Our meeting point was in Lima, Peru. I'm coming from Atlanta via Miami and Nikki from Manila via Los Angeles with stop over in Honduras (I think). Few days before the trip, we had some adrenalin-rush panic over VISAs and flights - typical of us who always breeze through every trip planning adventures after adventures, cherry picking best places over a huge continent but forgetting the essential stuff like double checking passports.
While in Miami waiting for my flight, I got a text from Nikki that her flight is delayed for an hour and I almost panicked (again) because her connecting flight has just about that window. I started calling TACA (our airline) - I actually don't know why I did that, I thought with my call I could stop the plane from flying and wait for my friend.
Usually when I'm worrying over something, my mental abilities are way over the clouds. When I heard my flight, I rushed to the plane still texting, and while looking for my seat, the stewardess called me and announced (it felt like that, with the volume of her voice) that I'm in the wrong plane.
Um, what airline does that? Schedule 2 flights to the same location with 15 minute difference ? My flight was actually in neighboring terminal. How embarassingly novice of me.
Nikki is planned to arrive 30 minutes earlier in Lima, if she makes it. Upon touchdown, I got a text that she's waiting for me (she literally ran to make it on time) at the Lima airport, oh my god worries gone. And then followed by a text: "by the way, they lost my luggage.." And that my friends is how we roll.
<< Here's Nikki on the left with the only luggage in the coming days: green bag. But let me tread on already on our first day in Lima. We saw each other at the airport, hugged as do long lost friends, laughed over the lost luggage and muttered we will just get it the following morning and she can borrow my clothes. We had our currencies exchanged and as usual ill-prepared about the vital stats about the country we fumbled and said, "Sorry, are these Reals...what do you call these bills?"
We hurried towards a man who will bring us to our hostel. I feel bad saying hostel because we always prefer staying at local's houses - we're couchsurfers and in this age of global connected-ness, I think that nobody is a stranger.
In a speeding taxi, I look over the city and I thought, it's not as different as Manila. Rounding off a corner, we exclaimed, looks like Cubao!
We met up with David and Cesar at Cafe La Maquina, a cute and cozy bohemian coffee place. Nikki warned me she read that it's famous for pick-pocketing. Oh well, what's new, it's not like we did not come from Manila har har har. I'm kidding!
We've never met David and Cesar and they also don't know each other. And no we're not scared of meeting up with locals we don't know. I truly believe that's what's traveling is about - to let go of fears and comfort zones and when you're in a foreign place, you have every excuse to make a fool of yourself. Good thing Nikki has the same mindset, I think she is the one who influenced me to have that mindset.
David is a musician and as he say, "a drummer but the African kind". He loves the Beatles because of course we have to have some common thing. We noticed that Peruvians are very nationalistic, when they tell us about their culture, it is with a hint of pride and lots of passion. They're proud of their Incan heritage. He's very well read on spirituality and so I asked him what does he think about end of the world in 2012 - does he believe....he laughed and said, are you guys taking it literally? And he told us what they think of it and you have to invite me for a cup of coffee before I'll squeal it to you, dear reader. His answer is interesting and affirming.
Cesar arrived late and he's the total opposite of David. He came in a suit and he's a lawyer and brought in lots of tips for us. He comes prepared to say the least. At some point, I wonder now how we were able to maneuver those conversations because we were with people of two different worlds: an artist and a corporate lawyer.
Afterwards, they brought us to watch live music - it was so awesome. The club is very intimate, has the acoustic coffeehouse feel. Favorite moment: Performer singing an allegedly famous song and everyone in the bar sang along! And it has a nice ditty so we sang along too! Woohoo! It was in Spanish (albeit the only Spanish words we know are those that are common with Tagalog).
We ordered pisco sour for a drink, their tatak drink, like lambanog to ours.
We wanted to dance so David brought us to a disco place (disco talaga, with those disco lights, and there's a huge LCD showing music videos!) with the music of...hold your breath, maroon 5 and nicki minaj, super bass! Old guy (a.k.a. drunk DOM) wanted to dance with us and so we did, stealing kisses (harassment na yun) and off we go!
We were at the plaza and it's almost 2AM. The weather is perfect. I have never experienced such perfect nighttime weather, chilly but not cold and the stars! Not one cloud hides them! There's a guy kissing his girl at the plaza, and the bohemian David started humming the Beatles' 'all you need is love..'
This is the kind of city Lima is, making its best impression on our first day and rightfully so. We bade goodbye and we made promises to see each other again soon, although everyone knows it's a slim chance that it will happen.
It's strange, I could remember and feel all of it distinctly as I write this. My heart swells.
To read more about the Oh Lala Latin America Backpacking Adventure:
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