Part 8.a: Peru 2.0

Having Mama back was a gamechanger. I was seeing Lima through the eyes of a tour guide, ready to show her all of the things I had already seen. I didn't like it the first time, but it was so much fun to do it again with somebody else.

I did all of the touristy things that I missed before. We went to an ancient pyramid in Lima, sandsurfing in Ica, and hiked the ruins of a city in Nazca. All of it was better with Mama with me, and when I cried at night, I had somebody to cry to.

The Peruvian food stole my heart. What had tasted so plain before took on a whole new tone when Mama and I ate it together. Did you know that there are 4,000 types of potatoes in Peru?! I enjoyed tasting as many as possible. The salsas were all so different, and the prices (when eating local food) were low - a perfect combination!

Everything seemed great, until disaster struck. On the suggestion of a TikTok (first mistake), we headed to a giant clothing outlet called Gamarra. I didn't ask any locals about it (second mistake).

Gamarra was absolutely crazy. It was so crowded, and the clothes were insanely cheap. I was very overwhelmed, and we left the craziness to call an Uber and go home. Standing on a quiet street outside of the madness, Mama and I committed the ultimate Latin American sin: we held our phones in our hands, out in the open.

Two men ran past us and shook my confidence forever, changing the way I looked at the world. I don't mean to be dramatic - I really mean it. They snatched both of our phones out of our hands, and went running down the street. We ran after them (third mistake), shouting to all of the people around us for help. I never felt so alone as when every single person turned away from us, pretending not to hear.

We broke down crying, and realized how lost we were without either of our phones. Luckily, I remembered what neighborhood we were living in, and we were able to take a taxi home. We immediately went to the store and bought cheap burner phones - good enough to use Google Maps, Uber, and text.

Neither of us got hurt. All we lost were our phones. But in that moment, I realized how vulnerable we really were. Those men could've done anything they wanted - thank god they only stole our phones. I'm grateful for that learning opportunity, because it taught me to be much more careful. I haven't had anything stolen since, and I will never forget that important lesson.

The rest of our month passed with no large incident, and we actually ended up having a great time. I was still ready to leave when the month ended, and I swore I'd never go back to Peru ever again.

I take that back now. How can I truly be a traveller in Latin America if I've never been to Cuzco?! One day, I'll certainly have to give Peru another chance.