# Peru Travel Journal

My experience of my first Peru trip.

# Day 1

**Leaving day. Wednesday, September 22nd.**

#### STL Airport

I had everything ready to go to Peru. I knew my flight was at 6 am, so I set my alarm for 3:45 am to get a taxi at 4:00 am when I left for the airport. The Uber driver picked me up and exclaimed: `"I have been vaccinated, do you really need me to wear a mask?"` Normally, It wouldn't bother me, but since I was going to travel internationally where I needed to make sure not to get covid, I said `"yeah actually a mask would be good."` He proceeded to talk about how awful the vaccines were for the entire ride. I found out was 65+ and thought the vaccines were stupid and `"only got the vaccine because I didn't want to die"`. Said his gf was 28. He then claimed the vaccines gave him a reaction to go to the hospital, I said `"yeah it happens"` and then I found out he was given morphine at the hospital and the incident occurred 2 months after his 2nd shot.

I arrived at the airport and began the check-in process. The first American airline desk person was an old man who appeared to be new to his job. He was rather flustered at every step of the process, taking much of my time. I waited patiently as he checked things.

***
Attendant: "You need to have a negative covid test".

***Yes, I showed him.***

Attendant: "You need to be fully vaccinated".

***Yes, I showed him.***

Attendant: "You need to have an affidavit signed".

***Me: "What?"***
***


I didn't know what he was talking about. He spent more time looking at the screen and asking the other worker until finally he took my phone and took a picture of the screen telling me to go to that URL to sign the affidavit. I went in line at the next worker as I tried to fill out the sheet. Unfortunately, it was in Spanish and the country of origin didn't have the US - that I thought. After reaching the next lady I said `"he wanted me to sign the affidavit but I can't be from the US."` Turns out, it just wasn't alphabetical and I had to scroll and scroll until I found "USED, USED" which meant the USA .... ok. I was too late to check into my flight, so it was rescheduled 8 hours later with a different connecting flight. OK so, I was going to Dallas for a while and then to Lima at 1 am. I got to Dallas and then waited for a while before boarding for Lima, a 6.5h flight.


#### Lima Airport

Fortunately, everything went well. I arrived at Lima airport and waited for the luggage. It was 2:00 am and I had my luggage and went to pick up my rental. The rental process took a long time and the worker was nice and talked about how he had been in Lima for 4 years. I went out to the lot to pick up the car in the dead of night and there was a worker who was there and showed me the rental and pointed to the black gate and said `"this is where you drop off"`. OK cool. I drove off and noticed the roads didn't have good markings or lights. My headlights were terrible and I could barely see. OK. In Lima. Now to go to my hotel... I drove through some shady parts of Lima at 3 am and it was dead silent without a single person on the road. I was on this ominous road by the ocean at 3 am with a towering cliff on the other side... just driving... I got to the hotel finally and was ready to sleep... no word from Rubi. I texted goodnight.

# Day 2

**Meeting day. Thursday, September 23rd.**

#### Hotel Estelar

I wake up and showered. I roam the hotel and ask questions about where everything was. I was not working that day so I had time to prepare. Finally, I got coffee and was going to wait to meet Rubi for the first time ever. I snapped a photo of my coffee and crescent from the cafe below the hotel.


#### Meeting Rubi

Rubi said she would meet me at 12 pm, then said 1 pm, then said she had a few more minutes because of work. I wasn't waiting in the cafe until 2 pm, before that, I decided to go out and see the parks and go to the ocean. The cat park (Parque Kennedy) was cool, then I walked, surprised by the liveliness of the city. A man talked to me at one park saying he was from the Bronx NY, but later also told me he was from Cusco. Barely speaking any English, he spent time talking about Cusco and then asked for money for food. I said I didn't have any money there yet.. which wasn't true because I actually stopped at the bank right before that to convert my bills. The bank didn't speak any English and I was totally confused. Felt like people were watching me, but could have been crazy. Around 2:30 a girl approaches me from behind. I immediately turn to look and Rubi is greeting me:

***"hey."***

I hug her and we begin talking about how great it is to see each other. She smelled very nice with a noticable but not too strong perfume. She was wearing a black cloth skirt with a black sweater and a brown small outer vest. And high heel boots. It was a comfortable meeting and we walked outside and Rubí said she wanted to go eat somewhere near the ocean. I looked at the location she had on the phone and I said `"oh yeah I was just near there! it's this way!"` she said `"I think it's this way"` and pointed in the opposite direction. I walked with her a few steps that way and then she said: `"Oh you're right it's the other way."` We walked and discussed the trip so far. She walked slowly and I slowly did the same (to the best of my ability). I talked about the bank not having any English speakers. It was good but didn't feel like it was super comfortable, I felt like there was some nervousness.


Eventually, we got to the first spot to stop for food. Everywhere in Peru requires a double mask, outside and everything. Hand sanitizer as well. We went to a boardwalk restaurant that her friend recommended going to. I experienced my first meal of _____ with the Peruvian drink _____.
The first lunch was good, we finished and tried to figure out what we wanted to do next. We walked back to the hotel then briefly looked at my room to drop some things off and decided to go to the mall.

