DAY 59: The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a phenomenon in many countries around the globe, Peru included. Tolkien's world is very much a part of Peruvian pop culture as it is in the States, and with the worldwide December 17th release of the third film, Peruvian nerds, like their North American and European counterparts, lined up in hordes to see El Retorno del Rey. In fact, a front page article in the national newspaper El Comercio had a picture of the hundreds of Peruvian nerds who sat in theaters for ten hours straight watching all three movies back to back to back.

AS NICE AS IT WAS TO BE in a house with a Christmas tree, it was sort of depressing being there alone; the woman of the house kept to herself unless she had to make me my complimentary breakfast. Plus, it was annoying that I always had to ring the doorbell for her to unlock the two doors whenever I wanted to get inside.

I packed my bags and trekked like a hobbit the one mile to the other side of central Lima to the Hotel España, a "favorite of budget gringo travelers" according to Lonely Planet. Immediately I saw why: situated in a huge four-story colonial house, it included sculptures, a cafeteria/bar, in-house internet and a rooftop garden with a view of the nearby Franciscan monastery (picture above) -- and all for just $3/night for a dorm bed. Not only that, but they kept a few pets, including a parrot that could say "Hola" -- as you can imagine, the novelty wore off after about the 20th time -- a cute little kitten and a bunny rabbit that lounged near my dorm's door. I don't know about you, but I think it might have been the kitten and bunny that warranted the popularity of the place.

Above all, there were actually other people at the hostel, which was a welcome change. Over the course of the day and night, over snacks, beers and card games, I met a Canadian girl from Ottawa, a British girl from one of the small British Isles, a guy from Scotland and two Americans from Colorado. All of them had either just arrived in Lima or were about to head home for the holidays. I also met -- unavoidably -- the older, portly and very drunk eastern European(?) guy in the cafe who, assuming that I was Peruvian and therefore a waiter, kept on asking me for more beer.

BEING MY SECOND TIME IN LIMA, I wandered away from the main plaza to see some sights I hadn't yet seen. I walked through the Plaza San Martin to the scenic Parque de la Exposition, followed by the Parque Italiano -- flanked by the architecturally impressive Palace of Justice -- and the Plaza Francia. I saw with my own eyes, that central Lima didn't really feel as unsafe as Lonely Planet suggested.

I took the suggestion of the Canadian girl to visit the the nearby Franciscan monastery. The ticket cashier saw my appearance and automatically put me in a Spanish-only tour group. As the guide took us to the church, the library, and the catacombs, I just nod my head and pretended to care what she was saying -- which I probably would have done if it were in English anyway.

BEING ON THE INTERNET PRACTICALLY EVERYDAY to do The Blog, you might have guess that I am a borderline nerd. (Wait, did I say "borderline?" I meant "borderline crossing.") And so, like the rest of the nerds, I went on one of the many long lines to see the third El Señor de los Anillos film -- it was playing twice every hour between the two theaters across from each other in the main pedestrian mall. Fortunately for me it was in English with Spanish subtitles, although I'm sure the ambiguously gay tendancies of hobbits translate in any language.

Allow me to digress for a moment because I must say that the film totally kicked ass -- the best of all three -- possibly because it finally ended instead of leaving you hanging. Legolas kicked ass, Gandalf kicked ass, Samwise -- they all kicked ass. The only time the film didn't "kick ass" was when the projectionist -- probably dozing off after watching the 3 1/2 hour movie for the sixth time of the day already -- forgot to swap reels when one ended.

This prompted the audience to angrily whistle profusely. Whistling, unlike in the U.S., is a form of detest. The late swapping of the reels happened at least four times over the course of the movie, causing the nerds to whistle over and over.

I would have hated to be the projectionist. From my experience -- and viewing of certain movies of the 1980s -- you don't want to upset nerds; they get their revenge sooner or later.

Special Thanks to Alice Mao for her holiday donation to The Global Trip 2004 Pledge Drive! You rock! More postcards to come...

This holiday season, remember TGT2004 gear, WhatEXIT.net apparel and the book Hyenas Laughed at Me and Now I Know Why make great stocking stuffers! (Please excuse the gratuitous plug.)