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(Sidenote before I get started: Be sure to check out Pierre Boivin's comments on 12000km.org on the Canadiens fan site HabsInsideOut.com!)
We left Lima by bus because of the city being very dangerous. After a bit we got out and cycled the rest of the way to the Reserva National Lomas de Lechay. This was a really cool national park, because right before turning into the park we were surrounded by desert and then in one turn there was this beautiful green park. The park is well known for the many different types of birds, some of them migrating all the way from Canada.
From the park, we cycled the next day to a campsite right next to ruins from the Chimu culture. The Chimu were overtaken by the Inca and were known for their bronze and silver, but also for their pots. Not too bad a day because the winds were favourable.
When I got there, I joined a 2-on-2 game of soccer. There were three guys from Paramonga (a nearby town) kicking around a ball there and they wanted to play a game for money. They insisted that we play for money (4 soles, which is roughly a dollar but still buys a lot in Peru). I am not a great soccer player but 2-on-2 full court soccer is really only about speed and endurance because there is just so much place to run. My team won and the other 2 were going to pay me but there was no way I could have taken their money. They were really nice though and after we were done, their parents were there and gave us Inka cola. It has been a while since I have sweat that much. Cycling, I have grown more and more accustomed to, but the soccer was brutal.
I sat there and talked to them for a while and I realized that my Spanish must have gotten a lot better because they asked me all sorts of questions and we talked for a while. They wanted to know about the Titanic and an explanation of what happened to the boat. They also wanted to know why Alaska is not part of Canada and how cold it is in Canada. They wanted to know about Michael Jackson's death. The last one does not surprise me. I can remember in Oruro, one of the least touristy towns in Bolivia, walking through a market and numerous people had left their shop and everyone was crowded around one computer playing a Michael Jackson DVD. His popularity was a phenomenon prevalent all the way through South America. Michael Jackson and the movie and music from Titanic definitely seem to be elements of North American pop culture that are well-liked in South America.
Bryan Mahoney -