Thursday, February 5, 2009

Caught between hello and goodbye

Hola amigos and amigas! I write from the coastal vacation spot of Mancura, Peru. We first arrived in Lima on Tuesday, Feb. 3rd around 5:30 am. Off on the road again. Home, road, home, road, home, road. Which is it going to be!?!?! I am a little confused I must admit. But for now it is the road. Bring it on!

In our attempt to flag a bus or taxi al aeropuerto we met a fellow who was on the hunt as well, but he knew el autobus was not his desire. ¨Be careful,¨he warned Stacy as he walked past her toward the main road outside the confines of the airport. The bus would be cheap if the wife and I found the one with an ¨S¨ but there are so many little buses and equally as many cabbies trying to solicit our business. ¨Geez,¨ our exhausted faces said to each other. Carlos, the man with the words of warning, was looking for someone to split a cab with so I caught up with him and suggested we were his compadres. He flagged an accommodating taxi and for 30 nuevos soles (approx. $9.50 US) we were on our way. C-los happened to be on the same flights from San Francisco and Miami. He was Peruvian but had lived in SF for nearly 18 years. No kidding?¨ I knew both Stacy and I were thinking it, but I voiced it. We were ALMOST in an accident a handful of times, and as Carlos tried to apologize for his countrymen´s driving we laughed and said we´d been to SE Asia. Sorry, but this ain´t nada.

Carlos had the cabbie drop us in Miraflores, a newer part of Lima and told us about a place for great coffee & desayuna. We said adios but knew we´d see him again soon because he told us he was going to travel in the same direction we were headed, to Mancura and to the SAME exact bungalows. I ask, what are the chances, really? Unreal.

Stacy had booked a short 17 hour bus trip (!?!?!) on Cruz del Sur via the magic of the InterWeb a few days ago, so we had 7+ hours to kill here in town. Delicious churros y cafe plus an omelette, know aqui as a tortilla. We were back on chill mode, killing time and catching up on lost journal moments from the past weeks. It was warm and somewhat humid. We decided to rest on the grass in Kennedy Park in central Miraflores. That is until we were shooed off the grass by a nice civil servant just doing his trabajo. We tried the curved benches of a rotunda only meters away on the concrete of the park but soon were told in Spanish by a different guy not to lay on the bench. ¨We just want to take a nap, dude!¨ A restful experience it was not and with the third conversation with the MAN that was basically about Stacy closing her eyes and sleeping, we decided enough was definitely enough and went searching for internet. Ugg.

An hour typing and then some grocery shopping were the precursors to a long hike to our bus terminal. We stopped for some ceviche and cerveza at the Blue Dorado restaurante and headed north along the broad center divider, fully equiped for walkers. Cool, so walking is OK here I guess, just not quiet time. Hundreds of little motorcycle-rickshaws passed by but we figured an hour walk would serve us well if 17 hours of sitting was in store. We fanally made it to Cruz del Sur and asientos (seats) siete y ocho. The air conditioning was strong and the seats kicked back better than our American Airlines ones. Nice. We were off and happy to be able to rest. Hollywood movies with Spanish dubbing and Portuguese sub-titles blared on the TVs, (Ingles is not widespread here, fyi) but we were happy to be on the move to our paradisical beach. Before darkness stole the light from us I could see that the landscape was extremely arid and sandy desert stretched as far as one could see. The coast was off to our left somewhere over a dune. I thought to myself how we would be the perfect bus to hyjack out in the middle of nowhere. No towns, nary another vehicle besides giant dump trucks or semis. Time to put those thoughts to rest. Goodnight.

Luckily, all went smooth and without a single petrol stop (how is that possible by the way?) we arrived in Mancura town safe and sound. The sun is hot here, but not too humid surprisingly. Our whiteness and tendency to burn is magnified by the fact that we started taking our malaria pills this morning. We are sun-sensitive for sure, but with SPF 30 in hand we hope to survive. Beach, a pool, song pajaros(birds)some comida (food) and a book proposal to finish. These are the things that make up our waking hours.

I must admit that as I sit hear in Mancura, Peru on the northwest coast of the country, I feel I am floating in limbo. We have now said goodbye to our loved ones for the third time in 12 months, this includes parents and the dog. We are living our dream but at the same time struggle with aimlessness and purpose. Our hearts agree that this is the time of our lives and we are amidst a great journey, but my mind is still caught up in my current past of logistics and planning. What next? Why? How long? and When? I do not have any of thee answers for my mind but with some good heart to hearts with Stacy feel a lot better about our NOW. She has taught me the benefit of discussion and truth, to one another and to one´s self. I have discussed my feelings with her, written them down for me and embraced the fact that I am going through these emotions, rather than sweep them under the rug. I feel extremely confident that with Stacy by my side all of this anxiety will quickly subside and we will have the experience of a lifetime, together...once again!

Hasta Luego>!!

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