The Lima Airport was modern. When we arrived and cleared customs, there were tons of people waiting for friends and relatives. We looked for, and finally found, our greeter who took us to our hotel on a committed van. It was dark and quite foggy. Some indicated that it was smog from the highly-polluted city of Lima. After I saw the moonlight about a half-hour later, I opined that it was fog. This is Peru´s winter characterized by lots of clouds but oddly little, if any, rain. It was about 60 degrees, cool but comfortable. The airport to hotel ride was about 45 minutes. I was excited to see the city and the city life. This was my first time in Lima.
We traveled on main thoroughfare. I forgot its name, but it was full of energy, people and life. This was a Friday night in Lima approaching midnight. I suppose like the rest of the World, it was a time for people to let their hair down.
We finally arrived at our hotel it was about 12:30 a.m. The clerk indicated that the city did not sleep. That was good, because I was hungry. A group of about 5 walked a half-mile and found a street full of pizza establishments as well as dancing clubs. We first walked through the area and found the most quiet of the pizzerias (many of them blasted super loud music) and ate on an outdoor terrace. We ordered a variety of food (I ordered chicken and fries). As we ate we observed the people while they walked by and marveled that we were in Lima, Peru, South America!
I was surprised that I woke up around 6:00 a.m. and the sun was already up. I was alert. Last night I learned that the ocean was about 20 minutes away from the pizzeria. This morning I decided I was going to discover the ocean. I retraced our way to the restaurant, and then turned to my right to make the trek to the oceanside. It was about 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning. The place was full of life--buses, workers, joggers, and people walking their animals. I wondered if they could tell that I was foreigner, and if I could sufficiently communicate if I had to–my Spanish is quite limited. I dispelled all those inhibiting thoughts as I made my way down to the ocean. Its discovery was breathtaking. The road led to a cliff which hung over the Pacific Ocean. The fog obscured the ocean´s presence. I thought I was encountering an adjacent road when nature unveiled its magnificence–voila, the Pacific Ocean and its grandeur, the waves gently hitting the shore and then retreating, with their successors to follow. I stopped my fast walk for a minute just to take in the moment.
Darryll Lewis: Associate Professor: JD, CBA Finance, Banking
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