From Cuenca, we took a bus a bus to a small town called Luja, where we killed time for three hours by eating bad food and playing three games of Bananagrams! The bus we took from Luja took us across the border of Peru and into Piura, the capital city of the northwest region of the same name. Piura involved lots of walking on dusty roads, FINALLY finding and eating lots of quail eggs, and booking a bus ticket to Lima. We arrived in front of the bus company's office, so after purchasing tickets to Lima from a bus line called "Ittsa," we took a tuk-tuk ride down the way a bit to transfer our luggage to Ittsa's storage area. The tuk-tuk was hailed from the side of a 3-4 lane road full of various vehicles honking frequently and weaving freely, so in order to pick us up, traffic in the right lane stopped. Now, like a Three Stooges skit, we quickly loaded what bags could fit on the back license plate-sized open area and then tried to squeeze the three of us, a rucksack, and all the smaller bags into a space that, on a good day, seats two semi-comfortably. Oh gosh...drawing attention just by being our ridiculous selves. I'm pretty certain even the driver was shaking his head, as he darted in and out of semi-parked vehicles and tight spaces that allowed us to touch the vehicles on either side of us. That started a game that has continued throughout Peru and Bolivia...as spaces get tighter, we find it amusing to simply reach our hands out while standing on the "sidewalks" and touch the passing vehicles - "touched it" Hannah usually says in a casually triumphant manner! Makes me smile every time. We managed to store our bags and head to the main shopping center, which had a STARBUCKS! Whaaaaaaaat? The first on our journey! We relaxed there for quite some time and decided to kill even more time by watching "Midnight in Paris" at the theatre four doors down...mainly because we could and the cost was less than we paid for our S*Bucks drinks - some things don't change regardless of what country you are in at the moment.
Justin and Hannah...a true power couple.
Once it was finally time to return back to Ittsa, we hopped on another tuk-tuk (fitting more comfortably without the huge backpacks) whose engine died every time the driver came to a stop. Nary a dull moment here! As we boarded Ittsa bus, we knew things would be different - they gave us luggage tags, they actually checked our IDs against the tickets, and there was a STEWARDESS person standing there and greeting us as we boarded! WHAAAAAAT! High-rollin', that's what! We nearly squealed with excitement as we took our seats, that is after we took our complimentary blankets and pillows off of them! The seats were like individual La-Z-Boys, leg supporters and all! Not only that, but we got served legitimate MEALS on the bus in between the frequent offerings of various beverages! We felt like ROCKSTARS! This was first class, even for normal people's standards. AND there was a bathroom! ON THE BUS! Thus, the catchphrase from that point on was "Ittsa-mazing!!" Also, they called their driver a pilot. Who does that? Rockstars.
Upon arriving to Lima and after Ittsa called security because we refused to get out of the comfy seats, we hopped into a taxi with a driver who, like many, pretended to know where the hostel was just to get the fare. Luckily, he had some stellar backing upskills, so when we got in the right barrio, he was able to practice those on the many one-way streets of the Miraflores area. We checked into a very small, family-run hostel and hit the streets. Walking around brought back a little nostalgia and deja from four years ago when I walked the same area with the one and only Ashley C! The walking continued until the Chile vs Peru game came on...and then everything sort of stopped. We decided to really get the real futbol experience and watch the game with locals in...a Chinese restaurant! What goes better with futbol than jasmine tea? The noises that people made were insane - I honestly thought one man had an aneurysm or was on the verge of a heart attack...clutching his left chest while completely diaphoretic, moaning. Apparently, the poor plays of the Peru team was a shot straight to his heart. Wingmen of buses that passed the restaurant would hop off while the bus slowed to a crawl, run in, look up at a TV, get the score and hop back on to update all passengers. They take their futbol seriously, folks! We stopped at a grocery store on the way back to the hostel and, in honor of our longing for fall-related activities, went "apple-picking" and pumpkin-selecting from the shelves in the produce aisle. Dinner and am Em-Em Skype session rounded out the evening.
