Nike The Human Race 10K Lima

This morning I was awoken at 7 in the morning after a great night out. Today Nike put on The Human Race 10K at multiple places around the world. Right outside of my hostel was the start and finish of Limas leg of the run. I did however have to work at 9 so I was up for. Sadly, it also woke the entire hostel for breakfast. i am absolutely knackered and will be back to sleep shortly.


They all stretched in unison and then started the race. it was quite epic.

Centro Lima

Yesterday my friends took me to the historic center of Lima. The absolute center houses the cities church and the house of the president of Peru. It is quite a sight to behold. There is a video below of the scene. Pardon the poor quality, but connections here are not strong.

bar shifts

Just passing the time here in Lima. All is still well and the bar is quite quiet.


Just a view from the bar.

Working at the Bar in Lima

After staying at the hostel for a week and propping up one end of the bar at my hostel in Lima, they decided to offer me a job. I am now on bar staff here and will be staying for close to another couple of weeks. I made the decision on little sleep and now it is part of the adventure.

Big Day Con Los Toros

Today bullfighting and other activities.


Basically the events recruit local teams and let guys who have never been around livestock get in the ring and see if they have what it takes. It is quite a spectacle.


In my favorite event two teams of 3 compete to see who can get the bull to chase them through goals the most times using their bodies as bait.


Of course there are a few good spills but the bull is rather small. Nothing in comparison of size to the bulls I have known.

Needless to say i badly wanted a turn. Lucky for my mother I chose to protect my leg.


It was fun and traditional. I was one of a handful of gringos at this massive event.

It was even styled to accommodate children.

In peru it is also tradition to host cock fighting. It is illegal in the states but traditional here. It was odd to be in a place where music blasts and people dance between fights and betting rounds that involves a fatality.

(After viewing the video a day later I have decided that it was in poor taste for me to put up. Although it is a tradition here I am still not comfortable with it. Sorry)



Despite the violence the whole thing was done quite well although I am not certain I will be frequenting too many cock fights in the future. Thanks again to Fabiola and Mayra for setting up another amazing day in peru.

A New Day

As I come to my senses this morning in Peru I wonder what the day has in store for me. Per the norm I enjoy the view from the hostel and prepare myself for the unexpected. Wish me luck

Jump School

In an attempt to punish me my friends Fabiola, Angela, and Mayra took me on what I thought was going to be bungee jumping in a touristy area. This was not the case. By small bus and car we made are way around Lima before finally arriving at a military academy. Guards with guns circa 1940s stood at countless gates and I felt fantastically american sitting in the front seat of the car with my Boston Red Sox cap on.

It turns out that I was going to be attending Jump School for soldiers in the Peruvian army. The gear was a little old but sturdy and I got the pleasure of staring at 6 stories of drop directly over a concrete slab. Needless to say I loved the idea. The only thing was the harness was unforgiving and having not worn jeans was quite painful.


This was the scene of the crime


Fabiola


Angela


The initial drop was about 15 feet of freefall before the rope started to pull you back up. It was a little rough, but they insisted that I do my jump superman style. To do so they ran the cables into the side of my harness as a makeshift support and encouraged me to run and jump. The first approach was intimidating but I quickly captured some of my American idiocy in a bottle and jump.


Fabi in the air. It was a great time and I thank the girls for every second of it (except for the second that nearly castrated me)

Rockin it out with Cookie Monster

Only in a hostel do you end up making friends like this. I really can't explain it. I think the picture speaks for itself.

Late the other night we went to Sargento Pimientos (Sargent Pepper's) in Barranco. It is a different experience from the bars in the US because it was so simple (concrete dirty floor, poorly kept facilities, and bartenders that try and gouge a little extra cash out of you) now that I think of it, it is exactly like the US. While inside I met quite a few Peruvians that were very nice. My spanish is slowly evolving.

Quite the staged photo.

Last Night in Lima for team Louisiana

The dynamic of self-motivated travel is great and it seems that all the people I meet tend to be completing their journey while mine is only beginning. Last night my friends for Louisiana hung out until they had to go to the airport to fly back home.

Pictured. Fernando, Jacob, this guy, Sean, Dwight.

Lima Update...

I am having a blast in Lima right now. It is more like a vacation than an adventure though. I am sure that is all going to change as time goes on though and I start exploring more.


