Ghost Town, Peru

So the Sunday that I was in Lima, was the day of the big Censo Nacional (National Census). What was that I heard you murmur? "What´s the big deal?" Well, in South America EVERYTHING is a big deal. First of all, no one is allowed to leave their house from 7am-6pm on the day of the Censo. They have to sit and wait for a census person to come to the house and read the questions in person. What did this mean for Sarah? Complete and utter boredom. Hmmm, I´m hungry, let me go out and buy some food. Oh, wait, all the supermarkets and restaurants are closed because everyone is stuck in their house. Well, let me catch a bus to Centro Lima and walk around. Oh, wait. No buses. No drivers. Alright, I´ll just walk to the park and find a nice Limeño to chat with. Oh yeah, there are no people at the park...there are no people anywhere.

Come on Peru. Do we really need to imprison everyone for a day? There has to be a way to incorporate mail, e-file, census stations, something...

The eerily deserted streets of a city usually bustling with 9 million people. Is that a tumbleweed that just rolled by? It was really bizarre because the only people walking around outside were tourists! For the first time, the gringos were in the majority!Even the casinos were empty...and the Peruvians LOVE their casinos.

In other news, the day before the Censo I went to visit a family that my friend Joan has known for more than 20 years (Joan is graciously watching my CRAZY cat while I am away).

With Zulma and Rosa
They have three awesome dogs, so I had a lot of fun there!
The Dogs´ House:MyHouse:
Do we notice any similarities between the living arrangements? This is when you know it is time to change hostels!
View of Lima from Comas, the neighborhood outside of Central Lima where they live.
Baby Luis Angel. SO cute!


Ok, this is their VERY cool dog Alaska demonstrating what she does whenever you ask her "what do you want?" (In Spanish, of course!)