I look at the locked gate on the cathedral and smirk. “Why is it closed? I mean, this is Semana Santa, Holy Week. Churches should be open, right?” My Peruvian friend, with better English than my Spanish, scratches his chin and explains. “Catholic church is strange religion. God is dead today. He die Good Friday. But don’t worry,” he smiled, […]
God’s Day Off
Prayers Oraciones
I can’t open newspapers without wanting to rip out my eyeballs. Tariffs in China. Measles in America. Shooting of bus drivers in Lima. All I can say is this: the world doesn’t need political pundits. The world needs prayer. Instead of plucking out my optic orbs over the headlines, I decided to hike with my group to Cruz del Papa […]
Sunset Commute
Lately, instead of watching the news, I’ve been watching the sunset. It’s true, the water washes everything away. The news. The pick-pocketers. The bus strikes. The warning notices from the Embassy regarding the bus strikes. The growling dog. The screeching car brakes. You get the picture. But here is a better one. When I walk home from school, I can […]
Camino Barranco
It was the first time I got naked with a man in a long time, and it didn’t go the way I wanted. Yes, I was visiting a skin doctor, something well overdue after my move to Lima, Peru, a place where the sun radiation is equivalent to living in a microwave oven. I was at the Delgado International Clinic […]
Lunahuana:
I’m not sure, because I’m still learning the language, but I think Lunahuana is an ancient Quechua word for Pisco. This small town, about three hours from Lima, Peru, and is one of only five regions in Peru that grow the magical Pisco grape. I didn’t visit Lunahuana for grape stomping, but for hiking, along with a hodge-podge of hikers […]
Winging it in Oxapampa
If you see a little Smoke-colored Pewee in Oxapampa, Peru, don’t call your doctor. Call a birdwatcher. Yes, a bird watcher. A smoky-colored pewee is just one of the three hundred bird species that will blow up your Merlin phone app in this high jungle bird mecca of Peru. Who named these birds in Oxapampa? Who knows. But you got […]
Rimac Close Up
Rimac is not on the videos you see posted on YouTube about Lima, Peru. Actually, Rimac is one of the areas in Lima you are warned not to visit, unless you are accompanied by a few buff guys, which I was. This vibrant districts is also home to one of Lima’s shanty towns that bring a bit of color to […]
Fa-la-la-la-llamas
It’s Christmas in Peru. Everything is decked in green and red, but you still can’t find an ugly holiday sweater. That’s because Christmas arrives in the summer, along with llamas and wiseman bringing gifts of sunscreen. No partridges in pair trees, just parrots in palm trees. And Santa takes a bus, that is, if there isn’t a transit strike. Truth […]
Battle of Ayacucho
Instead of having a mattress sale, Peruvians celebrate their war heroes with parades, each reminding me of the parade scene in Godfather II where young Don Corleone had Don Fanucci killed.
San Ramon
On the advice of Pedro, the gentleman I met at a local bakery who had an encounter with a Peruvian UFO, I ventured to San Ramon this Thanksgiving. Why? I was more interested in looking at birds instead of space aliens. Actually, Pedro isn’t the only Peruvian who recommended San Ramon. Being on the eyebrow of the jungle, San Ramon […]