The Blaus - South America and Europe

8 de Mayo - Lima, Peru

From Pisco, we hopped back on the Panamericana heading north and in four hours we arrived in Lima. The Pan American Highway runs north-south along the Pacific coast of South America. This long and legendary stretch of highway starts in Chile and ends in Venezuela. On the coast of Peru the highway is where the sand dune desert meets the Pacific Ocean. The sky here is filled with a dusty haze that makes it hard to see very far down the road. You can`t see the line of the horizon to the west. The band that defines the separation of sky and ocean is blurred, so you can`t tell where one ends and the other begins. The sunsets are the most dazzling collection of soft pastel colors. The sky lights up like a subtle gradient of mauve and purple. Cruising along the Panamericana in Peru feels like we could be in the Sahara Desert in Morocco.

In Lima we spent two days wondering how LA had magically been transplanted from California to Peru since we left home. We stayed in Miraflores, which is a very wealthy, modern suburb of Lima. We had heard from other travelers that it would be safer to stay in Miraflores than in the center of Lima (as Lima has a reputation for being a little dangerous). Miraflores is situated outside of the center of Lima on the coast, so this oceanfront realestate shares the Pacific Ocean with its identical twin on the other side of the equator. The main street in Miraflores is lined with skyscrapers, condos, highrises, hotels, casinos (OK, you don`t see casinos in LA). Not only do the buildings and streets look the same as those in LA, the weather is also very similar to the climate in Southern California. As we walked around Miraflores we made note of all the American corporations and franchises (McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Bell South, Oracle, KFC, Burger King). We felt like we were back at home in the States. At the end of the main drag, there is a modern mall complex built at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. The mall contains American retail stores, a video game arcade, and a state-of-the-art movie theater.

We had some time to kill in Lima, because we were waiting there to call home for Mother`s Day, so we gave in to the urge to see a movie one night. It was a Hollywood production called Conquistando A Mi Suegro (Guess Who is the English title), starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac. It was the worst movie either of us have ever seen, but it was a bizarre experience to see a movie in English (with Spanish subtitles) in a theater like that while eating popcorn and sipping Inca Cola. Those two days in Lima felt like we were back in the States again, and it was weird to get a taste of what it will be like to go home after being absent for so long. After being in South America for over 4 months, our encounters with American culture here are the only times we feel culture shock anymore.

posted by The Blaus @ 6:18 PM