The next morning was spent being true tourists and checking out downtown Lima! It is an odd sensation to feel that you somewhat know a place but still cannot give directions. However, once we stumbled into Plaza de Armas, familiarities rushed back! It is so beautiful! I'm not sure who keeps the gardens in Plaza de Armas so pristine, but they do a phenomenal job! Hannah and I took some obligatory jumping pictures before being distracted by the group of policemen casually walking through the plaza decked out in full raid gear, shields and all. They set up shop on a corner parallel to the Congressional building, so naturally, we slowly meandered that direction for a great picture. These tough cops had the best senses of humor about themselves - so they waved us over to join in for the picture. So, Hannah and I each take our semi-awkward individual shots amongst the group until we are shown how it should be done by Bea, who strolls up there exchanges some words and somehow ends up with a shield and baton! Classic! We continued walking behind the plaza past the tanks they had on standby (for whatever reason - war, intimidation, the parade the were having that weekend, or for a really unique "Just Married" vehicle for engaged soldiers ready to tie the knot) onto, where else, a panaderia. Lunch and snacking goodies were purchased/consumed - we thought they were pretty tasty, but we were assured they were not by the four stray dogs who rejected the handouts. Sad.
The next stop on list was an unnecessarily long visit to the post office. I had a letter and pair of baby gloves I planned on sending to my friend, which turned out to be quite an ordeal! First, I was told to open the sealed envelope I had so she could see the contents. After doing that, she the admired the gloves, rubbed them, put her finger in them (the gloves are too small to accommodate anything more), and then spoke about needing a pair EXACTLY like them to give her granddaughter - ummm, ok, but there is NO way you are getting those, so please set them down now! Then, I had to buy a different envelope, readdress it, and return to the line...only to find out that line didn't sell stamps. Fast forward 20 minutes, three lines and four windows later, and the gloves were finally sent!
We continued journeying through the city, admiring the similar but more ornate Spanish colonial architecture and churches on every other block - they have churches in these cities like NYC has Starbucks. We ran into a few peaceful protests and rights marches as we made our way through each major park and plaza. Near Plaza San Martin, we stumbled upon and amazing used book store - and by used, I mean books from the 1880s-1920s! It was pretty amazing to flip through an Almanac from 1918...needless to say, much time was spent in there! At some point, we sprinted across the six-lane highway to get to a walkway of statues in the median. Crossing streets here has become quite the game - a successful cross involves sprinting and dodging while NOT getting honked at during your spasticness! We each took turns, and struggled impressively, climbing to the top tier of a dry fountain - the difficulties ascending made the "Atlas"-like pictures atop seem pretty silly. The buses back to Miraflores seemed to stop in the most confusing area of town - a corner overlooking the merging between three 4-5-lane highways and an eight-lane traffic circle. Somehow, we managed to spot one and jumped on without hesitation! It was on this bus that our beliefs about gum and hard candies being the hardest thing to sell were shattered - in eight countries, we have not seen anyone successfully sell gum. However, a woman got on speaking about magical gum that has pockets of gooey flavor in the middle and, two seconds after Hannah and I looked at each other in a "good luck lady" kind of way, the wingman bought a few, followed by two older women in the front, and then about five more people purchased the magical chicle! Unreal!
Hannah and I walked around in Miraflores for the remainder of the evening. We stumbled upon an outdoor market in a small park that Ashley and I had gone to back in the day where vendors sold collections of RANDOMNESS. Most were antiques: old coins, irons, decks of cards, lampshades, cameras, pins, postcards (used), cuff links, letter openers, you name it! All in all, a great day! The next day and night were spent on Cruz del Sur...now, Ittsa-mazing was exactly that. However, we have never experienced such executive travel in our LIVES! The seats were huge and reclined almost 160-degrees, the meals were actually good (there was a legitimate vegetarian option... whaaaaat?) the bathroom actually had toilet paper, we were given soft blankets and pillows, the temperature was not arctic in any way, and it had Wifi! We made lots of jokes about that - Hannah would ask frequently if I needed to check my mail, "you know, because you can!" Or, for example, if a thought came to mind about the area, how to say a word in Spanish, or anything else..."well, let's just look that up, on the Internet, while we sit on this comfortable bus, that is taking us to Cusco!" So, while we endure this extremely comfortable 18-hour journey, we shall catch up again in Cusco!
That is what we call the "aaahhhh yeeeeeaaaahhhh" face. Wifi on a bus!
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