June 1st. The Second Day...

Hi All! My adventures continue and get more interesting by the minute!!
We left again on our huge tour bus. Imagine a HUGE King of the Road bus going down the streets in town. That is what we looked like. It was kind of a comical sight watching people look at us as we barrel down the street! One thing about Peru traffic is that they are very agressive. You almost have to watch out for your life. The cars just dont stop for people. They dont have the right away. Speed is the name of the game. Even if the light is red it doesnt mean that you are safe to go. Sometimes even people are in the left lane and they cross 3 lanes of traffic to turn right. Here in Peru you have to speeds crossing the street fast and faster!
We all had an awesome breakfast provided by the Hotel and then we were off in the bus again for another adventure with Ernesto in the big bus. We went to Barraco and old historic part of town which contains a lot of history. Ernesto took us to a bridge where there is a tradition that people walk across while holding their breath and make a wish. I made a wish as I crossed but cant tell you or it wont come true. Next we were off to visit a city called Chicullio a short distance from Lima. Lima is the largest city bustling with people and activity all the time. Lima has all kinds of restaurants and shops and has a pretty high standard of living as it appears.One of the different jobs that is here in Lima that I have seen so far is men and women that clean the street. They are dressed in uniforms and have a dust pan and broom and walk the streets sweeping up trash.In contrast the other city Chuicllio was significantly lower class. There was not that emphasis on cleaning the streets as it had been in Lima. In the distance on the sides of the mountains it was filled with an array of color of small houses. Eneresto explained that most of these people have come from high up in the Andes mountains and have come in search of a better life. They are very poor and most of them build a basic structure for their houses but cant afford to finish them. While we drove the streets we saw these littel taxis called Tuc Tucs that are about the size of a go cart. I got really excited because we saw these in Guatemala while I was there. They are so cute!
We finally arrived in Pantacama which is an sight that is about 1800 years old which has a temple to the Sun and Moon gods.
On our way out from the museo we had been talking about how we hoped that we could see some lamas. It was our lucky day because as we walked out there were lamas being led on leashes to the grass to be fed. We hurried over to the men and they allowed us to pet and touch the lamas. They were so soft.
After this we headed back to Miraflora the district of Lima that we are staying. We had lunch and had a scary experience while at lunch of one of the people in our group having their passport stolen from the table. We were all a little shook up. It turned out good because they ended up finding it.
The rest of the day was kind of comical. So we had free time for the afternoon to explore around the city a little. We were given directions that the Pacific Ocean. They said if we just headed staright down the street directly in front of our hotlel for 5 minutes that we would run straight into the ocean. We began to travel and again had to watch out for cars and buses. I think today I almsot got ran over by a few taxis and a bus. They are such crazy drivers. After about 20 we were starting to wonder if this was the right direction to the playa. We decided to keep going because it was probably just a little farther. We continued walking and eventually ended up at busy road that it appeared was an entrance for a highway. At this point we decided that it was probably not the right director so we turned around. It was funny because we saw all of the same people working on cars on the sidewalk who looked at us as if to say Why are you back so soon? We were jokingly saying that We just had to stop really quick and now we are heading back.
It didnt help that the map that we had was not a very accurate one because it skipped almost every 3 streets. Looking at the map it said that we were in one corner and that Pacific Ocean was on the opposite side of the map. We had gone the completely wrong director without knowing it. When we turned around and headed in the other director we still didnt know if we were heading in the right director. We were all in good spirits and had fun even though we still hadnt found the ocean and it had been over an hour. At least we knew where we were because we had stayed on the same street as the hotel.
We finally came to a street with a Strip Mall that had a Starbucks. We decided to cross the street and go there when all of a sudden we saw a hand waving from a van stopped at the stop light. We were confused at who this was but then realized that it was our trusty tour guide Eneresto. He was waving us over so we all hurried over to the middle of the street to say hi. Eneresto told us that he had good news and that the passport had been found. He asked us what we were trying to find and we told him the beach. He smiled and responded that we were never going to find it that way. He asked us if we wanted to get in and we happily agreed. All of the taxi drivers were probably wondering how this guy at enticed us to come over because the whole time we had been out they had been honking and waving us down to in so they could give us a ride. He began driving down a ramp that we never found and shortly we were at the beach.
WHAT WERE THE CHANCES???? We were in the huge city of Lima with over 8 million citizens and who do we see as we are crossing the street, but Eneresto there as our hero to rescue us. He was our guardian angel. There were the perfect amount of seats for us in the van. God was really watching out for us. Eneresto stayed with us at the beach telling us about the area and the surfurs and the crabs. He also was our photographer and made sure we had cool picutures. I cant get over what a God thing this was the we just happened to stumble upon Eneresto at the exact moment we needed him. He is amazing!!
When we got back we had a little bit of freetime and then headed to the outdoor mall for dinner. We went to this very nice restaurant for dinner. Rocio our professor said that we could spend 50 soles which is about $10. You can really buy a lot for that. Our waiter told us that we spoke good Spanish from what he could tell when we ordered. The two of us that he said it to my friend said the word Club Sandwich in English. It was funny. I ordered a yummy crepe. For dessert I had also ordered a crepe filled with ice cream and topped with whipped cream and peaches. It was so delicious!! As we were paying for our meal our waiter came over and asked us what country we were from. He then asked us ¿Todas las mujere en EU que bonitas que ustedes? Are all of the women in the US as beautiful as you? He didnt do it in a rude way. It was cute! After dinner we walked around the mall and looked at all of the expensive things to buy, but didnt buy anything.
So far my experiences have been so wonderful. I am falling in love with Peru!
Tomorrow is a busy day with flying to Puno where the altitude is 13,500 feet, the highest I have ever been! We will stay in Puno for a few days and then finally go to Cusco where we will start classes on June 7th.
Starting tomorrow until the end of the trip we have all decided that we are no longer going to speak in English. We are only speaking in Spanish. I am so excited!! I am also really excited to meet my host Mom and Dad!
All for now!
Buenas noches
I need sleep!
Know I love you all!!