Day Four - LIMA and PACHAMAC

Ricky's Mom and Dad

Lima Town Square

Group of paragliders

Bike race at Pachamac

Ricky preparing for the jump


I awoke about 8:00. Ricky spoke with his wife, Angie, who was originally going to come watch us end out lives. She said she wouldn’t be able to make it. The rest of Ricky’s family was getting ready for church. Ricky’s dad made us breakfast and asked us if we were sure we wanted to risk our lives on the Lord’s Day instead of going to church. I told him I didn’t have church clothes. He said I could borrow some. It was all in good humor. I actually would have liked to have experienced a church service in Peru. It would be in Spanish, of course, but still pretty cool.

Ricky and I left for Miraflores to meet Michael. We found a taxi fairly quickly. It was about a 30 minute ride and cost about $5, or less. Just as the taxi pulled up to the address, a car came up to us and I heard, “Hi Darrin.” It was Michael behind the wheel. I recognized him from the Youtube videos. Not sure how he recognized me. He had Ricky and I wait with his wife while he went to pick up some more riders.

Pachamac is about one hour south of Lima. It is a desert area further inland. We saw many ruins on the way. There were 6 riders so Michael got a friend pilot of his to help out for the day. Seven of us crammed ourselves into Michael’s vehicle. There was Ricky and I, Michael and his wife, a very cute Indian couple from Washington DC and a woman from Holland.

The paragliding experience was interesting. Not quite what I had expected. The ride up the barren mountain was probably more dangerous and exciting than the paragliding itself. The roads were narrow, steep and were covered in huge potholes. Michael drove one speed only…fast. It was like a 4-wheeling experience going straight up. I thought it was actually very fun but a couple of the people swore they would NOT be driving back down the same way. They would rather paraglide or walk down. Michael chose me to ride back down with Michaels’s wife after each paraglide ride to pick Michael up and bring him up the hill again. I was glad to do it.

When it came to my turn to glide Michael was a little concerned about the lack of wind and my weight. We climbed further up the hill for our take off site. I carried the chute with me, so I was gasping for air as Michael prepared for the jump. No instruction. No time to contemplate. Suddenly I was strapped to a huge kite and in an instant was thrust into the air. The flight itself was very relaxing, much like skydiving (after the chute is open). Michael worked at trying to catch updraft to prolong the flight. In all our flight lasted about 10-15 minutes, not as long as I would have liked. But the lack of wind and my weight kept us from flying longer.

Coming in for a landing was going well until the last few seconds. We caught some sort of downdraft and came crashing to the ground. I didn’t have time to panic as I saw the ground come rushing up much quicker than it should have. Somehow we managed to crash to the ground without too much injury. I had a bloody elbow and bruised heel. Michael’s hand got scraped up some but nothing major. Luckily I had the video camera running so I was able to capture it on tape (I haven’t watched it yet). Michael said he wanted a copy of it because it was the worst landing he’s had in his 18 year career. Lucky me!!!

As we waited for the rest of the jumpers, Ricky and the woman from Holland discussed Politics of Bolivia and the corruption of the current President of that country. It’s always interesting watching folks speak to each other in English even though it isn’t either of their nataive tongue. But they managed to speak very well.

There were Mountain bike races going on nearby so we stopped to watch them for a while. There were some very crazy, brave riders.

We got a flat tire on the way back. Michael knew to stop along the side of the road at a bunch of guys playing cards. The tired was too damaged to fix so they replaced it.

Michael invited Ricky and I back to his home sometime before I left Peru for a visit.

Back home. Ricky’s dad make me a late lunch of pork chops, small potatoes, rice, salad and an exotic, Peruvian fruit. Took a nap.

Ricky’s dad, mom and I went on an evening tour of historic downtown lima. We took a tour bus to the top of a small hill in the center of Lima. There was a cross on top of the hill. We had amazing 360 degree views of Lima. Ricky’s dad translated for me as the tour guide explained the different sites, interlaced with Catholic propaganda.

We had a Chicken dinner at a fairly nice restaurant. To show my appreciation to them I decided to pay. The restaurant wouldn’t take the $20 bill I handed them because it wasn’t in perfect shape. There was a very small tear at the bottom of the bill. Apparently Peru is notorious for only accepting American currency in perfect condition. Still not sure why. I pulled out a few others I had. None of them were acceptable. I asked if they accepted credit cards. They did. But then they wouldn’t take credit card because I didn’t have my passport with me. They finally took the card with Driver’s License. GEEZ!

Went back home after a long, eventful day. I slept well.