Saturday Rob and I went to Central Lima's Chinatown to purchase supplies for our upcoming Halloween party which surprisingly seems to be a pretty big deal in Peru. We departed the hostel around 1:45pm and grabbed 2 empanadas on the way to the bus stop. While we sat in a nearby park in the sun to snack on our flaky treat we witnessed a small wedding party leaving a church and then a completely separate wedding reception taking place in the park! Now that the weather is gradually getting warmer as the sun makes a longer appearance each day, more and more people are spending time outside. Rob doesn't speak Spanish (although I started teaching him a word of the day about 2 weeks ago and his vocabulary is rapidly expanding) except for your few staple words so I was the designated Spanish speaker as usual. We got off the bus at the wrong stop and had to walk for about 45 minutes in the busy and overwhelming streets of Central Lima until I managed to find our way (with the help of the many police and security men whom I stopped to ask) to some stores with Halloween supplies. We purchased hanging paper chains in the shapes of pumpkins and skeletons, a hanging cardboard skeleton and witch, and enough cotton spiderweb for a small army. I was told that The Point already has a lot of Halloween supplies so we didn't have a large shopping list. While roaming around Chinatown after our errands in search of an alarm clock and new cocktail glasses for the bar which seem to dwindle every week as a result of drunken travelers dropping their beverages on the bar floor, we spotted a man with a baby goat! I asked if I could take a picture of the goat and instead of saying 'si', the goat-holder straight up handed me his goat! I immediately recieved arm kisses and even a little chew which I didn't mind considering this precious baby goat was probably for sale to be raised for juicy meat. Rob even asked for a turn with the adorable mammal. After the equivalent of 3 miles of walking in smelly, crowded streets for 4 hours, Rob and I stopped for pollo a la brasa at a local joint with a line at the register- a sure sign that the food is delicious! Half way through our meal, the lights went out and we had to eat in the dark. We then proceeded to carry our 24 bar glasses (packaged in a plastic bag, mind you) and Halloween decorations onto an overly crowded bus hoping that none of the glasses would break. We were successful! We also managed to stop at Metro- the local grocery store to purchase strawberry jello for our Saturday night jello shots and eggs to make pisco sours because of Shane and James; the 2 English guys with accents so thick that I can't understand what they say. Shane and James had me make more pisco sours in one night than I had made in the 6 weeks I have been bartending. Because most people drink beer here, I don't get many opportunities to make cocktails other than G&Ts, screwdrivers and rum & cokes so I like mastering a drink- especially one that's the official alcoholic drink of Peru! The night wound down with one of the English guys accidentally breaking a beer bottle followed by these 2 handsome boys falling over a bar stool. After 45 minutes complaining about how sloppy these guys were, Rob kindly asked them to go to bed. They surprisingly didn't argue. For some reason I'm not surprised that they don't remember much of the night. They sleep in my room and asked me for some pain meds for their headaches yesterday morning. Most people can handle their liquor a little bit better. I decided to go to the disco Saturday night as I hadn't been out in over a week. I tend to be pretty tired after work ends at 1am and have been working on my pool skills with my bar manager, Rob. He tells me i'm getting really good and will beat him day. His words of affirmation make my day on a regular basis as he learned how to play pool in Malaysia with professionals so he's pretty fucking good. We went to Toro Bar in Barranco which was a huge club with a 90's cover band performing but the club was pretty empty. I wasn't enjoying myself because I can only get excited to hear 'Don't Stop Believin' by Journey so many times before i'm sick of it. I left Toro Bar with 2 Australians to walk back to the hostel around 3am. I went to my room to get my computer and sat in the garden to listen to music and start my journaling. I was approached by a French guy who had stumbled back from a bar and we proceeded to try to communicate. Welp he doesn't speak a lick of English and knows basic conversational Spanish. We sat in the garden for an hour communicating the best we could using lots of charades. Mr. France (I never got his name) had come from a reggae show and we spent our time showing each other music videos on youtube. It's amazing how music can bring people together without many words.
Yesterday was absolutely glorious. My new friend Asia Power (yes, that's her real name) read about a beach about an hour south of Barranco called Playa Asia and was on a mission to go there and take silly pictures with the signs. Welp it turns out that it would have been a 100 Sole cab ride and that the area is way expensive so we were referred to Punta Hermosa, a beautiful beach only about 30 minutes away. The first cab who stopped for our group of 11 people wasn't willing to drive to Punta Hermosa so I proceeded to find a cab who wanted to make some money off of some gringos. This next cab driver wanted 150 Soles for a 30 minute cab drive which is complete bullshit. I looked him straight in the eye and said 'Yo vivo aca. Yo soy gringa pero no soy stupida.' Often times taxi drivers attempt to take advantage of tourists who don't know any better. Luckily I always ask reception how much I should pay for a taxi so I'm not ripped off. I managed to get the same cab driver to take 4 of us in his car for 50 Soles. Schwing! The beach was beautiful, but we could easily tell that it was a beach used quite a lot by many people as there were small bits of trash in the sand. The waves were a gorgeous blue color and the crashing of the waves with the few scattered brave people willing to face the cold waters was a pleasant sight. I was determined to sit in the sun and eat cebiche while I watched the surfers and I succeeded. Seven of us went to a local restaurant for lunch. While it was a lovely afternoon, we missed some prime time in the sun. I didn't mind so much because while I lathered up with my SPF 30 to block the UVs but to get a little toasty, there weren't any spots for shade. I managed to catch some rays from 4-5 while the sun started to head towards the horizon. We took a crowded bus for 45 minutes back to Barranco which only cost us 4 Soles per person. We must have looked silly being 11 people clearly out of place on a teeny bus for 30 people. I came back to the hostel and wound down for a while as I didn't have to work until 9:30pm. I worked an hour early for another bartender a few nights back so she offered to work an extra hour for me. This favor couldn't have come at a better time because I was really tired from going to the beach. At the beginning of my shift I noticed that a really attractive man was looking for the triangle for pool which we store on top of a giant light that hangs over the pool table. I decided to walk over with a smile and show him where we keep our supplies. Eric in advertising from New York flirtatiously challenged me to a game and I proceeded to kick his ass. It was grand and Rob was so proud of his student. After the bar closed I joined a doubles game in pool and again, kicked ass. I think I have found a new pastime.
