Diary of a Tournament... Day 1

The buzzer of the intercom rings, interrupting my teacher's lecture. It's the main office, calling me out of school. I grab my stuff and bolt. I've been anticipating this moment since I dragged myself out of bed at 5-something-am this morning. Focusing in class today was difficult, due to the million and one thoughts racing through my head. Finished packing? Mental checklist. Did I eat? It goes on and on. I said most of my goodbyes and probably repeated a few just to be safe. The surreal reality of my day felt like a thin veil, a sheer bubble ready to pop at any moment and violently drop me back into my regular, daily life. I'm pretty sure I pinched myself a few times. In a week from now I'll be back in this some spot, back in school, back in class. But with several different details. And a weeks worth of memories. I walk down to the office and meet my dad in front of the school before we speed off towards the center hub of international transportation to and from Miami: the airport.

That was my afternoon today and what my entire day up until that point was like. I've decided to restart this blog but with a vastly different purpose. I was largely inspired by a friend of mine who also wrote up a blog about her trip halfway across the world. Likewise, I'll be documenting the nuts and bolts of my week in Lima, Peru, as I prepare for and compete in the Latinamerican Championships of 2012. I want to reveal the real underbelly of what it's like. Take some of the glam out of it and leave more of the real snafus. 

I'm not sure how successful I'll be at writing my 'dear diary' every night for seven days straight and the late nights sitting in my bed here with the sound of the Pacific ocean waves crashing onto the beach right outside my window certainly won't help... With staying awake. If some nights all I can manage is a few sentences and a photo then bear with me. We'll see what happens, I'm just testing it out and I have no idea what'll come out of this. But anyways, back to the car ride...

We get to the airport and I drag out my massive bag of ski equipment, hoping I can make it to the check-in. We fly through security and catch our 4:45 pm flight. We make some last minute phone calls to the folks back home and shut off our phones. Connection to the outside world=zilch. I knock out before the plane even takes off. 

10:20 pm. The landing was smooth, (theoretically), and we speed off, we've got to meet up with our connection to where we're staying. We fly through customs, baggage, and immigration without hassle. Before I know it I'm in the cool, tropical, Peru air. The moon shines brightly overhead, reminding me that I should be getting ready for bed right now—if I were back home. Another first, I've never leaved an airport to find someone with a sign and my name on it. It's an odd feeling. I shake hands with our driver for the next hour, Daniel, and we proceed to stuff our bags into his small car. We squeeze into the back seat and we're off. 

10:50 pm. We're driving through the lively city of Lima and it looks gorgeous. I wish I were (a), more awake, or (b), had more light to take pictures with. After a few minutes of this we start to leave the lights and I fade away.

11:55 pm. I'm jolted awake by a large ditch in the road. I'm really hoping this car is up to the terrain we're going through. The city lights have completely disappeared and we're in front of a large, very rocky cliff face. We stop and ask for directions; apparently there's a new detour to take and it involves two tunnels. Sounds sketchy but we trudge onwards. I feel like I'm in a different world at this point, the terrain is reminding me of my friend's photos of her romp through Morocco just a few days before. We come to the tunnels and make it out of both, alive and whole.

12:45 am. We find the oasis in the desert. There's civilization out here; a small town on the coast, shrouded by thick, ominous mountains. The buildings are brightly colored with narrow alleyways to drive in between. It reminds me of Greece and how badly I want to visit someday. We find the second orange building and tumble, half-asleep, out of the car. 

1:15 am. We meet up with our host and he gives us a quick tour around where we'll be staying. The place is pristine and gorgeous, I can't wait to post photos of this place with light and life. The waves crash into cliffs on the beach only meters away. We don't last long though and soon enough we're dropping our gear off in our room. Our host gives us the call time for tomorrow: a half-decent seven at the front door to drive off to the lake. It's not too bad, there's been worse. Some quick math tells me I'll enjoy roughly five hours of sleep.

2:05 am. We're whipped and focused. Stumble into our room and unload some more gear. Write this blog post and hit the hay. Tomorrow we'll be testing the waters to see how they feel under our skis. It also brings the promise of some totally sick photos. Can't wait.

Catch you tomorrow. More to come.