ISAF Seminar Lima Peru October 2013

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Have not seen a blue sky since I left!!!

Auckland - Sydney

2 hour stopover, nearly home.

Just ordered a latte , coffee with milk,one of the things I have missed.

In Sydney on 1030 flight to Melbourne

Chile

Home of the Stray Cat

Santiago is the home of the stray dog, and Lima is the home of the stray cat. In the centre of Miraflores, there is a park (the John F Kennedy Park) filled with flower beds, shoe shiners, seats, trees etc.

There were stray cats in the trees, garden beds, sleeping on the grass, or just walking around.

I just googled the cats and courtesy of wiki travel, the following explanation is offered.

Parque John. F. Kennedy.  The park is located in the heart of the Miraflores district. To it's northwest you will find the artisan markets and to it's southeast the "Calle de los pizzas". It is also bordered by various hostels, coffee shops, bars, restaurants, a Cathedral and more. It often hosts public exhibitions on the weekends ranging from artesan crafts to paintings and live performances. Perhaps one of the most curious features of the park is it's large population of cats. Legend holds that the cats were introduced to help fight off rats. Whether true or not everywhere you look in the park you will see them. The cats are well cared for by volunteers and are generally friendly. The volunteers provide food and medical care.

Last day in Peru

The course finished on Sunday and the results of the exam will not be known for a few weeks.

we all thought we had accommodation booked for the Sunday night only to discover this was not the case. The hotel where we stayed was full, so nobody was quite sure what was happening. Patricia my roommate from Argentina organised bunk rooms at the Club de Regatas Dormitory for 4 of us in 2 rooms (which ended up being gratis) not sure how but it worked out well. It was very basic, with a large communal kitchen and shared showers and toilets.

With my limited Spanish, I have still not worked out how to tell the male from female toilets. Each toilet has different words and no graphics. I suspect I got it wrong last night, the urinal being the primary give away. Nobody noticed so all OK.

The club had a big swimming event, and was supposedly full. The bunk rooms consisted of 2 double bunks in the room, boys in one and girls in the other. Probably about 50 rooms. The doors do not seal and the partitions do not quite reach the ceiling. In the morning the hallway, bathrooms etc were overtaken by 12 - 16 year old kids. Some poor Mums/Coaches were preparing massive amounts of breakfast sandwiches. Imagine the noise generated by over 100 swimming kids.

Peter from Denmark left at 6 am for his flight home, and John and Patricia organised a taxi at 7:30 am.

I booked accommodation in Miraflores on the Internet in the morning and they dropped me off at the hotel on the way to the Airport. I checked in at 8 and they gave me access to my room, which I was not expecting. That was great as I had not had a shower at the club.

I was now alone as all my new Spanish friends had left the country. I was amazed and very grateful how all the participants at the club went out of their way to ensure that Peter the Dane - who spoke excellent English but no Spanish and me the Australian with no other language were looked after. I really noticed it today, back in Lima, trying to communicate basic needs.

Miraflores is a safe place, and all the Peruvians I have met have been friendly and helpful. The older buildings have a very Spanish influence, with shuttered windows and balconies. There is strong Chinese and Indian influence, reflected in the shops.

I had lunch at a Chinese cafe/restaurant across the road from the hotel, and ordered the traditional and famous Peruvian dish Ceviche. It is raw fish marinated in lime and red Spanish Onion with a hint of chilli served on a bed of lettuce washed down with a Pisco Sour. This version had additional seafood, prawns and squid. Delicious.

Had a couple of shopping requests from Australia, so that filled in some time. Did the Traditional handcraft markets, and there was nothing that jumped out saying buy me.

It is very evidently a predominately Catholic country with things (not sure what you call them) all over the city.

The traffic lights show the seconds before the green turns red or the red turns green. Very helpful, but the traffic does not obey the lights so they are of little use.

Lord of Miracles

Every year, in October, hundreds of thousands of faithful from all races and economic backgrounds celebrate the Lord of Miracles in a religious procession through the streets of Lima. The boulevards are dressed in purple to celebrate on October 18, 19 and 28th the Lord of Miracles annual procession through the streets of Lima.

The holiday has religious significance. During the procession an image of Christ, as painted in a famous mural, is carried down the streets of Lima. The mural was painted by a black slave in the 17th century and is the image of Christ on the cross with the Holy Spirit and God the Father above and Mary Magdelene at the feet of Christ. In the 18th century, Lima suffered a massive earthquake and nearly the entire city of Lima was destroyed. The only thing left standing for miles was the wall on which the mural had been painted. It was a declared a miracle.

I came across a mini parade from the looks it was a school group.