Our Family Visit

Mom and Karen on the flight down.

Me with my mom's in downtown Lima.

Me with my mom and Karen at Larcomar overlooking Costa Verde.

Johanna, Karen and I overlooking Costa Verde.

Us on a night time bus tour, it was quite cold.

Well my mom and sister Karen came down to visit for a week and left on Monday. They brought down a care package of things we asked for and also some surprises like candy bars and gum. Johanna's mom and dad were very helpful with carting us all around and making sure we did not get lost, we could not have done it with out them. We toured around Lima and I think we saw everything and a little more. It was great to have them visit but it was hard to let them go. When we said good bye in Tampa back in February, it was hard but I was very excited about moving so I dealt with saying good bye pretty well. This time that excitement was gone so it was a lot harder. We watched as they walked down the hall and out of sight. It was very sad but it was sure nice to see them.

Washer and Dryer

Our washer and dryer in the new place are better in some ways but lacking in others. As you can see in this picture our dryer is enormous so it can handle a lot of cloths. Look at the size of that thing; you are looking at 7 lines. The position of the dryer (on the roof top) also helps because the cloths dry a lot faster.



The down side to the new place it the washing machine. Our old place had a very large and deep washer but you can see the new one is the exact same size and looks exactly like our small kitchen sink. This makes it a little time consuming but I am perfecting my system and getting a lot more efficient.

The agitator (my hand) is the same and the spin cycle on this washer uses two agitators (both of my hands) in almost a twisting motion. It is a little inefficient and tiresome but it works. As for the detergent you can see that bar of soap in the agitator, which is called “Popeye” soap. I think the reason is because my forearms are starting to look like Popeye’s from scrubbing, sloshing, and ringing all of these damn cloths. I do not know if you picked up on this but I, that’s right I am the washer and dryer.

Our New Place

We recently moved into a new apartment a little closer to Johanna’s parents home. Our old place was nice but our landlord was crazy as a loon and we got a little tired of her shenanigans. Johanna, her mother and I went out one day with the goal of finding an apartment and we knew it was going to be a little difficult because they rent very fast right now. We called the first place on the list and got directions and we were off. We arrived about time minutes later and the apartment was already rented. I said they go fast and they do. So we called the next place and it was close so this time we literally ran, Johanna and her mom took off while I lagged behind. We were running down a street with a lot of people and stores and of course when they flew by everyone was looking. I did not realize but they were also looking at me running after them and I think they thought I was chasing them because I got a few strange looks. Anyway, we arrived and the apartment was on the 5th floor, I counted 56 steps. We finally reached the summit and the place was great except it was on the 5th floor. While we were deciding what to do the door bell rang and it was another couple apartment hunting. Time was running out, we “weighed” our options, basically we were unsure about all of the stairs but we knew we both could use the exercise, so we took it. Moving was a pain but Johanna’s parents helped us a lot and it made it a lot easier. I want to invite them over for dinner sometime but I think I will let them rest for a couple of weeks before they have to make the climb again. Mom and Karen when you come down be sure to bring your walking shoes for Lima and your hiking boots for home.

Johanna is going to kill me when she sees I did not clean up before I took these pictures.

Seven more stairs up to the bedroom but look we finally have a couch.

Peru Winter Clarification

A little clarification about the wet Peruvian winters. As I said earlier it does not rain so how are the winters wet? It is extremely humid. There are no drops of water falling from the sky but this incredible mist that keeps you damp when you walk down the sidewalk. Some days this mist is heavier than others but no matter what the air is still humid therefore it takes forever to dry cloths. I still stand by my post about the hugh storm not too long ago because I still have not seen such a heavy rain since. I wish I could put it into words but it was too extraordinary to describe. You will just have to trust that it was an amazing sight.

Peru Winter

Here in Peru the winters are very wet and the sun rarely comes out. Most people do not like this grey climate because it can be a little depressing but I am enjoying it especially since I know it is almost 100 degrees in Florida right now. Another drawback to the wet winter is that the cloths take 3 days to dry (we do not have a dryer). I am sure those of you who have every had to line dry cloths knows that after 3 days cloths start to sour so we have been using a fan to try to speed up the process. Well today is Sunday and we woke up to beautiful weather, the sun is shining and it is about 70 degrees. We both have the whole day off so what should we do first? The only thing I can think of is getting the laundry done. It is only going to take one day to dry this stuff so let’s do it all today. It is amazing how your priorities change.

July 28th Weekend (Independence Day in Peru)

Here in Peru this is a very big holiday and they usually get 4-5 days off from work so everybody goes on a short vacation. Johanna and I went to the beach with some friends and had a blast. One friend knows a family that owns a beach house (mansion) and they let him and his friends use it for Independence Day every year. I say mansion because at any given time there was 25 people staying there and it was not full. We went down on Saturday night and when we arrived the party was going strong. We ended up going to bed early because we were having so much fun. No, not early at night but early in the morning, 8:30am. The next two days were not as crazy as the first but still a lot of fun. We ate grilled food all day and on Tuesday night Manuel, an aspiring chef, cooked a hugh meal for everyone. Unfortunately Johanna and I had to leave Tuesday night after dinner because they were getting ready to start a bon fire on the beach. Oh well maybe next year. I must say that this group of friends is like a big family. They have known each other for many years but they are always willing to accept outsiders and make them feel like part of the family. Johanna had to work on Monday so I stayed at the beach all day, by myself, but it was great. Again they all made me feel at home and we had a lot of fun. Too bad the vacation is over and we have to get back to work. Wait I only work 12 hours per week so my vacation is going to continue.