#### Mall trip

First time driving in lima traffic. Insane. Horns for no reason constantly, drivers don't use lanes and cram like sardines everywhere. I was driving a manual transmission for over an hour... a little stressed while driving there. Rubi seemed as if the traffic wasn't bad at all. She didn't think anything of it as we carried on a conversation. Eventually we parked in the complex and the mall fun could begin. Rubi made sure to spray sanitize my hands anytime I touched anything. If I leaned on a rail when taking an escalator, she would say,

***"Don't touch!"***

I learned this was Rubi. I wanted to buy more clothes because I didn't bring enough (on purpose). We eventually saw a Nike store which we entered to buy clothes. There was a purple jacket that could be seen from outside the shop - which Rubi spotted and looked at with a bright smile. We immediately went to the jacket and she said `"this is nice"`, I said `"yeah"` and began to look at other clothes too. looking at the other clothes she said:

> hmmm, this is fine
> not this
> I think this is fine
> not this
> not this not this

I said `"you like that purple jacket don't you?"` she said `"yeah just try it on"` so I did. She looked at me with delight and said `"yeah it looks good".` I went to pay, it was around $100, I told Rubi `"You like it so much, so it's worth it. but let's find more clothes now that aren't so expensive".`


I put the jacket on and we went shopping in different stores. Everywhere we went she looked at my jacket and me (emphasis on the jacket), so happy to be walking with me. We looked at different clothing stores and walked around for a while. It was a ton of fun and I enjoyed every second. Finally, we bought another yellow shirt and decided the two things were enough. So we walked to get food. There were so many ice cream places it was crazy. We went to a breakfast-style restaurant to eat and I told her what I wanted and she ordered for me when the waiter came. She told me to wash my hands and ask the people `"Donde esta el bano".` I had to walk out of the restaurant and around the corner to the mall bathroom. When I came back and told her that she said `"that's dumb the restaurant should have its own"` and decided not to go. I said `"because the bathroom is around the corner instead?"` she said `"you know I'm lazy"`.

We ate and talked about plans for the future and had a more serious conversation about living in lima. I was nervous thinking about the drive from the airport, the gray sky, the traffic. Then we paid and left. We walked out and wanted to find a hat store named *Billabong*. We couldn't find it on google maps, we couldn't find it by asking people that worked there. It was a mystery. Eventually, Rubi called her friend to tell her where the store was. Twice. Finally, we found it and I got a hat. She wanted to buy a new top. She began to try them on at Lima Bonita and asked me how they looked. Everyone she tried looked good and she said `"ugh you are no help!"` I said I liked the one that looked like one of my shirts the most ( they were all good ). We left with all our new items and were ready to leave...

Oh, wait no we went to the grocery store! Last but not least we got Clorox and water. The checkout lady tried talking to me in Spanish but I couldn't understand. She acted nervously and was laughing pretty hard at me. I was confused and eventually finished the transaction and left to go to the car.

#### First night

We went back to my hotel to wait for her friend. She was going to let her know when she could come back to stay but it was getting late and she hadn't responded. Eventually, I said ok I'm going to rest while you wait then since we had to leave at 4 am. Instead of resting I finished Duolingo and asked her about staying again. But her friend finally responded. So she took an uber to get back home.

# Day 3

**Barranco day, Friday, September 24th.**

#### Working in the hotel

I woke up and worked out while she worked because I had the day off. Then she needed to be picked up from her friend's house. I said I would come at 2:30, and left at 2p to pick her up as google maps said 30 minutes. However, once I started driving, it was so busy and I didn't arrive at her friends until 3 pm. Rubi had actually called an uber and was waiting for it thinking something happened to me. She said she called the hotel and asked about me, I said: `"I'm sorry it was because of traffic".` I didn't have service or any way to contact her while driving or out. We drove through the traffic in the town, listening to spanish R&B as Rubi danced in the passanger seat.

#### Lunch at Barranco


We decided to eat lunch in Barranco. Fighting traffic we got there and parked near the iconic tunnel. We decided to first walk to the overlook. There was a street wrapper that was apparently wrapping about us as we walked by, saying Rubi was so pretty and with a guy who looked like a movie star. We went to the shore and it was still sunny enough to take a picture. Then I chose to eat at the restaurant right there. But it got so windy and the sun went away. As we waited for our food, I decided to run back to the car to get our jackets. When I came back we had our food... rice and cheese, octopus, fish, in cheese sauce. delicious.


Then we walked around Barranco to the market and just around. Got pictures of me by the iconic spot in the tunnel.


#### Back at MariFlores

Then we decided to leave and go to MariFlores again. We went to the hotel for a second, where I gave Rubi the van's shoes. We chose to walk around again to the park where they were selling things. I bought a Star Wars baby Yoda shirt. Rubi noticed that I would walk away without having her go first. She kept being frustrated that I wouldn't remember ladies first.


