For the first time in almost 2 weeks I find myself with tourists, just like me.
The feeling is strange, for the first time I have to speak English with someone. The words come out with difficulty, by now Spanish is entering my head…. Pale faces, or sunburned Peruvian faces, sandals (yes, even with socks :/), light eyes and hair, the latest fashionable equipment. Everything screams Europe and the United States… the feeling is new, I’m not used to it anymore… in the glove compartment of the bus seat where I’m sitting there is the paper of a bottle cap (probably wine), remnants of some tourist from a previous trip…
Apparently the bus will be full, I hope that the person sitting next to me isn’t some obnoxious person with a bad temper.
Sleep is overpowering, maybe I should have slept more last night. The tour of the hotels to pick up the tourists proceeds lazily, while I find myself thinking that I already miss “my Lima”. In the last few days I’ve had at least the illusion of being integrated, with my dirty shoes and my insecure Spanish, but it has allowed me to meet many locals, always with a smile on my face. People that will be hard to forget, for their hospitality, availability and kindness. But above all for their curiosity to get to know their neighbors, something that doesn’t happen on this bus, despite numerous attempts… I find myself thinking that if the strike this morning had prevented me from getting on this bus, maybe I would have smiled… but I have other cities to visit, adventures to live and people to meet. Bye Lima, it’s not goodbye, it’s a see you soon!