As promised, a few more stories of Peru. There are about 20 more of these to come this week.
“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” ASKED THE CAB DRIVER
All but one member of our group came in Tuesday night around midnight. One came in early Tuesday because she was coming from Brazil. On our cab ride from the airport to the hotel the cab driver asked about our time in Peru. (Somehow he could tell we weren’t locals.)
The conversation went like this (in Spanish):
Driver: How long are you in Peru?
Me: Nine days
D: How long are you in Lima?
M: One day
D: Where else are you going?
M: Chimbote
D: You must be here to work.
Chimbote is a city of 400k people. It is a seaport that at one time produced over 50% of the world’s anchovies (most of them are shipped to the far east for fertilizer). It is the driest dustiest humid place on the earth. Nothing grows without irrigation. As you are drive out of town in any direction it looks a desert and not in the southwest US type desert, but in the wasteland type desert. It is not list in travel guides.
As I was picking up our bus tickets the sales rep looked perplexed because she could not believe anyone (much less foreigners) would be getting off in Chimbote and not going on to Trujillo. Trujillo is just to the north by less than one hundred miles. It is a beautiful beach town. Lots of tourist. Lots of leisure.
Not Chimbote.
HUGS AND KISSES
While in Chimbote, everywhere we went we were greeted with kisses on the cheek and hugs. Even if it was walking down the street. The little old ladies wouldn’t just say “Buenos Dias” but they would also want a kiss you on the cheek.
It was heart warming and welcoming to the point it was disorienting to walk around Lima at the end of trip and have people not even make eye contact with us.
THE ONLY JUGGLER I HAVE EVER SEEN
Brad and I had the chance to juggle. Fr. Jack set it up so we would do a short show after the Saturday night and Sunday morning masses in the parish courtyard.
Everyone in our group was encouraged to pack light, so we didn’t lots of props along. Brad brought a few stage balls and some beanbags. For club passing we went to the old stand by, plungers.
Katie (one of the full time volunteers at the parish) had arranged for us to get 6 plungers. The plungers we sitting on the floor, out of the way, in the dining room because Brad and I were going to practice after dinner one night. During the meal, one of the members of the kitchen staff, Connie who couldn’t be taller than 4′ 10″, ran in to the dining room grabbed one of the plungers and ran out.
I tried franticly to catch up with her before she could use it, but no avail. She vanished. A few minutes latter she returned with a damp plunger.
So after 10 minutes of trying to clean and disinfect the plungers we were ready to practice.
The nice thing about juggling is it requires no language. You can just do it.
After the second show we gave out APeX Family Buttons that have Brad and my faces on them. (On some level it was a bit horrifying to see people all over the neighborhood with our faces pinned to them.)
The buttons also have our web site on them. One of the middle school age kids walked up to me, as he pointed at the button, he said, “goo-ga-lay, goo-ga-lay”. It took me a moment or two to realize he was saying the Spanish pronunciation of google.
Brad reported that one of the guys who had been helping us out all week (age 17-19) said that we were the first jugglers he had ever seen in person.

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