We still enjoyed everything, looking into each other's eyes, walking down to the beach to see the rap concert that was pretty busy. Then we decided to walk back and I promised I would do a better job with the ladies first. We walked back towards the nightlife and went to get a pisco sour at a fun music bar. We sat next to a guy in black vans like me and Rubi and his girlfriend who kept dancing and singing so loudly. Some songs would cause everyone to start singing. We had an appetizer and I had pisco sour while she had a virgin pina colada.


We went back to my hotel early because we had to travel the next day. I said she could sleep in the bed and I could sleep on the couch. She said she would be on the couch. I said no you can sleep on the bed and on the couch. Eventually, we both decided to sleep on separate sides of the bed as a compromise.

# Day 4

**Cusco day. Saturday, September 25th.**

#### Airport to Cusco

4 am came around and we left for the airport. I had trouble returning my rental because the entry gate was closed and locked. We sat there for a while and a lady came over and told us we have to go somewhere else. Eventually, the budget rental guy showed up and let us in as we were about to turn around again. We had plenty of time before our flight and arrived at Cusco on time without any problems. Might have gotten some sleep on the flight, I know Rubi did.

Walking out of the Cusco airport, we called an uber. We had to walk past a crowd of taxi drivers that one after another tried convincing Rubi their taxi was best (and sometimes me). Our uber showed up and we drove away. As Rubi talked to the taxi driver, we decided to stop at a tour guide spot to schedule some excursions. Rubi spent a long time talking in Spanish back and forth with the lady to figure out exactly what was best. We had our plans and took the taxi to the hotel.

#### Hotel in Cusco


At the hotel we waited for our room because it was 10 am and we were early before check-in. We had tea served to us as we waited for about an hour to have our room ready. We put everything in our room and I think we showered and then went out. Walking to Cusco, we went to a cafe near the park and got breakfast and coffee there.


Rubi didn't like her cappuccino so she let me finish it. We had a tour at 1 pm so we went to the park to wait.

#### First Tour in Cusco


Eventually, we started the tour with Richard, our tour guide.


We went to the stone building, then some ruins. We smelled llama pee and explored for a while taking pictures at the top. It was perfect weather for the first part. Rubi asked about why I hadn't made anything official at the top of the first ruin. *I thought about it for about 0.5 seconds and then asked her to be **my girlfriend.**

Richard took many pictures for us and was a great tour guide.


By the end of the tour it was starting to rain and we asked Richard to have us drop us off at our hotel on the way back.



#### PeruRail Fiasco

While at the hotel we realized we needed to get actual tickets for the train and we just had a bill. After searching where to get the tickets, we hurried to Cusco to the PeruRail store. It was closed, it was 8:45 pm - but the sign said another station was open until 9 pm! We ran. and ran. We made it there with 5 minutes to spare and the sign said closed but the door was unlocked and we were able to go in and print our tickets.


Then we went to a restaurant where I had Cuy for the first time. It was ok. There was a guy there from California. He talked to the waiters about all his traveling and how he sold his business because money doesn't matter. After walking around Cusco we walked back to the hotel - the last time we did that because of how tiring it was.

The next day was a 3 am taxi, which meant we had to sleep early. We went to bed after 10 pm I think... which was ok because we woke at 4 am.

# Day 5

**Macchu Picchu day, Sunday, September 26th**

We woke up at 2:45 am for our taxi. The taxi came only a few minutes late. We took a taxi in the dark to the PeruRail train station. Rubi slept most of the ride, besides having to use `"the worst bathroom ever"` at a gas station. The drive took nearly 2 hours and was all night. We got stopped at a checkpoint by cops who apparently said our driver wasn't licensed for tourists. but let us go. The road became dirt and back to the highway. Eventually, we got there and Rubi woke up and exited the taxi. We immediately bought face shields from a vendor because they were apparently required for the train - I didn't know. We passed tickets and met her friends. Then said bye and boarded the train in a separate carriage.

#### The Train to Macchu Picchu

We boarded the train and sat in the back corner. It was still dark out and Rubi wanted to sleep but said I should stay awake to watch the view. I tried sleeping for the first 30 minutes while it was dark, then started looking out the window and taking pictures of the views.


We arrived at the town outside Macchu Picchu and met up with her friends. The first thing was to get breakfast, we went to a diner and I sat next to Jesus who spoke in English to me while Rubi and her friends talked in Spanish. I had an avocado sandwich and Rubi had eggs I think.


Afterward, it got very sunny. We wandered around the town and took pictures before our tour guide showed up.


We were still very early for our bus, but we had the tour guide show us more spots in the town of interest while we waited. We also changed at a restaurant into more summer clothes. But I still had a long sleeve shirt on. I waited for everyone else to change. Some of Rubi’s friends got done early but I couldn't talk to them because they didn't speak English, so I sat and waited.

#### Macchu Picchu


The bus arrived and we rode up to Macchu Picchu full of face masks and face shields. My ears were hurting a lot from the masks. Once we got to the top we presented tickets and ID to enter, it was very hot and we had brought jackets and long sleeve shirts.


We shed layers of clothes again and began the tour by taking pictures.


Rubi and I had to act like we were just friends because her friends didn't know we were together.


