Day 2, No shower

Yesterday, we walked from Miraflores (the district of Lima that our hostel is in) to Barranco which is a slightly quieter and more peaceful district to the south, apart from the main square which is surrounded by buildings that are all painted a bright mustardy yellow. The majority of the walk was along the ocean cliff which has been really nicely paved and landscaped and opposite blocks and blocks of glassy beachside condos. Only at one point did we have to walk down a hill, cross over a busy road, and scale up the otherside!

The day was slightly overcast and not too hot and the ocean is really lovely from above. It's the Pacific so there are waves enough for surfing and lots of kids out because it is school holidays. The guidebooks all say that the water isnt suitable for swimming due to the pollution, but that doesnt stop the locals and I think tomorrow we are going to try and find a good beach for the morning... The beaches that weve seen so far are not sandy -more pebbly - and everyone has warned us about safety on the beaches so we are a little apprehensive, but we are going out with a local tonight and hope that he will give us some insider info.

Barranco was nice. Apparently it has become a clubbing hotspot with DJs that spin all night - dance music and traditional Peruvian beats and is particularly busy on the weekends, rather than a Wednesday. We were there during the day and so just had a nice lunch. I ordered the traditional Peruvian special (understanding only that lentils would be included) and got a huge portion of beef liver...eek.

Last night, we went out for Pisco Sours, the traditional drink of Lima, made with Pisco, egg whites, and sour mix. They are delicious and pretty potent.

We both got burnt over the course of the day and woke up today with red rings around our necks. In downtown Lima today at least 3 Peruvians have commented on it, given us warnings about the sun, and one even pointed us in th direction of the nearest pharmacy to buy sunscreen. In my defense, Krista's burn is a little worse than mine, but we both look like burnt gringo's that just arrived in Peru (which we are!).

Downtown Lima today was a little shocking. We both realized that Lima is one of the first 3rd world or developing countries that either of us has been to. It really is very poor. We were mistakenly dropped off one stop past Plaza de Armas (the main plaza) and ended up close to the slums that border the city. It's an incredible area, colorful and alive and reaching up the hill behind, but it's a shanty town with homes built out of an assortment of materials - wood scraps, cardboard, old billboards - and without any ammenties, plumbing etc. The bus driver was very concerned about dropping us off so close and forcifully told us to walk quickly in the other direction.

We eventually found the Plaza de Armas where a worker's demonstration was about to begin so we scooted off and toured the Catedral de San Francisco (I think this is right!) and its catacombs and went to the Museum of the Inquisition.

We've booked a bus to Cusco for tomorrow leaving at 5.30 PM and getting in at 2PM the next day!! I think we're both looking forward to being in a slightly smaller city, being settled in a place for two weeks, and are both excited for the projects that lie ahead.

Oh and the title of the post is true. Neither of us has showered since we arrived in Peru (which makes our last showers the morning of the 24th). The hostel's bathrooms are the kind of bathrooms that make you feel dirtier for having used them, so we've been avoiding but today I could smell myself, so I'm off to brave it now......