Day 24 - Huanchaco

The last few days since I left Cuzco have been fairly low-key, mostly traveling, relaxing, and, of course, thinking. I therefore present...

Things That I Miss

1. Cars driving by blasting hip-hop

I miss that you cannot go anywhere, New York or California, without having cars driving by playing hip-hop loudly. Music is everywhere. Here, that is not the case. I realized that I was missing having music in my life. So I found myself a new travel companion while in Lima. Went to the Polvos Azules market in downtown Lima, which is basically a huge Peruvian mall. Mostly shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. But I was able to track down my new travel companion....which is....a brand new Walkman! The 80's are back, baby! It even has a flashlight! Still new to find some tapes to listen to, because apparently Peru is no longer in the 80's. I asked one of the CD vendors where I could find tapes, and he looked at me like I had asked him if I could have his little sister's phone number to ask her out on a date. No go on the cassettes, but listening to the radio on the ride from Lima to Trujillo (about 9 hours) was awesome, if only with intermittent reception. Lots of 80's rock music and reggaeton. Speaking of the ride, it was the best bus ride I have had in Peru and possibly the best solo bus ride I have ever taken. Bus left on time, ticket was cheap, no seat mate, plenty of movies. We stopped at this little roadside restaurant on the Panamerican and I had some stewed goat, Carribean style, f-ing delicious. And I got to listen to my radio when we passed through cities! The scenery was also beautiful, a lot of empty beaches and towering sand dunes.

2. Bathroom with toilet paper

Self-explanatory

3. Real Chinese food

They love Chinese food here. Love that shit. But it is awful. It is like food from that one buffet place where they leave the food out for days and you can see stuff starting to grow on it. After being offered some of this Asiatic gruel, I decided to make my own dinner on my last night in Lima. Got some pasta, some Roma tomatoes, garlic, and a baguette, and made myself (and others) a nice Italian dinner. Put some jazz on the radio at the hostel (some New Orleans jazz and some Sinatra), and got cooking. It was a very nice night overall, and I enjoyed being around some people I was getting used to at that hostel. Of course, it has to be on my last night there. Perhaps, because it was my last night there. Either way, a nice way to end my stay in Southern Peru.

4. People

It would be cheesy of me to list the people I miss. But I do miss them, and they know who they are. I have been trying my best to keep in touch. Emails just aren't the same as hugs though.

I believe now that this trip of mine was a mistake, at least in its timing. The problem is not so much that I should not have come -- at some point I needed to do something like this, and I am learning to enjoy these adventures more and more each day. The problem is that I should not have left. I missed out on things that I did not need to miss out on. At the point in my life where I most need support and resources -- the point where I try to figure out what I want to do, where I want to do it, and with whom around me -- at that point I find myself further from those resources and support than I have ever been.

This is not to say that I feel bad, or feel self-pity. A mistake is a mistake, and we all make them. I recognize this as a mistake because it is important to acknowledge errors when they are made. This mistake will not change who I am, and I will not run back immediately to try and pick up the pieces. I will learn from this, take what lessons I can, try to do better in the future. Sounds simple, only gets more complicated as time goes on. Which, from what I have heard, it tends to do.

Breakfast is calling me now. I will update and post pictures when I can.