Hangover

I just read what I wrote yesterday and that fact that it is not very grammatical and not entirely readable is due to the fact that I was writing it under the influence of Cristal cerveza which I drank in great quantities the night before... I have never been really drunk in my life but that was close... It all started with going for "one beer" with my new friends from Hostal Espana: Aristoteles and Aristofeles (twins whose father loves philosophy), their friend Cecylia and Marco. A&A study law and help their uncle and aunt to run Hostal Espana during their break from school and Marco is a Peruvian who lives in Switzerland and is visiting his homeland for a few weeks. So went for that one beer but then a whole new group of people joined us and conversation started to flow and we finished it at 4am. At one point one of the new people who joined us said jokingly: "After that soccer match during mundial ´81 I hated you Polish people." And I said: "Did you watch that game?!" I remember it very well. Peru lost to Poland 0 to 10 and I remember every goal. He remembered it well too. He told me the names of the entire Polish representation. Grzegorz Lato was the most famous, of course, and Boniek, Dayna and Szarmach. That was amazing. It was nice knowing that he and I (and lot's of other people) shared the emotions of that game so many years ago and we still remember it. So we had this amazing bond, you see, and the beer then started flowing strongly. I woke up with a headache but remembered well what happened but the rest of my friends didn't. I had to escort them home... to Hostal Espana. It was a great evening. I think my Spanish was really good that night.

Earlier that day I went to see the museum of the Inquisition and Peruvian senate. A guide took us through the catacumbs (the holly officium held the hearings and tortures in that building) and the thoughts came back to me which came to me while watching The Passion of Christ: that the history repeats itself many times and people, it seems, never keep their promise not to kill and torture. Jesus was tortured and killed because he commited blasphemy and then later his followers, the followers of his words of endless love for other human beings, tortued and killed so many people for exactly the same thing: blasphemy. Homo homini lupus. It's unbelievable what a human being can do to another human being, how deliberately and with what cruelty...

Today I met with Rosana's mom Consuelo. She picked me up at Hostal Espana at 9 am. We went to Rosana's aunt's apartment and after breakfast we went to Barranco - the bohemian part of the city. We walked through really nice old streets located on the hill along the coast. Then we went down to the beach and we walked and walked and walked, passing through different beaches. Then we just sat down and napped. It was very nice and relaxing. We then walked to the Playa des Pescadores. It's the beach to which fishers come with their catch and there's a fish market there and many tiny shacks and restaurants selling fish, fried, sauted and raw. The raw seafood marinated in lime juice, served with onion, corn and sweet potatoes, called ceviche, is an amazing dish. We had ceviche, fried fish and cooked fish and I ate so much I think I will eat something the day after tomorrow the soonest... We walked through the fish market, looking at the amazing choice of fish and everything else coming from the ocean. Huge pelicanos were walking by our side. "Ladron!" and a happy pelicano steps out happy after stealing a fish. The are huge and are everywhere. Some are waiting patiently to get what is not wanted and some steal. I took many pictures of them because they are very photogenic. Rosana's mom is an amazing person. I very much enjoyed spending the day with her. We were happy like puppies, playing with the waves, enjoying the sand, walking on the rocks, taking pictures of pelicanos, talking to the people on the market. On the bus back home we were both dozzing off, really tired. Consuelo went home and I will go with Willy, Rosana's brother, to Barranco again to see it at night because at night it is a totally transformed place, full of bars, cafes, dancing and music. I am half asleep but I will have some coffee and I will be ready to party tonight.