The Peru Chronicles - Living in Interesting Times

Just a few miscellaneous thoughts and photos...

One morning Paty and I went the immigration and passport office in Miraflores to renew her passport. Since a lot of waiting was involved, I looked for something to do. So, besides taking pictures of St. Michael (the patron saint of Miraflores), I had a long conversation with a police sergeant. He expressed his frustration that the laws have changed, taking away a lot of power that he used to have. He said, for example, that in the past, he could demand identity documents from anyone, and if they didn't have them he could arrest them - but not anymore. (Tell that the the jack-booted thugs in Huancayo.) He also complained about the fact that nobody respects the laws anymore, especially traffic laws. When I told him about the "sweeps" that our police do, he was impressed. I told him that when our police focus on traffic enforcement in a given area, the effect remains for some time. We also talked about pay scales and benefits. He seems to think that being a policeman is a good career.

One evening in downtown Lima a couple of little kids approached us selling trinkets. I bought some, on the condition that they pose for a photo. Paty said that these kids seemed to be selling trinkets for extra money - and that was okay. What really irritates her is when parents force their kids to do jobs like this, and then take the money from the kids.

Shortly after we arrived, I got to meet my sister-in-law. The conversation was so intense that Paty found herself hopelessly lost near the inner circle of thought. Its a hard thing for a husband to watch, but I did manage to catch that moment on digital film.

There is still more to come, so stay tuned - same bat blog, same bat website.