By the end, Rubi was forgetting this and kept reaching for my hand. I was confused about what to do, but after we talked about it she said they already suspected it. The tour guide even made a joke about coming back when Rubi and I’s kids are old enough.


On the way back from Macchu Picchu had to take the bus again, face shields on. I was sandwiched between Rubi and another woman who was seemingly falling asleep constantly leaning into me as the bus turned. She did this 50 times until we arrived back. We got dinner/lunch and I had ______ - a type of Peruvian steak.


It was good to hang out with Rubi’s friends even with the language issue. Afterward, we walked around clothing shops but didn't buy anything. Lastly, we waited at the train stop where I practiced Spanish and Rubi napped on my arm. We boarded the train but it kept acting broken. There were some English-speaking Americans, most were loud and talking about the trip. Eventually, it departed and I watched the scenery while Rubi napped again.


#### The Van Ride Back

We arrived back at _____ and decided to take a bus, after negotiating for something we could all ride together in alone. For $150 soles we all got a ride back alone. I talked to Jesus for much of the trip, Rubi was awake for this ride and occasionally helped Jesus with English words. We talked about the US and religion in the US and his time working/traveling in Wisconsin. The bus got back to Cusco and dropped everyone but me and Rubi off. Rubi had told them we wanted to be dropped off at our hotel, but the driver wanted us to get a taxi back. Rubi said we wouldn't pay our part if he didn't drop us off there. We showed the driver the hotel on our phones and he was still very confused, going the wrong way. So Rubi got up front and guided him "`left, right, left`" the entire way.

#### Going to get drinks with her friends

We got back to the hotel and showered and got ready to go out that night for drinks with her friend. I wasn't tired quite yet but was feeling slightly off. We went out for drinks and food, I had a little bit of food but wasn't too hungry. It was fun hanging out with Rubi’s friends, but then we had to go. Rather than walk back like last time, we started looking for a taxi. We found a taxi that would take us back for what Rubi said was like 2 soles. I mentioned to Rubi that I was feeling kinda tired and she was starting to be quiet and not talking to me much.

We got back to the hotel and we got out of the taxi and I went to the door to unlock it and thought I had the key in my backpack. I then realized I didn’t have my backpack and started panicking that I left the backpack at the bar. I told Rubi I left it and she asked if I was sure, I said `“yes I’m sure!”` but then after a minute, I thought to ask if Rubi had the key in her purse. She did and we got into the hotel and my backpack was there.

#### Getting sick

Rubi was clearly upset at this point, saying that I yelled at her: `"Nobody yells at me, nobody."` I told her I didn’t yell, I just thought I lost the backpack and was frantic. She wasn’t convinced and got ready to sleep. I was ready to sleep and feeling more tired than usual and she laid down quietly. I asked what was wrong and she was silent. I asked a few more times, repeating that I am sorry I was tired. She eventually forgave me and went to sleep. Quickly after that during the night, I woke up shaking and having chills. Rubi let me have more blankets and then I started to sleep again, waking up once more feeling sick and nauseous. It got worse and worse until I couldn’t stay in bed, I went into the bathroom to try to throw up, but I couldn’t. I had no idea what was wrong but I felt awful.

Rubi went to the hotel desk asking for tea to help with the sickness. The hotel said they see it a lot and said it was probably altitude sickness. Rub brought me tea and helped me drink it while I laid in bed. Since I was also nauseous, each sip was unpleasant and difficult to finish. Eventually, I drank the whole thing and attempted to sleep. It took a long time and Rubi had to be up in the morning for work. I felt terrible about the whole night, causing everything to be so difficult. Rubi said I was saying how sorry I was for being sick too many times. We both got a few hours of rest before morning.

# Day 6

**My Sick day, Monday October 27th**

#### Monday Morning


I woke up only feeling a little better. I still felt quite terrible in the morning. We had plans to go on more tours in the evening but I didn't think I could. So Rubi called the tour company and asked about canceling. The lady said we might not get a refund and she would call us back and let us know. We had breakfast inside our hotel room after Rubi asked if that was ok. I had more Muna tea and was feeling a little better. Once the day started to get going I was feeling less like death. After breakfast, we walked down to Cusco to get more cash and more masks. We first stopped to get coffee and I had an iced coffee while Rubi just sat at the table with me. I was thinking of getting coffee to go, but we sat instead. Afterward, we went to the interbank ATM next door and I tried to withdraw cash with a credit card. It didn't work, so I relied on Rubi to pay for anything that only accepted cash. We had stopped to get masks at a market, but Rubi wasn't happy he had them out of the package and was touching them with his hands. So, we went to another vendor and Rubi bought the box.

#### Getting Coffee and the Tour

I was feeling better so I decided to do the tour. We went to the main park to wait for our 12:40 tour. They came at 1 pm and walked us to a van where others were joining us. There was an American couple that had just gotten sandwiches at a cafe we were next to, but it was time to board. The bread smelled great, but we didn't have time. After getting in the nice and quiet bus with two other couples, I realized how hungry I was. The tour was supposed to be 4 hours and we were starting at 1, so I thought we would just have to wait for dinner when we got back. Then, the van doors opened again and a group of young friends was laughing and goofing around as they pushed one blindfolded friend onto the bus. All were not wearing masks and had long hair and apparently avid travelers. *The volume on the bus was astronomical.* Then with them, we gathered a few others and drove off.

