The Gwinners: less glamorous aspects

No new adventures to relate really, but I do want to set the record straight about one thing. Several people have commented to me that our life here in Peru sounds very exciting and glamorous.

The truth is that being an expat in Lima is a mixed bag. Yes, the travels, food, nice apartment, and long summer are all pretty wonderful. Being by the ocean is fun, especially since it involves things like surfing lessons and paragliding opportunities.

But, there are also down sides. Here are a few that top the list of negatives:

1. Pollution. Lima is more polluted than many other Latin American capitals, including Mexico City. The water, which comes barrelling dramatically down from the mountains, is loaded with heavy metals from the mining industry. The particle pollution in the air, primarily from the extremely high number of old cars/buses, high sulpher content in fuel, and heavy use of diesel, exceeds the World Health Organization standards by a factor of 9. This, combined with the local fog, leads to a lot of smog. And there's a constant layer of soot on everything.

2. Terrible drivers. I've been told many Peruvian drivers never take a test to get their license, they just pay a bribe to someone. This combines with a lack of stop signs and traffic lights, a use of horns rather than turn signals, and a prevailing "me first" attitude on the part of the locals. The result is traffic anarchy, where every intersection becomes a game of chicken and the the bigger/bolder/louder car tends to prevail.

3. Red tape and corruption. Bureaucracies everywhere can be very maddening. Peru is no exception. There's a lot of waiting in line, and getting the run-around when you try to deal with either government bureaucracy or basic services. We spent a day going to 3 phone company offices and waiting in line. We never were able to get a cell phone service.
Our car has been trapped in customs since January. We've heard two stories of individuals who never did recover their vehicles (one minivan and one motorcycle) after having them shipped to Peru. If we'd known, we would have left our Rav-4 in DC with friends or sold it and bought something here. From what we've been told, the expectation is that you pay off the proper authorities to help expedite the process. We haven't, and we're still waiting...

4. Fish fog. This is a fascinating phenomenon. There is a fish processing plant near the port of Lima, evidently. When conditions are just so, the fog rolls in from the ocean, picks up the odors from that fish processing plant, and carries them all across the city for miles and miles. The result can be like living inside a big bowl of bouillabesse - or worse.

5. Urban growth and poverty. Lima is BIG. There are more than 8 million inhabitants, and the growth rate is greater than 2% per year. Much of the growth is due to the influx of poor people looking for work (in the past, they were fleeing the Shining Path violence). Nearly 40% of the population lives in severe poverty, generally in shanty towns on the outerparts of the city - though there are poor parts closer in as well. 11% of the population has no access to clean drinking water. Only 10% of the city wastewater is treated - the rest goes directly into the river or ocean. The shanty towns consist of roughly made housing, basically shacks. Generally, these start out with walls made of woven mats or corrugated plastic or metal. When they can afford it, the inhabitants build up the walls with bricks or cement. They tap into electrical wires, where possible. The city eventually brings in electricity, but most do not have running water or sewage.

Shanty town on the outskirts of Lima. Built on a very unsolid foundation of sand/dirt.

Fish fog.

Traffic, including several "combis" - an unregulated form of transportation. Inexpensive and very necessary for people to get around. But there are no pollution standards, and these tend to spew vast quantities of dark exhaust.