Adventures on the Loose

So, yesterday I hung out with a group from Holy Spirit (and a few others) from back in Atlanta that were touring Peru with Msgr. Dillon. Such a small world. We basically went through many of the spots I saw when I was first here but having a tour guide helped a bit. The afternoon was on your own, so I decided to go paragliding. It was a short walk up the coastline to Parque de la Amor, which is right next to where you give the man some money and get strapped into a tandem paraglider. We practically ran off the cliff before the wind entirely caught the sail, and were lifted up into the air. Marco flew me down and around the cliffs, then up and over buildings before turning around and flying over the Pacific Ocean for a bit. It was pretty amazing...I´ve always wanted to fly! Afterwards, it was back to the American group where we had Mass, drinks, a fancy dinner, and a skit about their trip that turned out hilarious. I was tempted to stay and borrow a hot shower in their really nice hotel, but it was getting late, so I went on back to my ¨hot¨but in reality it´s just ¨not cold¨ shower at the hostel. Today, I actually slept in! My roommate and I both did. It was great. Around 10, I left the building and found a type of parade going on. It really was more of a stationary parade. Kids dancing in local costumes and bands were stationed all up and down Larco/Arequipa Street, and only about a dozen vehicles ever drove by. So, I feel like I walked the stationary parade route. Police were stationed every ten feet the entire way, too. From what I can gather, because St. Rose of Lima is the patron saint of police, the National Police Day coincides with her feast day. She´s also the patron saint of the City. So, everyone was out and about today. I spent nearly 3 hours walking the length of the street just taking it all in, and finally wishing that I´d found the bus to take me back to Central Lima from Miraflores. I did find it to get back tonight, and it was an hour long ride, if that gives any indication of how much I walked this morning! It was pretty awesome though. I´ll try to see if I can get a video of the dancing on here for you. I also happened upon someone very important and a couple processions with people carrying a statue of St. Rose of Lima through the streets. Pretty exciting!