#### ATV Ride

The drive lasted about 1.5 hours total and we drove out far into rural Peru. Rubi and I were holding hands and leaning towards each other. We got to the ATV location where they had them all laid out. It was clear the french group liked to have fun. Our friendly guide William began discussing the mechanisms of the ATV. We asked if two could ride on one ATV because Rubi wasn't confident in her ability since she doesn't even drive after all. We started driving ATVs after putting on the covid hair nets and helmets. Rubi and I were the first ATV in the group. It was super dusty and I realized Rubi was wearing the brand new vans I got her. We stopped halfway through, where we regrouped. One of the French guys got a drone out where he was showing the tour guides his ability to fly it... during high winds. He had the drone flying while we were driving ATVs.


We spent about an hour drive out to the first location. Both me and Rubi were starving. When we got there, we punched our ticket to get in, then immediately went looking for food. I thought there wouldn't be any because we were so far out in the ruins. However, anywhere there are tourists, there's an opportunity for selling something. A small post of vendors was set up near and we got pork and papas fritas and some cookies. Rubi ate the cookies and I had the meal food, except for a few bites she stole. By this time we were a little late to see the ruins. We went over to William who laughed because we had gotten food and went off on our own. He spoke English well and told us everything about the history and offered pictures at a few different vantage points.


The French people didn't even come near the ruins, they just wanted to ride the ATVs more. We stayed around for a bit longer and one of the Peruvian guides showed the other a music video - which was Rubi’s current favorite song. She started dancing. Rubi said she was still hungry and wanted to go back to the food and get what I got (even though she said she didn't like pork). She ate it and thought it was delicious while walking back... then we noticed a group already left, so we tried to hurry so we wouldn't be left behind. I ran ahead and William said it was fine, but Rubi thought she had no time to eat and stuffed her face and threw away the trash to ride back.

We rode back and William led the group, but I guess the group behind us was the less advanced drivers since they were so slow and were far far behind. So William led me and Rubi. We got back and they were able to spray us off to be sparkling new... kinda. William had to help me take my helmet off as always, I joked with him about a few things.

#### Salt Mine


Then boarded the bus to go to the salt mine store. They had us taste the different salt and chocolate they made with the salt. It was all good, but I ended up buying llama pee as we walked around. I tried to pay the 10-year-old kids that manned the cash register but had trouble with the soles math and William had to help as he laughed at my bad Spanish. We drove down into the salt mine and William took our photos.


Then we learned it was the last stop and it was already late. Good thing we didn't wait to eat, because we didn't get back until after 9 pm! then we were still hungry. We got burgers at a small shop and then also needed to drop off Rubi's friend's home key.

#### Night


But Rubi's battery had just died and we couldn't find her. After circling the park we decided to call a taxi to go home. Rubi needed to work more, but we ate first. She worked and I tried to find a movie on the tv. But I was a little tired, so I decided to take a short nap instead. Waking up, we talked and stayed up until about midnight as she worked. Oh, and Rubi had the taxi driver drop off the key at her friend's Airbnb.

# Day 7

**Back to Lima, Tuesday October 27th **

#### Leaving Cusco

We got everything ready to leave and ate breakfast as Rubi worked in the lobby. They had amazing eggs. We showered then we got the room ready to fly back to Lima. Checkout was easy and they called a taxi for us. We took a taxi and went back to the airport before noon. It was so fast we realized it was still over 2 hours until our flight. We tried to sit away from everyone coughing and got some pringles and water as we waited. The plane eventually was ready and we boarded and got back to Lima where we knew it would take a minute to get a rental car. Well, we got the rental car fairly quickly, but as the initial inspection was happening, Rubi was asking the Spanish-speaking worker about how to return it. Well, the worker got out of the car quickly to point and show us where to go, Rubi closed the door to walk over, and immediately the worker panicked to keep the door from closing. It was locked with the keys inside.

#### Locked out of the car


So we sat in the parking lot of the Lima airport watching the worker try to pry the door open with door jigs. It wouldn't open and it didn't look like he knew what he was doing. Our luggage was both locked in the car, but I was thinking about how we should have just gotten a taxi and the rental service was terrible. Rubi thought it was funny I was so mad, but I said this shouldn't happen, they should have spare keys or a proper break-in kit at the very least. Another worker came over and they discussed what to do, the other worker got it unlocked with a little extra effort. We were all relieved and I was ready to go after spending over an hour trying to get this rental. It was already too late in the day, so Rubi still had to work and we decided to call it a night. It was the first time we had been away from each other since we went to Cusco.

