2nd Day Adventures

Today we woke up at 9:30 and had breakfast at the hostel. Then we drove down to the beach in Chilca to stay at Juan's parents' beach house for the day and night. I rode in the car with Juan and his dad and another girl on the trip, Katie. I learned so much about Peru on the short trip to the beach. Its amazing being able to see first hand the different stages of development of Peru. We learned all about Lima's history and how the eradication of terrorism allowed the province to boom economically. We saw everything from the nicest parts of the cities to the shanty towns where all the properties are marked with a distinct white line in the dirt and the walls of the huts are made of straw.
When we arrived the first thing we did was go to the local village and buy food for the rest of today and tomorrow morning. We went to a panaderia and a local fresh market where we purchased fish and fresh fruits and veggies. The people were so friendly and helpful.
We spent the afternoon walking the private beach and going in caves. There were so many different kinds of birds everywhere. It was really sad to see a lot of dead birds though. They travel to the quiet beaches to die in peace. The tide was freaking crazy on the beaches!!! I had no idea Lima was such an epic place for surfing. One of the guides, Pepe, is really into bird watching so we drove to the local wetlands and spotted about 30 different species of birds. Then we went around the city of Chilca and saw La Salinas, the salt beds that you can still get salt from. We ended up watching the sunset on a local beach and it was absolutely incredible.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed dinner. We had fish that doesn't have a name in English, Lima bean puree that looked kinda like mashed potatoes, and this super whole grain rice cake thing plus beans and potatoes. I've been trying to pick up Spanish from listening to Juan and Pepe talk to each other and I understand a little sometimes. A few of us went on a log walk down the beach late at night to go visit Pepe's friend and Juan's cousins. Then I had what was supposedly my last decent shower....