Peru {Part 1}

The room that I´m staying in while I´m here.
The golf tournament, with Rafa to the right and las montanas in the background.
The very nice country club where the tournament was held.
Rafa, Eddie, Andres, soy yo, at the after-tournament, cocktail party.
The homemade paella, risotto dish that included octopus and squid! Loved the spicy ahi chile flavor.

I´ve only been in Lima, Peru, for 24 hours but I already have a fresh, new lens with which to look through.

This lens is even more open-minded, free-thinking and diverse than it was only a day ago.

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On Friday night, I headed up to St. Paul to stay with Charlson and go out for our, now routine, pre-Damm vacation drinks. Due to a good suggestion, we went to a bar and struck up a good conversation con una chica. I drank too much and was feeling it the next morning...but oh well, just a day in airports and airplanes anyway.

I traveled from Minneapolis to Chicago to Miami to Lima throughout the day on Saturday. I had a great time people watching in Chicago and on the 5 hour flight from Miami to Lima I watched the movies UP and CHARIOTS OF FIRE on my awesome in-flight multimedia center. I also listened to some Yo Yo Ma and The Killers new album!

It was interesting that once I got to Miami, everyone was speaking Spanish all of a sudden. You would have to be bilingiual to live in Miami.

I will admit that I was a little nervous when we touched down in Peru.

Did my luggage make it okay? Would Andres be on time and be there to pick me up? Could my horrible Spanish get me through the situations that were bound to come up on this trip?

When I got out of customs at about 11 p.m., I looked and looked for Andres but couldn´t find him. Finally I exchanged some money and used a pay phone to call Andres´s cell phone. He picked up and told me he´d be there in 10 minutes and he was.

I was glad to see a familiar face and we hopped in the car which his sister, Agatha, was driving and I also met Andres´s girlfriend, Talia.

It was about 65 degrees outside as we drove to Andres´s house in Lima. Pulling into the house -- or I should say complex -- I realized this was going to be a very interesting trip. It is turning out to be the first time that I´ve truly dived into another culture.

And just as I thought it would be, it´s a blast!

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So once we arrived at la casa de Andres, he whipped me up an awesome omelette with cheese, tomatos, onion and ham. He poured me a pisco ginger -- pisco is a strong grape liquor -- and we walked outside to his cousin´s house just across the yard.

The Baertl complex includes a few houses which belong to Andres´s family. He lives right next to his cousins and the houses all seem to connect while maintaining privacy for each family.

I´m staying in the room of Andres and his 17-year-old brother, Axl. Not only is it their own room it is actually their own building. The main house includes the kitchen, a large living area and multiple bedrooms for the rest of the family.

Andres´s family includes his mom, Ursula; his dad, Alfredo; his sisters, Agatha and Abby; and his brothers, Axl and Alfredo. All but Alfredo, who is married and is expecting a kid this week!, live in the main house. Including Andres´s grandma and her sister.

I didn´t realize any of this until I headed over to breakfast sans Andres--he had left early to caddy in a golf tournament for his friend, Rafael--and met his entire family.

We had scrambled eggs, bacon, Peruvian fruits, leche, and freshly squeezed orange juice. I felt right at home right away and didn´t even feel weird that the only person I really knew was not eating with us.

After desayuno, I went with Agatha to the golf course to watch Rafa play. He ended up winning the tournament and will be turning pro after his next tournament in Argentina.

When Andres and Rafa went to practice at the Leadbetter Golf Academy in Florida, they met Leadbetter and saw him giving lessons to Michelle Wie--cool!

Rafa shot a smooth 68 and we then headed to the post-tournament cocktail party where we were immediately offered cerveza, pisco, Johnnie Walker and ceviche.

This party included the country club elite of Peru. They had a chocolate golf cart, outstanding tables of food that included cheeses, meats like chorizo and jamon, and incredible, artistic desserts.

I had a pisco sour and about 4 or 5 beers along with a sampling of all the food!

I was delighted to meet many of Andres´s friends including Eddie, Santiago y su novia, Rafa´s padre y mucho personas mas.

Of course when we got back to Andres´s house, there was a full meal waiting for us that included paella with ahi chiles, octopus and squid as well as strawberries with cheese and a really good spinach pasta with curry.

The entire family was once again eating together and this time even the cousins had come over to eat.

It was so much to fun to see all of them interact even though most of the time I couldn´t keep up with the Spanish. They affectionately hug each other and laugh and joke--it´s so refreshing to see this outward display of love and affection!

In Peru, without exception, every woman I have met, I have kissed on the cheek. And almost every man has warmly shaken my hand. As Rafa played his round of golf and his friends came to watch, he greeted each of them during the round and seemed absolutely delighted to see them.

There is an openness and friendliness here that is intoxicating -- both literally and figuratively -- an alcoholic beverage is never more than an arms-length away.

Proud of their food, their culture and their family, the Baertls have made me feel at home in only 24 hours. Heck, I spent the early evening watching Harry Potter, Love Actually, and Ocean´s 11, with Agatha, Luce Maria, Andres and Cholo -- I even feel asleep for a while as we flipped from movie to movie. All of them in English with Spanish subtitles so I could continue to learn the language.

The free-flowing, airy, open architecture of the Baertl complex is only matched by the hospitable way they have welcomed me into their beautiful home.

I´ve only been in Peru for 24 hours and Peru is already a part of me.

Disfruta el viaje,
Damm