#### My evening by myself


I went to the hotel and checked everything back into the hotel. I had the entire evening to myself now. I knew I needed to go to the drug store, so I searched for a drug store on google maps. I was surprised there were not many results, I remember seeing so many. Well, this was the last time I trusted google in Peru. I started walking to the drug store and it took about 15 minutes, not too bad. I got there without preparing for what to say. There was another person in the store and several workers waiting when I walked up to a worker and said “Hola, umm gusteria….” -- pulled out my phone -- “laxante?” With a straight face, the lady paused for a moment as if she expected me to have more to say. Then she asked something in Spanish, I didn’t know. She asked it again, then a third time and I shrugged nervously. Seeing me struggle, another worker quickly jumped in and gestured to the stomach, and took a drink. I said “si, si”. He again confirmed with me and I got exactly what I needed.

I left there and went to a sandwich shop for food on the way back. Another poor experience trying to communicate things. I didn’t know how to say “to-go” and was confused about her question that was probably asking if I want fries or a side. I paid for a sandwich and got my food and took it back to the hotel. My plan was to eat, then go to bed a little early and wake up early to work out, and eat breakfast before starting work. So I didn’t do much else after that besides go to bed.

# Day 8

Wednesday

#### The first workday

I had breakfast alone while looking out the foggy Miraflores skyline. Then I worked in the morning and Rubi was able to come for lunch. We planned to go to a pizza place. But first I needed to do my laundry and we walked around looking for laundry and eventually found a place that would do all 3 kilos for $5, but it wouldn't be ready until the next day. That's fine, I was out of clothes, but we could buy some affordable clothes at the local mall. We went to Slice pizza, a small hole in the wall that did wood-fired pizza.


We looked at the menu and got Hawaiian pizza because Rubi loved pineapple on pizza like me. I was very happy about that. After pizza, we went back to the hotel. Rubí was upset about something at work but didn't want to talk about it. She was acting upset and wasn't being very friendly. I told her "I know you're upset with work, but you're with me right now and I want to enjoy this time please". WE figured it out. Then we figured out where the mall was then left to get clothes. We roamed the department store, very strict entry/exit rules. I looked for pants and was surprised they were all pretty expensive and I wasn't sure of the size. A worker told us we couldn't try clothes on... cuz of covid I guess. He then showed me a trick with the forearm to know whether the pants fit you or not. We bought the pants and shirt and were ready to leave. I thought I saw a folding phone on display as we took the escalator down and told Rubi I wanted to go back. She said, "it better be good to make me walk all the way back.". I said, "hmmm probably it's not but you'll see". We got there and the phone was in a box and couldn't be touched. Rubi said "this??".

#### Losing the receipt

We paid and went to leave the store but they required a receipt of our items and I didn't have it with me. Rubi said I lost it and I swore I never got one! We turned around to go back to the terminal and found the receipt on the ground as we were walking "There!" she said, "You think that is mine?" I said. "Who else's would it be??" she said. Once we turned around to leave and embarrassingly showed the worker who let us pass. We decided to go back to the hotel and drop the items off so we could go buy dessert or something.

#### The end of the night

We dropped the items off, said hi to the hotel attendant again, then went back out to get underwear since my laundry wouldn't be ready until the next day.


I went back to the hotel and Rubí hung out for a little while. Every time I would pour a glass of water Rubi would say "Really?!? more water??". Apparently I drank way too much water while I was there. I don't know if it was true or maybe just my normal amount. Rubi left for the night. I started this log that night.

# Day 9

**Thursday - beach day**


#### Getting Covid tested


I worked in the morning and we went out at 3 pm. I had the covid test scheduled for 4:30 and I needed to get my laundry from the day before. We got in my car and drove to the covid appointment drive-through. We got in my car at the hotel to drive to the testing center. As I backed out of the parking spot in the car, I looked back and put my hand on rubi's head like you are supposed to do. After pulling forward Rubi said `"I don't know why I like that so much"`. But I wasn't feeling well still and there was a possibility it was covid, although I was sure it wasn't because of the symptoms. They swabbed my nose and looked at me with concern. He didn't speak English and Rubi told me he said I was bleeding. `"I'm bleeding??"` I said, looking in the mirror hoping it didn't get on my clothes. But it was just from the swab which was bloody. He swabbed my throat too and we left for laundry. Parking was tough, we circled once and parked a little bit away. I went in on my own and gave the laundry lady my info and got my clothes. We went back to the hotel. WE didn't know what to do quite yet. Then we decided it was a nice day and we should go to the beach.

#### The beach


We drove to the beach and Rubi wanted to go a little bit north where the surfers were. We circled and parked and took pictures at the beach. We went through all the crazy surfers and took pictures of the surf statue. The sun was shining, it was perfect. We walked by the restaurant at the pier, considering eating there. But as we walked, we realized all the cars were pretty nice and they had reservations. When we got closer to the road, a Lamborghini ripped through the traffic on the highway.


#### Dinner plans


WE went back to the hotel again. We were hungry and decided to eat. I wasn't feeling well yet but we decided on ______ A Chinese restaurant. We walked there from our hotel which was a 15-minute walk, it was a little windy and cold by that time. We got there and had trouble finding the restaurant in the shopping complex, but a worker was kind enough to point out that it was right there in front of us! We walked into a nice restaurant, which like all, required sanitation and temp check before entering. We sat down and I was feeling like coughing, but Rubi said our waiter told the rules that if we cough we have to leave. There was a movie star that apparently showed up with a girl and got a table in the back. Rubi said she immediately recognized him. I asked if he was a cool guy and she said "not at all!". After coughing a few times in a row I looked at Rubi and we started laughing looking around as the workers ignored us.

