the water". Re-elect the presidents that stole lots of money from the country in the recent past. Remind the world that Pisco Sour is Peruvian and that the Chileans have no idea what they are talking about + they don't even really speak Castellano and no one understands what they are saying anyway. And then make sure that you are super nice again. Occasionally hammer a coin against a hard surface to attract the attention of all those that are not interested in the fact that you are trying to pretend that you are Peruvian.