Peru and Bolivia 2005, part 1 (Lima)

Reaching a decision to visit Peru was in fact very easy. Ever since my childhood when I read some books that contained pictures of Machu Picchu I had this idea in my mind to go there one day. I already had a free-lancer status and quite rare engagements, since I had no regular clients, which meant that I had almost limitless free time. And then I thought what if work suddenly kicked in and I got overburdened and had no time for a long trip. So, I decided to take advantage of the circumstances and to go.

As for the season of the year, I decided to go there during the European summer because it is the time of the winter period in Peru, concretely meaning the dry season – no rains, no mud and no landslides – but as it turned out it was occasionally quite cold. The initial idea was for the trip to last for four weeks during which I would visit Peru. However, I ended up with a six-week journey which included Bolivia as well with rather equally divided time between these two countries.

I started the journey equipped with my photo and video cameras, the guidebooks, predominantly winter wardrobe, return ticket to Lima and good wishes for myself. I had nothing else and probably I could have done with less wardrobe, meaning, fewer things to carry.

Oh yes, I did have one more important thing or rather a person, a Peruvian, Virginia, who lived in Lima and was ready to provide me with hospitality at her home. We got in touch with each other via internet and then I also called her up once, just to hear each other’s voice before meeting at the airport of Lima where she waited for me.

The beginning of my journey was quite unsettling. The plane landed in the evening, with slight delay, the baggage also arrived, I exchanged some money and went through all border formalities. Virginia was there, waiting for me as agreed and we easily recognized each other. Then we took a taxi and went to her home. And everything seemed fine except that somehow I managed to get myself poisoned by the juice I had on the plane, so that I felt completely bad, got a horrible headache and my entire organism was blocked. In addition, I was also tired, while Virginia just kept talking incessantly in her touching desire to start with her warm hospitality. Along with my body’s blockage, my brain also stopped functioning properly on account of which my attempts to adjust to the Peruvian version of Spanish in the allegro performance of my new friend led almost to a termination of the entire system. We got to the small restaurant which Virginia ran together with her mom. In the back she had a room in which she lived and in a hallway she had bunk beds saying that I could sleep there. I must have seemed horrible and behaved abominably, meaning that I appeared very cold, disinterested and aloof, and I just kept asking for more and more water to drink. I eventually said I was tired and had to go to bed as I didn’t feel well and it was only after a visit to the bathroom when I threw up all the water and the juice and everything else that was in my stomach and that was blocking me that I finally started to feel normal again. It was just about the time when my New York friend called me to see if I arrived well and I could honestly tell her I was all right. After that I could talk more lively with Virginia about the plan for tomorrow which was to start early, way too early. Namely, Virginia worked as a Spanish teacher in a private primary school which was located in the mountains around Lima and which was an hour away by a school bus. In order to make it on time, we were to catch the bus that luckily passed almost by the restaurant at 6 o’clock in the morning!!! In her wonderful eagerness to show me as much of her country as possible, Virginia had already asked the principal if she could bring a friend for a day. Winter school holiday was to start the very next day, with only teaching staff’s meetings, and the school would not work with its full capacity which meant that it was a “now or never” opportunity for me. Bearing in mind the early waking up, the stomach agony of the night before, the entire previous day on the planes, I was quite in favour of the “never” version, but Virginia was so full of enthusiasm that I simply had no heart to be a jerk and decline her invitation. So, after the super early waking up, minimum of getting ready and a quick breakfast, we were on our way. It was still dark and it was cold. There were already a few colleagues waiting at the stop and soon the bus arrived. I’m quite tall (181 cm) and this is a very important feature in some countries, Peru included, since most of the public transport is intended for persons of a smaller stature, so in such places I literally have to squeeze into it or stoop through it. The seats are also meant for smaller persons, so my legs get unpleasantly pressed. Anyway, when we got onto the bus, I could see that there were already a few teachers and some children in it. I was introduced to all the teachers, while most of the children snoozed. They were cute – all in uniforms and girls with bows on their plaits or pigtails. Their heads resting on the back of the seats jolted in the rhythm of the bus, but they couldn’t care less. Most of them were actually fast asleep. It seemed to me like a very cruel way to go to school, so early, every day. I used to go to school in the morning every other week, the classes started at 8 o’clock, I lived literally 5 minutes on foot away and still I had trouble waking up. As we drove, it began to dawn and we passed through Lima and the suburbs, but I had no will to look out of the window for my eyelids also seemed too heavy. It was only Virginia with her inexhaustible energy and a couple of her colleagues who talked. The rest of us were in a semi-trance or fully asleep.

