Talking to strangers

Day 2 in Lima started earlier than I intended because Lima´s one hour behind Santiago and I hadn´t changed my cell phone´s clock. Bummer. But after a delightful little breakfast at the hostel, I set out to explore more of the city. With directions from the hostel staff and confirmation from the transit police on the corner, I hopped on a bus to the center.

It turns out Lima is a HUGE city. The word on the street (which I could check online but am too lazy to) is that it has about 7-8 million inhabitants. That´s a few million more than Santiago! And the buses are literally a wild ride. My driver didn´t just tie his shoes while he was driving -- he laced them first. And he took both hands off the wheel to blow his nose into wads of toilet paper that he then chucked out of the window. He came thisclose to hitting other vehicles numerous times, and a few times I thought he did, but it was just because he´d slammed on the brakes so hard.

When I got to the center, I was overwhelmed by how lively it was. Along the sidewalk, there were people selling everything you can imagine and lots of other stuff, too. Fresh pineapple, rice pudding, pens, candies, hair brushes, super glue, cell phone minutes, shoe laces, rope, the chance to weigh yourself on a bathroom scale ...

I was wandering around, taking it all in, and chatting with police officers (very talkative chaps!) when I stumbled across a beautiful, brand new park by a disgusting excuse for a river. Someone approached me and struck up a conversation. I later realized who he reminded me of -- Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean: charming but probably drunk.

He had long hair and a pirate beard and told me that he works for a restaurant in town, whose fliers he pulled out of his pocket. But then he told me he´s a chef and interior designer, but that he´s on vacation now. My skepticism was blatant, so he showed me his passport and took me to a restaurant whose interior he designed. He spoke to me in Dutch, English, and Spanish. I don´t know if he was full of bull, but I hung out with him all afternoon. He was entertaining, if seemingly intoxicated, and a damn good liar if he indeed was one.