I was back at the family home in Huaycan by noon, I had somehow found all the right buses back - it was the first time I had done it on my own and I was proud of myself. Nothing much was going on, other than massive food preparation in the kitchen, so I took a shower and then a nap. When I woke up David and I went into the commercial area to get some fireworks and have lunch, all the kitchen effort was going into the evening meal. When we returned I tried to help with preparations for what looked like it was going to be a massive Christmas Eve dinner, they wouldn't let me do much but I managed to help a little. Much of the rest of the afternoon and evening was spent hanging out and talking, we drank a little beer as it got later. Dinner wasn't going to be served until around 11 PM so there was lots of time to talk and take Christmas pictures, also friends, but especially relatives kept stopping by to say hello. When dinner finally came it was massive, I can't even remember all we had but there was so much food that one plate wouldn't hold even a little of everything. We ate and ate. Before we knew it it was 11:45 PM and the fireworks were starting, so we all made tracks up to the roof top where we could see for miles around. This was no organized fireworks display, it was all individuals who had bought them in shops and on the street. But it was massive and went on for over an hour. It was among the best I have ever seen. We set off what we had bought but it was measly compared to what was going on around us. Afterward, there was some more beer drinking, which I joined for a while, but soon was to sleepy to continue.
The next day, Christmas, was surprisingly quiet compared to Christmas Eve, especially since the beer drinkers were still a bit hung over, as they had talked away much of the night. David made it to the end and because he stayed around he heard many family stories and had discussions he might not have heard otherwise. Christmas in Peru does not involve much, or in this case any, gift giving, so there was no sitting around the tree, which they had, synthetic, opening presents. Just a lot of Felice Navidad greetings and smiles.
There had been much talk the preceding days about the new Star Wars movie, David was especially enthusiastic to see it, so around noon we all piled into a relatives' van and headed to the movie theatre in the nearby district of Ate. The theatre, it turned out, was in a new small mall there and since the movie didn't start for a few hours, but we needed to get there early to buy tickets, we hung around the mall looking into the shops and trying out the ice cream and other snacks that were very available. A relaxed and fun family time. Soon it was time for the movie and rounding up everyone from the stores they were exploring was a bit of a project but we got into the theatre just before the movie started, so all went well. We watched the movie, dubbed into Spanish, David and I had expected it to be in English with Spanish subtitles, and afterwards had a lively discussion of how good we thought it was. David and I gave it a neutral, but most everyone else thought it was great. It was starting to be sunset when we got out of the movie, so we piled back into the van and headed back home to Huaycan. There we prepared and ate pleasant Christmas dinner and had a quiet night at home.
The next day, which was to be my last in Huaycan for a while was quiet, I did some laundry, packed and cleaned up a bit in the room David and I had been using.
The next day David, Jesus, Raul and I would go into Miraflores to meet Jerry and Lizzie for lunch and then I would stay with Jerry and Lizzie to begin our travels around Peru. I left the house with mixed feelings, I was excited to begin traveling with Jerry and Lizzie and seeing more of Peru, but I was also sad to be leaving a family that I had grown very fond of. But I knew that if I stayed in Huaycan it would eventually become boring, as everyone else had either school or work every day and I had nothing to do but to wait for them to come home. I knew myself well enough to realize that I needed more direction and activity than that and, besides, I had promised Jerry and Lizzie, before I had any idea if we were going to find David's family or not, that I would travel with them and I really wanted to see more of Peru.
So the next morning the four of us and my baggage found a cab that would take us to Miraflores, a nearly one hour trip in light traffic. There we had a little trouble locating the monastery where I had left Jerry and Lizzie a few days before but eventually found it and within a few minutes located them.
Jerry had arranged to have breakfast that morning with a Peruvian friend of a friend from New York City. Gonzalez is a playwright and screenwriter who grew up in Peru, studied some in the US and then returned to Peru to practice his craft, with occasional trips to the states for work. So, we all joined in for breakfast at a nice breakfast place in Miraflores. It was great fun listening to Gonzalez explain that his writing for the stage had to be subsidized by his screenwriting, Three or four movie scripts a year paid the bills and allowed him time to write for the stage. He said that he had established himself enough that last year he was able to write four movie scripts and already had three scheduled for 2016. It seems that he was one of the lucky and talented once that can actually make a living in a very competitive craft. It was a very pleasant morning, with everyone joining in the conversation.
When breakfast ended, Gonzalez went off to a meeting, Jerry, Lizzie and I prepared to take a taxi to the bus station and David, Jesus and Raul were ready to take a series of buses back to Huaycan. It was a mixed goodby for me, I had become very fond of the family and wasn't sure when or if I would see Jesus and Raul again on this trip. And David had decided to stay with the family rather than travel, both to get more time with them and to conserve his dwindling cash supply. At the same time I was anxious to see more of Peru, a land that has an often severe but deep beauty, and spend some time traveling with Jerry and Lizzie.
So, emotional goodbye's were said and Jerry, Lizzie and I hailed a cab bound for the Cruz del Sur bus station and a bus to the southern coastal town of Paracas.
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