Complianos

Plaza de Martin in Lima proper.

y Plaza de Armas con amigas!

The birthday spread

Yesterday we went into the downtown area of Lima. The most impressive thing of the day was that we survived the cab ride. I now know that it is normal for this culture to cram as many people into the car/ taxi/ bus as possible. The record for a 5 passenger vehicle is 13 passengers (and a driver for a grand total of 14!) and this is just in my sister's experience! Wow. anyhow, the additional factor needed to understand my amazement at arriving in one piece is the method for driving. Streets do not have clearly marked lanes, so the drivers just sort of pick a path and go for it. Additionally, not all intersections have trafic lights or stop signs. Forget turn lanes. The drivers just sort of "feel" an opening and dart across several lanes to make a turn, often right at the intersection. There are no "walk lights" at most intersections, so it is also dangerous to be a pedestrian. Heather thought she was doing me a favor to let me sit in the front, but on the way home, I insisted on sitting in the back, which was much better. In the back seat, you do not see all of the near misses.

About the plazas. The first, Plaza de san Martin is in honor of the liberator of Lima. There was a cathedral on one side and other buildings around with the statue in the center. There are many photographers offering to take your picture. Also, there were many people selling various tours.

The second Plaza, Plaza de Armas is the main plaza in Lima. The building to the left in the phots is the office of the president. It is not his residence, but merely his office. The amigas in the picture are Nicole, Katty, Heather, Nori, and Lina. Lina was the one baptized after the birthday party.

The birthday party for Mattias, Blanca's grandson, was held at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I get the sense that people here really like fried chicken. There are many fast food restraunts which serve fried chicken. The party was cute. There was a "show" where a man acted out a story, all in Spanish of course. Amazingly, I did get the gist of it which was that his friend the horse woke up and could not find his tail. After questioning many animals, he finally found it on a pig, who was wearing it as a pony tail. It was all a bit surreal. There were 2 cakes and lots of candy. What a fiesta! So, Steph, if you are reading this, I was thinking of you quite a bit at the party and wishing you a very happy birthday!