Yesterday, I went with Freddie and his Israeli girlfriend to central Lima markets to buy a secondhand surfboard and wettie ( it's advisable to visit these with a local as it can be a bit sketchy..so I wisely left nicki at the hostel to chill while I scouted for surf gear..). I scored an Ok secondhand board and good wettie for 70 bucks  but later felt bad when my friends informed me the purchases had probably been stolen from someone at some point..

 Anyway, I surfed a long left pointbreak thismorning with 2 new Zealand brothers we met- the break had a narley takeoff and the nose of my board broke at the end of the session when my leggie came loose after a wipeout ( Kalma?)...freezing water but great waves( and that was a small swell). We travelled to the surf break in an old, funky red car the NZ boys had bought and christianed "Zeus"- unfortunately Zeus screamed of Gringo tourist car, with us inside and surfboards on the roof so we managed to get stopped twice by the Peruvian Policia, quizzed for documents and let loose after an on-the-spot fine for any number of reasons..

Amazing display of Peruvian helpfulness thismorning- while waiting for our Brazilian friend carlos we managed to lose our frisbee over an extensive wall bordered with broken glass and onto a battered asbestos carpark roof...after pulling some strings to gain front door entry to the building, I enlisted the help of the resident janitor, who then proceeded to try all manner of things to retrieve our 1 sol frisbee...after his failed attempts to lasooe the frisbee with a hose, recover it with a broome, ladder and several other innovative tools , he was so determined to help us that he carefully and decisevely bashed a hole in the asbestos roof, stuck his head through it and retrieved the frisbee with a broome - he handed it back to me, covered in healthy, asbestos dust and smiling from ear to ear...priceless- for every person that tries to rip you off at some turn, there will be another that will exhibit the purest altruism, often with some degree of personal sacrifice.  

We have met a range of travellers at our current hostel ( which has a real feel of a uni frat house with old couches,  cable Tv, funky music,  big 2nd storey balcony with fooze ball and BBq area and the general shannanigans that accompany such an environment). Freddie a local hostel worker is also a chef and cooked up a storm last night for the cultural melting pot that frequents our hostel..

Beautiful, grand churches and other buildings around Lima built by the Spanish when they dominated Peru centuries ago..