#### The end of the night

We left the restaurant and walked back holding hands. I asked if she was going back with her friends soon because her friend was feeling sad for some reason. She said yeah. As we got back to the hotel, she called an Uber. As we waited for the uber to show up, she was acting funny asking if I wanted her to leave. I said I thought she needed to leave. Rubi got her uber and we hugged and she left. I kept writing the log, then I went to bed.

# Day 10

Friday

#### Worked in the morning

I worked in the morning and went out for lunch to get some food. I went to a sandwich place and tried to order food and the order actually went pretty well without much confusion. I worked until 4 because Rubi was a little late getting everything. Once she got here I asked if she wanted to get stuff for the bathroom with me and get stuff for our picnic tomorrow. She said it was fine but her friends also want to hang out with me. I said sure, laughing about it being an interrogation.

We stayed at the hotel for a couple of hours just talking. We went to the grocery store nearby and picked up items that wouldn’t need refrigeration like chips and nuts for the picnic. We looked for bathroom supplies but couldn’t find anything I was looking for exactly. Rubi saw yogurt that she wanted to get with cocoa balls and a tiny collapsible spoon that came in a small container. I thought it was a good idea and got cookies and cream flavor for myself.


#### Going out with her friends

We spent some time talking at the hotel before the event with her friends at the 500 restaurant. The restaurant was 15 minutes away by car and we left at 6:45p to geo to the restaurant. We parked and walked in where her friend Mari was sitting by the front. Mari spoke some english to great me and ask questions, but then Rubi and Mari chatted 100 mph in spanish. Then her other friend Brenda came. She sat and seemed happy and greeted me in english as she went back to spanish for the 3 of them. We ordered drinks and food. The drinks were really fancy and nice, they all tasted amazing, including the iced tea that I got. I never knew iced tea could be so fancy.

Brenda asked me a nice question about the trip, something like “Did you like macchu picchu?”. Then she asked me about Rubi, something easy again, what I like about Rubi. Then as we were eating she said “oh, I do have one more question!”, I smiled and said sure. She said “What are you’re intentions with Rubi”. I awkwardly laughed and looked at Mari and Rubi and Brenda again. Noticing she was being very serious, I began to answer that I wanted to get to know Rubi. I thought that might be a good enough answer, but Brenda left the floor open for me during the pause. So, I continued “I want to know that we can get along and that we are a good fit for each other, I am hear to learn about her”. She seemed satisfied with that answer and looked to Rubi with an interesting expression.


#### The end of the night

I was still feeling like I had a cold and finished up the meal quickly and finished the drinks. We signaled to the waiter that it was time to pay the check. I mentioned to them that I wanted to pay for everyone’s meal because I still had plenty of soles with only one day left. The check came and it was surprisingly expensive compared to everywhere else we went. The total was 350 soles and I only had about 300. So without me understanding exactly what happened, they took my 300 soles and added a few 20 bills to the check. When the check returned they gave me 15 soles in change. I am not sure how it happened.

We left the restaurant and went to the gas station next door because Brenda wanted chocolate. Then we decided to ride back to my hotel where it was closer to everyone’s home and they could take an uber from there. On the way back, I drove through traffic and Rubi let me try some of the chocolate. The radio was blasting latin music and all the other passengers were dancing and singing. Eventually we got to the hotel and I stopped and let everyone out. I said goodbye to everyone including Rubi who left to go with Mari. I parked and went in my hotel.

# Day 11

**Saturday October 2nd - picnic**

#### The morning

Saturday me and Rubi were set to go about 2 hours north for the picnic, hiking, and going to the castle / museum. But Rubi had not had the breakfast at the hotel yet, so I said we needed to have breakfast in the morning. So went to the top floor of the hotel where the breakfast was and sat and had breakfast. It was so nice eating breakfast with Rubi. We got everything ready for the trip 2 hours north to the first stop - the `Castillo de Chancay` which was a tourist location where there was a museum and history about the spanish inquisition. In order to get there, we had to travel outside of lima, which meant spending about 1 hour in city traffic until we got to open roads. As we were driving further and further out into what was a foggy desert land, I needed to pee. Rubi said I should pull off to the side of the road and go. It was so foggy, it probably didn't matter much. I went and noticed the ground wouldn't absorb any of it. I got back in the car and continued to the castle. We got closer to the town and looked for somewhere to bark. I ended up parking in a spot I wasn't sure was a parking spot... apparently you had to pay for parking.. oops.

#### The castle



We walked in and saw a good number of people there. We bought tickets and entered. Immediately, there were tours going on, there were games and funny mirrors near the enterence. We skipped the start area and walked bast the giant sandcastle towards the big castle area. It was so fun doing something both as tourists with Rubi. She marveled at just as many things and was interested in finding the most exciting part of the castle. We basically just skipped the tours and did our own looking around.


