Day 2 of my Lima adventure was probably my favorite.
The morning started off great! With staying at Kaclla, the guests receive inclusive breakfasts. I thought I’d just get some bread and coffee, but no! We got so much food! In our bags, we each got a bag of cereal, a bag of bread, and a jam and PB. I know this doesn’t sound like much, but in the kitchen, we could also get as much fruit as we wanted. While in Peru, I hadn’t eaten much fruit so I fell in love with the baskets of bananas, oranges, and apples. Here is a picture of my meal.
The best way I ate everything was to put the PB on the bread with some bananas. That bag on the left side of my plate is the cereal bag. It has a lot of grains and nuts- basically anything that will your energy up and won’t get you hungry. I ended up putting that in a bowl with some milk or yogurt, with some more cut up fruit. I also brought to my table some fresh squeezed orange juice and a cup of tea. I’m honestly telling you. I was SO happy to be eating this. After trekking around Peru and having to find food for myself on many occasions (not including the days with my host family because they were great and made me breakfast all the time!), it felt wonderful to wake up to a full meal. I’m pretty sure I spent a solid two hour period in the dining area just eating everything. I remember I also woke up early to eat as well.
During breakfast, because I woke up so early and was alone, I met one nice German father who was on vacation with his family to see their daughter who was teaching English in a different South American country. It was interesting to talk to people I had never thought I’d meet. In type, it sounds regularly unimportant, but in person, when I think back on it, it was insane. Because, if I’d never gone on the trip to Lima, I would have never met these people and learned about their lives, which in turn, makes me more knowledgeable about the world and the people who live in it. It really is true when you hear that everyone you meet is meeting you for some type of reason: to teach you, to help you, or even to just tell a story.
After breakfast, my friend and I washed up and chilled. It was some well needed relaxation time. It ended quickly though because we decided to walk around (for way too long. Maybe 2-3 hours?) looking for some bikes to rent. We ended up renting bikes from our hostel (which TBH weren’t in great condition but we thought it would be find) and biking back to Barranco on the coast of the ocean side.
Flashback to Ica: I, along with some of the other volunteers, stayed at a nice place in Ica and met two really great guys living in Lima who were vacationing in Ica. They told us if we were ever in Lima to contact them…so, my friend and I did. We met up with one of the guys (because the other was away) who we followed on our bikes back to Barranco. We didn’t mind going back to Barranco because we didn’t really look around the district on the first day anyway. Our great tour guide (the man we met in Ica) took us to an awesome cafe and this is what I ordered. To note, this was probably the most expensive meal (~43 soles) we ever had in Peru, but we decided to splurge. Oh well.
I got an eggplant panini and let me tell you- it was the BEST sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. I wiped the plate clean.
Next, we went to the ocean side and just walked around. It was nice seeing families with their kids, people surfing (even in the cold weather), and just enjoying the view of a new city. On our way back to Barranco, we stopped by an outdoor market and I bought some gloves for my dad. Our friend dropped us off near our hostel and headed back to his place to finish off some work. I’ll never forget the genuine kindness of the people I met in Peru and how greatly they’ve impacted my life. From the experience, I can honestly say that I know the world seems horrible (because of the way the news might be portraying it), but there are so many good things that are never highlighted. Just remember that there is probably more good than bad and that the universe works in mysterious ways.
Here are some other pictures of the ocean side. The clouds are apparently always gray in Lima- it also barely ever rains. The picture on the right is the Larcoma shopping mall. The architecture is actually really amazing- the mall is basically underground but there are some parts above ground and near the ocean side.
After wandering around here, which is only ~10 minutes away from our hostel by bike, we headed back. The night ended with some getting to know random newcomers in our hostel room. I remember one girl, whose name is Natalie. If I remember correctly, she is from the Netherlands and was on vacation by herself (but later was going to meet a friend in a different country). It’s amazing that people actually travel the world by themselves. Of course, there is fear but I felt it inspiring that they don’t let that get in their way of their true pursuit of finding the meaning of their lives.
If you have ever traveled and have personally seen or felt the impact of knowing there is more than the country you live in, then comment down below how you feel! I’d love to read 🙂
Thanks for reading
<3 Roseann
