Halloween at the Cubano

With a full day of freedom ahead of us Friday, no treatments and no obligations, we looked forward to a day of exploring. We were ready to leave the apartment around 4:30 in the afternoon after some sleeping in, stretching, a much needed set of cardio for Katrina and I, and showers for all of us. We were off, as Erin says, like a herd of turtles.

The first venture on foot from the new apartment is promising, we pass a tourist information center, and make mental plans to visit later. The upscale alpaca shops are plentiful here too, and the women are kind as we peruse the craftsmanship. Pressing on, we grab a taxi for 'Pizza Street' a pedestrian avenue in cobblestone filled with restraunts and bars. Just outside the street, I try on shoes and have yet another BWA moment. (Big, White, and Awkward-not much different from the states mind you, just more obvious). I ask if the shoes come in any other sizes, as i've packed mostly summer footwear and somewhere the Peruvian weather gods are getting a good chuckle over my ignorance. (Memo for next time: Summer in the southern hemisphere does NOT mean summer in Lima...not yet at least.) The petite street vendors shrug shoulders and raise eyebrows. I never liked shopping anyways.

Strolling down the crowded avenue, its Halloween here as well, and the attire is itself a spectacle. Amid many skeletal 'day of the dead' ensembles there are also small little ones in synthetic spiderman onesies. After a Peruvian supper, we decide we could celebrate with another Pisco Sour and maybe some dessert. Inside the Cuban bar, skilled, fluid dancers are making it look easy as salsa music plays loudly overhead. One of many things that catches my eye inside the black lit club however is a lone older gentleman at a table near us. With a large pitcher of Cusquena in front of him, forgoeing the glass entirely, I can't help imagining he's a famous British author on a chain smoking South American bender. Just after we discover Manuel is actually an Argentinian doctor, its time to leave as Katrina is getting hounded for her phone number. Conveniently, she dosen't really have one.

With so many little kids out so late on this candy charged holiday, my mind is wondering what my little nephews have sported this evening.