Lima, Peru

Lima

After our plane landed safely, we drove straight to Miraflores where our apartment was located. It was a beautiful apartment with a view of the sea and the Lima skyline. After settling in, we went out for dinner and then went straight to bed. On the first full day, we slept in for a long time. Then we had breakfast with a view of the sea before taking an Uber to the city center. Lima is extremely large and has about 3-4 centers, but in South America, the "Plaza de Armas" is always the main center. We drove to a big park, took a walk around, and then made our way to Plaza de Armas. The squares were mostly very beautiful.

We were actually looking for a tourist office because we wanted to visit a certain island, and we found it there. We got some information and found out that we could swim with seals and sea lions. We immediately booked it. Finally, I got to have the ceviche I had been craving, and it was perfect. What is ceviche? It's raw white fish with Peruvian corn, onions, lemon dressing, and chili, very refreshing.

And of course, we had a nice cold beer, the best when it's hot.

The next day, we didn't know what to do at first, so I did some research and found a surprise for Muriel and her parents. We went to John F. Kennedy Park, also known as the Cat Park. There are over 70 stray cats living there, perfect for Muriel. After asking "Where are we going?" for the 500th time, we finally found the park and we already saw the first cat.

But it was lunchtime and the cats were hiding in the trees, under the benches, in the bushes, etc., so we had to search for them. There were a lot of them though. Muriel was a bit disappointed because they were hiding too much.

We went to have lunch and then to a special shopping center right by the beach and built into the rock. It was unique and beautiful, even though we didn't have any money to buy anything, it was still worth a visit.

By now, it was around 5:00 pm and it was starting to cool down. We went back to the Cat Park and there were even more cats to play with. Muriel took a photo of every cat she petted, and I believe there were quite a few. Some of them didn't find it amusing and occasionally we had the feeling they wanted to slap us with their paws. There were at least 2-3 cats on every tree, walking around like little monkeys.

The next day, we went to the harbor where our boat was waiting for us. We went to visit the Palomino Islands, which we had already done in La Serena, but not with Reto and Andrea. If there was something to make you feel sick, it was this. 100,000 birds, one bigger than the other. After one hour, it got really bad. Even the captain had to take a "motion sickness pill." Like me, and many others, he still wanted to swim in the sea in the morning. After 1.5 hours, we arrived at the islands and put on our wetsuits. We jumped into the 15 degrees Celsius cold water. The rocks were full of thousands of sea lions and seals.

Slowly, the cold water crept up our arms and legs. Plus, it was extremely salty. At first, all the seals were sitting on the rocks and scratching themselves. Yes, scratching themselves, they made an unimaginable noise. We swam right next to the rocks and suddenly one after the other jumped into the water with us. They smelled really bad, like the worst thing I can remember. Like very, very old fish, really old, that is no longer alive. But it felt really good after feeling so sick. I filmed with the GoPro and the animals came very close. They were very curious, anyone who petted them had to take a picture. Every tree had at least 2-3 cats on it, walking around like little monkeys.

There were about 100 seals swimming around us, scratching themselves, and nibbling on our feet, but very gently. It was surprising how gentle and considerate they were towards us, like dogs, actually.

After 30 minutes, we went back to the boat, took off our wetsuits, and... the vomiting continued. Not everyone, but some of us. On the way, we also saw a huge pelican and a penguin. We soon arrived back on land and went straight to the apartment. During our whole stay, we saw posters of the Pope everywhere. He apparently spent 3 days in the city. Funny enough, he arrived at the airport that evening and landed 100 meters from our apartment by helicopter and got into the "Papamobile." Hundreds of people were waiting on the street. We stood on the balcony with binoculars and observed the whole VIP scene.

The next day, we didn't do much. We did our laundry, watched some movies, and went out for a nice dinner. After dinner, we went to a fountain park. It was beautiful. There was even a 20-minute-long water-laser show.

We visited over 25 fountains, and Muriel took some really cool photos.

Then, it was already our last day. On this day, we visited the two sponsored children of the Egger family and the Fürthale community. We arranged to meet at the first school. Sebastian, a Swiss man responsible for the sponsorship in Lima, greeted us. He is a friendly man from Graubünden who emigrated with his two children and his wife. The school has 1600 children aged between 3 and 17. It's a huge school, including kindergarten, primary school, secondary school, and workshops.

It's really a great system. Only the children whose parents want them to continue are encouraged. It doesn't make sense to bring a street child to school, most of them don't come from there, that's the problem. In the last 3 years, they even have to choose a profession. They can either prepare for university or choose a vocational training in electrical engineering, polymechanics, plant and apparatus construction, commerce, or the textile industry. We visited the workshop and I felt like when I was an apprentice in AZW Winterthur.

They work on projects together and make things like this

A functioning popcorn machine.

After the visit, the first sponsored child arrived, Jean Pierre Leon, the 11-year-old sponsored by Reto and Andrea. At first, he was hiding behind his mother. We all walked together to the car and drove to Jean's home. As soon as he got in the car, he started talking non-stop. Muriel's ears were about to bleed. The little one was so adorable, he felt comfortable with us so quickly. When we arrived at home, he took us to his room. It was small because there were only two of them, but it was really cozy. He had decorated it very nicely. We learned about the life of his family, and it deeply touched us. People like them deserve all the help they can get, and they really appreciate it. After about 1.5 hours and 4 games of chess (Jean lost all of them mercilessly), we took a group photo.

and a keyboard demonstration.

Jean gave Muriel his cap as a gift because he was worried about her in the sun, saying "You are so white and the sun is dangerous, take my cap"! Tears were shed, and we went to visit the next child.

David lived about 50 minutes away. He attends a different school, but it is also part of the same organization. We quickly walked around the school, and Sebastian said, "Be careful, there is a kennel with a very mean Rottweiler in there!" Of course, we had to see it, and there was a cute little dog inside who didn't know if he should attack us or be happy.

Afterwards, David's mother came to meet us, and we greeted each other. She is a very friendly and down-to-earth woman. In contrast to Jean's mother, she made a happier impression. We arrived at their house, which belongs to her father. The family owns the house, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed. However, the family does not have as difficult a fate as the other family. David came down the stairs, laughed, and kissed each of us on the cheek. He was delighted. He, like Jean, was very knowledgeable about our family. After 1 hour of getting to know each other and asking each other questions, we moved on. We took a final group photo and then went straight to Lima City.

From there, we said goodbye to Sebastian and were supposed to take a taxi. The problem was that all the streets were closed, and it was almost impossible to find a taxi. There were people everywhere, military personnel, police officers, and security guards. It was more like being with a pop star than anything else, the Pope. Yes, he annoyed us a bit. However, we managed to find a taxi and eventually made it back to the apartment. With heavy hearts, we had to pack our bags and then had a farewell dinner together, as Reto and Andrea had to leave. We had a delicious piece of meat. In the morning, we woke up early, had breakfast together for the last time, and then took different taxis. They went to the airport, and we went to the bus station. Back to a simple life, back to backpacking. Buses, dormitory or private rooms, and hostels. But to be honest, we missed it a bit because we got to meet really cool people.

At this point, we would like to say a huge thank you to Reto and Andrea. We had a great time, it was really cool!

Next stop: Huacachina

See you soon

Ernesto and Muriel