Around the World in 800 Days

Did you know it never rains here in Lima?
Well, almost never.
I did a little research and I found out the last time it rained here was about 2 and a half years ago.
But this time of year (winter), the sun almost never comes out. Along the coast, there are almost always clouds and a bit of drizzle.
The Humboldt Current that comes up from the Antarctic makes the water off the coast very cold. And that water mixes with warm air mass here in the sub tropics to create the drizzle. And then the Andes (the second largest mountain range in the world) dries out the air trying to make it way over the mountains from the Amazon Jungle on the other side.
I don't think there is another place in the world like it. Maybe in Namibia.....I am not sure.
But is very strange here.
I am at about 10 degrees south latitude and it is cold here. But it never gets too cold. And it never gets to hot.
Now move up to 10 degrees north latitude and that puts you in Panama and it is always hot and humid there as one would expect.
So what makes the coast of Peru unique is a combination of this cold Humboldt Current and the drying effect of the Andes Mountains.
It is something you really need to experience to believe.

she'd still be famous because of her booty:

It maybe hard as a rock, but there is too much junk in the trunk for me

That is the beautiful thing about art.......you see what you want to see.
And knowing you BBTGLG........it is no surprise that you would see this.
But it got me wondering so I did a little research and this is what I found and some others opinions about the meaning of the painting:


The curtain in the upper corners of the painting is the dress of the woman in the background. The skirts have been lifted, showing us her sexuality.

Note the painting above the mantle. It is of a nude figure whose head cannot be seen.

The two topless women are both looking at an individual in front of them. The woman on the right extends her left hand toward that unseen person. Look at that hand. She is beginning to form her hand into the same nipple pinching gesture. The two women are offering a threesome to the unseen person.

I can't quite see enough detail to see what the clothed woman is doing. As far as I can tell, she is either sewing, or reading a message written on a strip of cloth or paper. In either case, why is she doing it in the dark? She's sitting next to a firplace, but she has almost no light to work by. The darkness could suggest coldness, sadness, fear, isolation, or something else. I'm guessing it represents her desire for secrecy. She sits in the dark so that no one will see what she is doing.

the nipple-pinching signifies lactation. Pregnancy was a major career step for any royal mistress as it usually consolidated her position at court. It was just the sort of event that a mistress - or her lover - might want to use art to celebrate.

The curtains are definitely representative of a woman's dress. Notice how the left side is lifted magically, with no visible means of support. This is the artist thinking of himself as God, able to reach out and change reality, without being seen. And that structure that they're standing within is draped with a type of fabric that might be used for ladies' undergarments.

This is obviously a sequel to another painting, lost to history. In the first painting, the left side of the "curtain" is down, covering the entire left figure except for the arm. (Notice how the right side is properly tied back in place.) The viewer would assume that the unseen left figure is a man, testing the child-bearing abilities of his intended. (Notice that she is holding the ring, but not wearing it.) Then in this painting, the left curtain is magically pulled aside, revealing the gender of the figure on the left. Sort of the 16th century version of "We're here, we're queer!"

Now I want to go back and look at the painting again. I guess just think of it as 500 year old porn. And maybe it was Hugh Hefner's inspiration

I was pretty into it after catching up on the first 20 pages the last couple days. Now I realize I have about 220 more to go. I'm guessing it will take me/ sustain me for the next 12 months of my job, at which point I'll be pointing the bike South and punching the throttle in a similar fashion. Luckily, not much to sacrifice other than career advancement at 26 (and at a desk job, that's not a hard decision).

I love how you manage to blend dirt-bagging with a touch of class when necessary. Not an easy skill to acquire, but quite a great one to have and execute!

Enjoy! (and subscribed)

Lovin this Ride Report. Keep up the great work, I've learned more about wine from you than any other source. Also looking forward to commentary on the Belguim beers.

Yep, dirt begged it on a piss-smelling street in downtown Paris with the other bums and danced on the decks of a high-class cruise ship sailing around the Mediterranien Sea all in the same month.
A friend of mine wants to tag along with me for a week or so next month. I told him to bring his own tent because he is not sharing mine. But for him, camping is a 4 star hotel. And I think he is missing part of the fun and adventure. Some of my best nights have been in places I have camped. And I wouldn't trade most of those nights for 5 star hotel with four walls and a roof that hid the stars at night and the sun rise in the morning.
And for any adventure rider out there, you need to get used to something less than 4 stars because you might get let down one night and be miserable.
Find the beauty in the adversity and laughing it all off is the best way to be able to survive such a trip (even if you have a gold or platinum credit card

Thanks man
I will be in Belgium around the second week of August so if any of my friends there are listening, I want to do a major Abbey beer taste off to find the best beer in the world. And it might be a lot of fun in the process.

