Week in Peru

Crossing the Ecuadorian/Peruvian border at 3 am was in-and-of itself an adventure, entertaining albeit thoroughly confusing. Due to the un-fortuitous location of the border crossing stations (it just so happens that our guidebook excessively and incorrectly uses the word "fortuitous") we were required to take 2 rickshaws and a taxi cab back and forth just to get our passports stamped. Each driver attempted to take advantage of two tourists in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night. After sifting through the bullshit we finally settled on a taxi driver that told us to throw our packs in the trunk which he was kind enough to open with the button inside the car. As we lifted the lid the trunk appeared completely empty except for one small unusual object. In the dim moonlight we were able to identify a tiny head with a beak, feathers and two thin legs. Neither of us were willing to move the chicken carcas to insert our packs so instead we elected to hold them on our laps.

So far one of the gems we have discovered in Peru has been the small fishing village, Zorritos. We were the only tourists on miles of endless beaches. We spent several days body surfing on and attempting to jump over the waves, laughing at the multitude of miniature crabs running sideways and ducking into their holes and sunbathing. For dinners we´d feast on the catch of the day. One night we found ourselves surrounded by a group of curious kids who wanted to know more about us white intruders.

It´s interesting how certain childhood games like tag and cops and robbers transcend cultural boundaries.

Jenny didn´t need to know spanish to understand that she was "It." The kids loved to pose and model and have their picture taken.

These sweet kids sharply contrast with the other kids we´ve met who accost us with shoe shine boxes, taffy candy or other types of useless junk. We´ve determined that these kids must be recent graduates of some sort of Tourist Training camp where they are required to carry small trays of useless crap while sprinting, running and hopping through obstacle courses. They are also forced to stand at attention to practice their whining and shout things like "Gringo would you like a...." and "Un caramelito..." while their drill sergeants are screaming "BE CUTER! YOU ARE NOT CUTE ENOUGH!"


Don´t be fooled by these cute, seemingly innocent faces. Immediately upon taking this picture, we were accosted by these two recent honor graduates from one of Peru´s finest tourist traning camps; only the best are sent to Cuzco. They were as ruthless as they were relentless.


- JRo and JBird