In the school’s hall I was first introduced to the principal who practically reconfirmed her permission for a complete stranger to spend the entire day at the school. The principal was actually a nun, in her advanced years, as the school was catholic and included a church in its yard which it shared with the adjoining monastery. In addition to being catholic, it was also private and it was generally considered a great fortune if parents could afford paying the tuition fee for their children. The school was also co-financed by the German government so the German flags were all over the school and the German language was a mandatory subject for all. I was also introduced to different colleagues of Virginia and on that occasion I learned one of the basic customs and symbols of good manners and that was a hug and a kiss. Handshaking is less common. So, the right arm goes into a semi-hug and we lightly put a peck on the right cheek of the person we are greeting. If the persons are close, then the hug can be done with both arms, but it still goes with one kiss following the “right cheek against right cheek” principle. It was just the beginning of this stay in Latin America, but this turned out to be one of the more important elements in human relations. Nowadays I can hardly recall any of Virginia’s colleagues, but I know I kissed them all and I have to admit that for me it was a wonderful way of exchanging human warmth and kindness. The images have faded, but the feeling of closeness and the experience of that sign that I was welcome, that I was simply accepted somehow, that I was ‘one of them’ have remained. This ritual was repeated not only after these introductions or on the basis of them, but it was something that was regularly applied during later reunions with people I had already met, as well as during the first morning or daily encounters. And perhaps this was the breaking point when I stopped being a typical tourist – after all one does not go around indiscriminately kissing receptionists, tour guides and chambermaids – so this was also a way I have experienced something that for me was unique, unusual and precious.

First we went to the schoolyard for the gathering. The pupils were standing in an orderly manner and in their uniforms. It was very cold and misty, but there were girls with only skirts and socks which made me feel additionally chilly by just looking at them. Since these were days preceding the Peruvian Independence Day, a few youngsters dressed up in costumes (an Inca, a woman from highlands and a 19th century man) performed a short appropriate patriotic play, after which the principal took the floor greeting everybody and leading a prayer.

When the lessons started, I went with Virginia to her class and there I was asked to say a few words about myself and the country I came from, which was all quite difficult with my still rusty Spanish and my being very tired. Still, it all went well. During the day, I ended up at some point in the computer classroom, so since there was a connection I could get in touch with some friends and kill a couple of hours surfing the internet. In the meantime I also chatted with a history teacher, was introduced to numerous children and was also occasionally present during the lessons at different grades. By the way, in addition to the children wearing their school uniforms, all the teachers have theirs as well. This is like a poncho-dress-apron kind of thing that is put on over the head and worn over regular clothes with ribbons tying it at waist and with a couple of pockets in the front.

Although everybody was very pleasant and kind to me, I was truly glad when the end of the work day came and we returned to Lima. I had a little bit of rest and then I went with Virginia to her gym. Of course, I didn’t work out there, but the main idea was for me to take advantage of warm water there and have a shower. Namely, Virginia didn’t have warm water on her premises and although she pointed out to me how beneficial and healthy it was to have a cold shower, in the morning I exposed myself to only a symbolic quantity of that kind of health. So, I groomed myself well at the gym and later we went to the centre of Lima. There we had a nice stroll and eventually ended up in the main square, Plaza Mayor. In the meantime, it got dark, but everything was beautifully lit – the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace and the Municipal Building.