Sun and Sand

What a wonderful and relaxing weekend - my first journey outside of Lima was quite successful. I traveled south about three and half hours by bus and landed in Paracas. When my friend Elizabeth suggested a couple days away to relax and enjoy some sun and warmth on the coast and it didn't take me more than a second to agree wholeheartedly. What a fantastic idea! We spent the majority of the weekend at a gorgeous beach front hotel soaking the rays and testing out some delicious Peruvian dishes. One of my favorite parts of the weekend had to be our exploration of the nearby sand dessert. Can you think of a better way to travel around the vast expanse of sand dunes than with an ex race car driver? I certainly can't. We raced our way around and over the dunes and it when our driver said that this was the "Peruvian version of the roller coaster," he was not exaggerating. I especially enjoyed the thrill of sand boarding down some incredibly steep slopes. All in the all, the weekend was a blast.

I'm doing my best to keep up with life in here Lima and getting the hang of a busy weekly routine. At the office I have started making hints that I would love a chance to travel for the job if necessary. I'm crossing my fingers for an upcoming chance to do so! Enjoy the photos of sand and sun and more to come soon! I hope everyone had a special Memorial Day today. 

Thinking about what a big sand castle I could build here... 

This hardly depicts how steep it actually is. Trust me - it was steep!

If you can't tell, I'm screaming very loud here. 

Loving Lima

I wish I was able to write more for the blog, but take it as a good sign that I'm so busy here that I don't have much spare time to get creative and sit down to write! I'll try and do better, I promise. Life seems to be flying by at an incredible pace here in Lima. If I'm not busy at work, I'm enjoying making new friends and exploring more of the city. I recently moved into a fantastic apartment on the border of the neighborhoods Miraflore and San Isidro. It's a nice quieter (but not too quiet) part of the city and my street is very safe and surprisingly peaceful. My absolute favorite part of the new place is a huge, gorgeous, open rooftop terrace which we have all to ourselves. I live with four other roommates and we get along fantastically. We try and split up the cooking and share meals at least a few times during the week. Such meals which we enjoy as much as possible on the terrace.

This weekend I will be taking my first trip out of Lima to Paracas. An area about three hours south of the city and known for it's beautiful location on the coast. I can't wait for the rest and relaxiation! Last weekend I was able to experiene a very unique park here in Lima - the magical fountains. The park is enormous and full of all sorts of spectacular water fountains and light shows. It was quite an adventure and of course I had to see how many fountains I could run under without getting drenched. I survived for the most part, but did get sufficiently soaked before heading home. It's hard to resist the challenge. =)

I'm looking forward to more adventures in the near future. I can confidently say that I'm almost a "master" at the bus system here in my area. I can now hop on and of a moving bus, no problem.

Keeping Up

Today I literally jumped on my bus to work while it was still in motion. You have to be quick if you want to keep up with traffic here in Lima. This is especially important when crossing the street... You might think I'm joking, but I'm convinced the drivers here actually speed up when they see you cross the street.

The pictures below are ones while inside a taxi after work this week. They don't quite capture the craziness, but perhaps you can get a slight "idea" of what I'm talking about.

It has been a wonderful and busy week at work making friends and getting used to a particularly different office culture here south of the equator. I'm already falling in love with Peruvian cuisine! Aji de Gallina, Chicha Morada, Pisco Sours, Maracuyos, and SO much more. =) I'll have more pictures and stories after this weekend!

Recent sights

Some recent pictures of life in Seattle and beginnings in Lima!

Gorgeous Tulips back home

. 

I miss my new not so little nephew!

He won't be staying this small for long!

Kennedy Park just a few blocks away

Larcomar shopping - the seaside cliffs of Lima

A great spot to watch Para gliders!

You can bet I'll be trying this out soon =)

Parque del Amor

Starting Life in Lima

Well, here I am writing again from another far off destination. Life in Lima seems to be set to the pace as the traffic here: very fast. Even though I have only been here a handful of days, I'm already starting to get set into a routine. The majority of my time here will be spend working at PeruForLess.com and I couldn't be happier about this. The office is full of about 50 or so fun staff who are all passionate and adventurous world travelers. My work in online marketing and business development will certainly be keeping me busy. I'm crossing my fingers to be able to attend any upcoming staff trips where some of our providers invite us to come and test out their products. For instance, next week, about nine staff members are headed to Chile to make sure we're offering the best winery selections and hotels on our tours. Not a bad assignment, eh? 


I'm currently hunting for an apartment and when I'm not at work, I'm trying to navigate the crazy bus system here (quite an adventure), practicing my Spanish, or trying out delicious Peruvian restaurants (while staying clear of the water of course!). 


I'll post my own pictures soon but here are some I pulled from Google Images to give you an idea of the neighborhood I'm in. Lima is HUGE with a population of 9 million, so I'm still learning the streets of Miraflores before I venture further downtown. I unfortunately inherited a little less than perfect direction sense so I have to be a little cautious with my exploring. =)


Will write more soon! 

The coast in Miraflores

Just a glimpse of traffic.