The cruise wasn't really a vacation.
We were getting up at 7 am every morning, running around all day and then staying up well past midnight every night.

And when I am on my moto, I am also going from sun up to sun down every day.
But here in Lima, I have no plans and no moto to distract me. It's 5 pm and Kathe and have not gone anywhere today.
And it's nice to have a break.

Last night was Peru's Independence day and I met the whole family.......mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, cousins, uncles, aunts, etc. I brought some good wine with me so that always makes people smile.

We are staying at her parents house here in Lima.

While it is nice to relax here, I am looking forward to getting back on the road to make new discoveries on my own. And put some adventure back in to this adventure ride

I just looked at my bank balance today. I am glad I am heading out of the wine regions soon.

People of the US, you don't know how lucky you have it.
Europe too.
I went to the store here in Lima to buy a bottle of wine. The market had a very nice selection of wine from all around the world. They had the 2005 LAN Grand Reserva. It was the same wine that I bought in Spain for about $15.
But the price here in Peru was $150 Solas. And that is about $55 USD.
And same holds true for just about anything imported. A $20,000 car in the US is $40,000 in Peru. And the people here are not all rolling in dough either so it would be very hard to enjoy a nice bottle of wine or drive a nice car.
I look at the US and it maybe the least expensive place to buy things.
Where it gets expensive in the US is the price of housing.
Here in Lima, you can rent a nice apartment with an ocean view for less than $1000 a minth. In the US, that same apartment would be 3 or 4 times as much.

And don't get me started on how bad the traffic is over here. And the way people drive, you would not want to drive a nice car even if you could afford one. There are no rules. Nobody stays in a lane or has a concept of what a lane is. And there is no respect for space and safety over here. Just lay on your horn and maneuver your car in to that impossibly small gap in the traffic and hit the gas because if you don't, you are not going anywhere.
I guess there are pros and cons to everything.
One the plus side, it is all but impossible to get a speeding ticket over here and even if you did, you can usually buy your way out of it.
So Lima is not perfect but neither is the US.
If I could just buy that beachhouse in Lima and move it to California and be able to drive like I can here in Lima but have everyone else follow the rules of the road like in the US, then that would be perfect. And the 2005 LAN Grand Reserva would be my everyday go to wine.........for $15.

We went to a trendy nightclub here in Lima over the weekend. Everyone was looking sharp. There are some sexy girls here in Peru. I think Peru is overlooked for that.....just saying
Kathe knew all the songs that they played. I didn't know any of them.
Drinks were weak and at $20 Solas each so it was not cheap. But Kathe got our name on the VIP list so we didn't have to pay the cover charge and we had access to the VIP level. It was incredibly crowded in the disco after 2 am. You could move without getting bumped.
But it was fun.
We left about 4 am and pretty much stayed in bed most of the next day. And could you blame me?

you are missing one very big factor, the beach scenery. we do NOT have all of those lovely Peruvian curves here in Komifornia. so sure you could move the house, but it just wouldn't be the same.

Have you ever driven PCH south of Carmel?????
Wait a second........what kind of "curves" are you talking about

I was going back and reading some of my reports and found this post.
I didn't see this one coming. And now I am back in Peru. It is funny the twists and turns life takes.

Love it. Keep on rolling.

removed

aww damn man, freaking scorned wimmins. been there, done that but i dont think i ever had as cool a collection of stuff! lots of us willing to do whatever we can to help Lalo, just say the word.


on the upside, it's less shit to have to ship to Lima. (just kidding)

Tell me about it! My ex still have my stuff I'd like back too.. but she just wouldn't give it back.. made me wonder if she consider these stuff trophies??? Even my old school classmate is in relationship with my ex's sister and the plead have failed.

So for me, I said fuck it and bought new stuff replacing these stuff. Fuck her..

Good luck with your!

Anything????
Do you own a gun?
LOL