As we realized we saw most of the castle, we decided to join one of the tour groups where they had an interactive fun tour. There was a sound system and a guy in a costume who told the story where he was looking for something and needed a map. He asked everyone to begin looking around for the map. We were not exactly part of the group, but Rubi shouted `Quick, lets find the map!`, then ran in front of me looking for it for about 1 second before someone else ran up to the costume guy with the map. `Dang it!`


Then we wanted to see the museum of artifacts, so we waited out by the group where there ws going to be a tour every so many minutes. We got in and one-by-one, went into the rooms with different things to look at. All the tours were in spanish, so Rubi would translate for me.


Then we left and watched a magic show where they did some tricks with a man in a box that would transform into someone else. Rubi was astonished by the magic saying `I was watching the entire time, there was no way He could have done it! its impossible!` to which I laughed and replied `have you ever seen a magic show before? thats what they do.`

We did a few other things, like waited at a door to do another tour, but then a lady came out and said it would be another 30 minutes and we didn't want to wait. So we headed back to the front and looked at the mirrors. I think we looked pretty good together.


Then after looking at all the mirrors, Rubi had to go to the bathroom. So I watched over our stuff. She came out laughing, apparently she went into the mens room and didn't realize it until she was leaving where a man told her she was in the wrong room.

#### The hike


So, we left there eventually and headed 20 minutes out to the hiking location. We had to drive slowly over gravel in the tiny rental car for a while. Eventually we got to the enterence and bought tickets from the quirky worker, who apparently charged non-native people much higher prices. We drove in and went through a maze of small roads to get to our location.

We had a blanket and some food that we had brought for a picknick and began hiking to the first sightseeing location. While we were hiking, rubi got a call from someone and answered it. We quickly made it to the first sight seeing spot after maybe 10 minutes of hiking.

Then we hiked another 10 minutes to a spot that we stopped for picknick at . I wanted to stop somewhere that had a good place to sit. Unfortunately, the spot we picked was near a junction in the trail and got pretty crowded with people. While we were at the picknick rubi wanted me to cough (as I did normally because I had a cold), but I didn't need to and she was frustrated they wouldn't leave.

#### The Picnic


We still had a good picknick and enjoy the spot. Then we packed up our food and everything. After that we decided to hike for 15 or 20 more minutes and then head back. But as I was hiking and heading back I realized that the food was entering a phase of me that may need me to do something about . So we got back and looked for a bathroom. There was an outhouse, and begrudgingly, I went in. A few moments later someone knocked and had toilet paper for me to use. They were funny workers listeing to music and laughing while they guarded the outhouses.

After that we drove back. Rubi slept again, but at one point I thought the route was faster another way, so I tapped on rubis shoulder and ask for GPS. She was a little mad at me for waking her up just to look at a faster route, she said `why wouldn't you just go back the way we came?`, well thats what we did after turning around a couple times.

Driving back took about 2.5 hours. It felt really long, but Rubi disagreed (because she was asleep).

#### Back exploring Mariflores

We went back to the hotel to put eveything back. Then decided to go out to explore and get deserts that I hadn't had yet. Altough, there wasn't much time, I first tried ice cream and went to a place that had a salesman who was really freindly and talked to me about the US speaking in good english. I think his name was Edwardo or Rodrigo , he talked about how he was from venesuala and sold everything he had including his iphone when he learned the bad news about the economy and drove to peru. It would be such a long drive. If I lived in lima, I would want to be his friend.

The ice cream was ok. Then we scouted out something to eat for dinner to bring back to the hotel. We walked around to a shwarma shop and waited in line, unfortanely we didn't have low bills to pay and they didn't have much change. It was my idea to eat there but rubi really wanted to get it too, so we went back to an ATM. After getting money for an ATM I noticed another shwarma shop, but we still walked all the way back. By that time, they had closed or something , sold out I guess. So, we felt sad we weren't getting what we hoped for. We were really hungry! I suggested the other shwarma place since it might accept card, I could pay. We went there and ordered and watchd them make shwarma with longing eyes.


Then we wanted to also get desert. Unfortunately we couldn't find one of the deserts rubi was looking for, because they had just sold out at the vendor stand. So Rubi bought aroze con leche - it also had something else sweet with it that was a good pairing. We brought our food back to the hotel. Without having any plates or good seating, we stood together and ate our food and desert. It felt a little sad, because we both knew it was the last day before I would have to fly back.

We talked about when I would come back again and how it would be when we are gone. She wanted to be with me when I left at the airport, but I told her it would not be necessary and she could just go back to her friends apartment for the night and enjoy her sleep. I was getting up early and just driving back to the airport so it wasn't going to be much left to stay for. She agreed and we said goodbye and she got in the uber and drove away.

# Day 12

I got up at 4:30 to head to the airport. I was able to drop the rental car off without any problems. I had breakfast at the airport while I waited. Then I flew back to Miami. Then from Miami I flew to St. Louis, which was the most uncomfortable middle-seat flight I had ever experienced, sitting next to someone who talked like he was in a mob. That was the end of the trip.