the day has come... 28. 5. 2011

After the longest flight I have yet had, Berlin- Madrid 4 hours,
Madrid- Lima 12 hours, my dad and I landed in stuffy, unpredictable, amazing Lima.
Back in Berlin, since the day we moved in, we have had great coincidences with our German neighbours from downstairs. Their son and daughter, both in their early teens, go to the Jewish school in Berlin, and struggle with learning Hebrew. The mother has lived in Peru during her childhood, and was able to give me information months before my departure. She also introduced me to her Peruvian friend, Susana Castillo, who she met during her youth in Peru.
Only after we arrived in Lima did I understand how lucky I was to have contact to a resident. As Susana is a Peruvian tour guide targeting mainly Germans, she arranged for us to be taken from the second we popped our heads out of the airport quickly, safely and straight to her house, situated in one of the 30 districts of Lima. Lima's 30 districts are divided into seven sections, making Lima the fifth largest city in South- America, population quickly passing eight million inhabitants. Four of the seven lie on the beach, while the others are slowly creeping up the mountains. Because the city is so big, it can take hours to get to your destination. The main reason why it takes so long , is the huge, chaotic amount of traffic. A driver who can master the broken roads and cars pushing though can certainly drive anywhere else.
On our way to Susan's house we drove a long way along the coast. It was great to smell the salt in the air after months of living in Berlin and not coming close to the water. Because of the Pacific Ocean situated on the western coast of the city, there is great humidity all year round, peaking as high as 99%. With the Andes situated just at the feet of Lima, they manage to trap the humidity closely over the city, causing the sky to be gray through the winter months.
We arrived in Lima in the early evening, finally arriving at Susana's at about 8:15 in the evening.
After a warm welcome and the introduction of my father, we were shown our room. I have never seen a room so stuffed with football- posters. Susana has got two sons, one five and one my age, 15. It was fun to learn a bit about the Spanish and British football-players.When i could not go to sleep because of the seven hour jet-lag, I would look at all the different posters, including victories, trophies and sweaty sportsmen.

                        view from our room- where we stayed for two nights.