Peru {Part 4}

Cesos (cow brain) in butter, parsley and garlic.

Agatha, myself and Axl.

Alredo, myself and Andres.

Houses on a mountain side as I traveled to the Lima airport.

Okay, when we last left off...I was playing golf on Thursday, came home to an empty house, Andres's sister-in-law has a baby, time to celebrate...

We returned from the hospital on Thursday afternoon and the whole family gathered in the kitchen to celebrate the birth of Alfredo #4.

Bottles of champagne were opened and Ursula stood at the stove sauteing cow brain's for me in garlic and parsley. The texture was similar to scrambled eggs but the taste was pretty good. I had a few bites and was definitely glad that I tried it. Not as good as the cow heart but good nonetheless.

We all sat around laughing, smiling, drinking and eating for the rest of the afternoon. Once again, I lost track of time.

Hanging in the air that day, suspended for me, was the smell of Peruvian cuisine, the euphoric happiness that comes when one is surrounded by friends and the strange sensation of comfort in a home that was thousands of miles away from my home.

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I took a shower in the early evening and opened up a Cusquena beer. We went back to the hospital to say hi to more family and see little Alfredo again.

Then Agatha, Cholo, Andres, Talia and I went to pick up their cousin Meg. We went to a swanky bar in Miraflores and had some anticuchos, spring rolls and double pisco sours.

Two doubles had me buzzed in a hurry! Cholo's sister was also at the bar but didn't join us as we left for the club, Gotica.

As usual, I followed Andres and Cholo as we arrived and Gotica and went into the "guys" line. We waited for a few minutes, watched Talia and the girls get in, and then got to the front of the line. I'm expecting to pay a steep cover but somehow our names were all printed out on a list and we got in for free. Connections are nice!

Gotica was quite the club. It had a few different levels and the dance floor was at the bottom level of the club, next to the DJ. Most of the music was techno-electronica but a lot of Spanish-language music was also played.

We bought bottle service and received wrist bands, a bottle of Chevas Regal and a bunch of Red Bulls as mixers. I got absolutely blitzed off of the Chevas Regal/Red Bull combination and it wasn't long before Meg was teaching me how to salsa and meringue. I think I eventually caught on (Meg might disagree with this) but either way I had a blast dancing the night away with hundreds of my young, hip, friends from Lima.

I think we left the club around 3:30 am and bought some burgers at Bembos before getting a taxi home and passing out from a long day of momentous occasions for the Baertl family and myself.

Friday was spent nursing a hangover, buying pirated DVDs for less than $1 each, eating Domino's pizza, meeting Andres's older brother Alex, sitting around on the couch and simply being lazy.

Thursday, of course, had been the climax of the trip. Friday was pretty much a lost day. On Saturday, I woke up at about 7:00 a.m. and went to the kitchen for one last breakfast in Lima.

I buttered my toast, ate a few pieces of the Peruvian grapefruit, had some orange juice and sat there talking to Agatha. It had become my morning routine and I was nearly sick to my stomach that the routine was ending on this day.

The taxi driver arrived a little before 7:30 a.m. I said my goodbyes to Agatha and Andres and got in the car. The 30-minute cab ride was fairly quiet. I exchanged a few pleasantries with the driver but basically looked out the window the majority of the ride.

I saw Peruvian men and women going to work -- spilling out of buses that had taken them from their mountain homes to the city for the day.

I saw a flower market with gorgeous bouquets that probably only cost a few soles.

I saw a group of children kicking a soccer ball and a young couple kissing on a park bench.

I saw the nicer parts of Andres's neighborhood replaced with the run-down houses that were ubiquitously placed on the side of the small mountains that enclosed the city of Lima.

At the end of cab ride, I saw my reflection in the window.

My face was filled with sadness and even though I couldn't feel it on my cheek, I swear I saw a tear running down my face as the Lima airport appeared outside my window -- beckoning me home.