The other day some friends and I hit a cigar bar and enjoyed a cuban... yes a real cuban in south america right off the beach


Sean, Dwight and Fernando went with me.


Then to add to the nightlife i picked up a guitar at a store. It cost less that $30 and is a total piece of crap, but it plays so I am in love with it.


Late last night we went to the bar to celebrate Sean's birthday. I knew it was his birthday because he told me over a hundred times.


As for now I am starting to meet up with my friends from here and have set up a home base at Loki Hostel. I am still planning on where I am going next and I am thinking cusco, la paz, and then down to Santiago via bus tour. Well it is a rough idea.

First Day in Lima

I am staying at Loki Hostel in Miraflores. I got in around 11:40 EST last night and made some friends here in the hostel and fired emails to my family who were panicked I would never make it.

Here is a view of the digs for under $10 a night

Don't I look ecstatic.
Today I walked down to the ocean and found a nice park and a shopping area.
The view was amazing. The shopping center is dug into the wall of the cliff. I only wish the sun was out.

Then I ate my first meal in a restaurant here. I did a veggie sandwich and a local beer.
Now I am scouting out some wifi so I can try and do my online class tonight. Until then I will be chilling in and around the hostel and shooting out emails. Get in touch with me at jonnywalks@gmail.com.

Airport

My flight goes up in the sky around 5:15 so I am enjoying the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport at the moment. Just a couple more hours and I will be heading to Lima. I think there is a car set to pick me up there and take me to the hostel that I have set up for the night.

It is sooo much fun here with my ipod broadcasting nothing but Spanish lessons. Hopefully I can master the language in the next 8 hours or so, but I figure the odds are slim.

Heading out on my TRIP!!!

Here in a couple of hours I will be sitting at an airport waiting for 5PM to start my adventure. I should be making it into Peru by 11 EST and then trying to make it to my hostel. The hostel is in the Miraflores area so I will see how much I can sleep on the plane incase I want to see some of the nightlife tonight. Wish me luck



Jonny Walker

The Adventure (Round 1) Make it to Florida

After a great week at home with my brother and family I had to make it down to Florida to fly out on Sunday to South America. Here is a video of the trip.

Broke Down on Day 1

SO it is day one of the journey and I am en route to Florida and already broke down. Of all things I hit a ladder on the interstate that flew out from under a semi. Good thing the tow truck didn't break down because these girls didn't like pushing it (it made their hands dirty).

Getting Ready for My Trip

Tomorrow morning I am heading to Florida to catch my flight on Sunday to Lima Peru to start my South American adventure. In recovering from the leg injury I packed on some pounds so I decided to weigh myself pre and post-trip to see if I can bring it down ore ultimately end up getting bigger.

It says 170.2 on the scale for the pre

I also don't want to waste time with getting haircuts so I buzzed the hair down to nothing so I am back to being a cancer patient for a while.

Well the trip starts tomorrow so keep checking the blog and jonnywalkeradventures.com

The WV State Fair

Jason Homecoming

Big Night With the Cousins

With some family in town I was given the luxury of entertaining three young gentleman in their teens for the evening so I called on the services of Bob to help with the night.


The parents of these boys were brave to trust them to a person who does this...

That consorts with a person of similar pursuits... but we gave it our best shot.

To kick off the wild evening we completed a 500 piece puzzle that consisted of a beautiful hillside covered in purple flowers. It was a stunning sight to behold

It was extremely satisfying

Then Nick and Alex did.... well I am not exactly sure what they are accomplishing in this picutre.

To keep it gentlemanly we then participated in some cordial while still sporting games of chess.

In pursuits of logic there are no losers.

All in all I believe our night to be quite quaint.

Guitar Hero, for rockers only

Packin for my trip

So the reason I haven't departed on my journey already is that I am waiting to see my little brother before he gets redeployed for another tour in Iraq. He is stationed in Alaska so I don't see him much. He recently got married and they are now expecting their first child. Nobody has met the girl yet due to the distance so most of my family is coming in for the week.

Here is a pic of the boy napping

Needless to say, I am not getting much of a bon voyage party for my trip.

Instead I get to find somewhere else to sleep the last week that I am in the country. With about 20 relatives staying at my house and the State Fair in town life is going to be a little crazy. So crazy in fact that I am packing my bag now. I have already started with all the basics and now just have the bathroom bag, electronics, and some travel books left to pack.

It is going to be one heavy bag.