Peru

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We were suppose to meet Gareth at the airport as he was arriving from London only 15mins after our flight landed. Several hours later there was no sign of Gareth at the hotel or the airport however we new the flight he was suppose to be on had landed on time.

5am l get a knock on the bedroom door, thankfully it was Gaz. Poor guy had been stuck in Miami for several hours. Gareth has been interigated by the American Federals for being Mr Gareth Jones from the UK who is wanted by Interpol. Anyone who knows Gareth knows this guy is as innocent as they come. After they let him go several hrs later to catch his connecting flight to Peru, he was then stopped again by the customs officer who proceeded to strip his bag inside out with rubber gloves on. It was only then when Gaz started to get a little concerned and thought Oh shite, l best be on good behaviour. All turned out fine in the end and he was put on a later flight to Peru. Good luck on the back to London Gaz, once Miami Federals see your returning from Bolivia, you may have some convincing to do!

The first few days in Lima were spent out of Lima. Not a lot to do in this city, l haven´t taken to it very much to be honest. It's very americanised with lots of casinos and flashing lights, typical take away chains all over the place - KFC, Maccas, Burger King, Pizza Hut etc not what l was anticipating Peru to look like. So we ventured out to a place called Huacachina which is 4 hours south from Lima. This tiny little village is made up of 12 families (population no more than 60) then the rest of the villiage is tourist. The village surrounds itself around a small lagoon in the centre with lots of lovely palm trees, behind this are massive gorgeous sand dunes. Here you can go sand boarding and book a boat trip to the Ballestes Island. The Ballestes Islands is similar to the Galapolos Islands however, this island is consider Paracas culture which is pre-inca times and for some reason not as important as Galapolos, you can catch sealions, seals, dolphins, penguins, pelicans etc floating around the boat. There are literally thousands and thousands of birds so ensure you have head cover coz it´s not uncommon to get pooed on.

After saying goodbye to Chelsea and Belinda, Gaz, Lou and l decided to book in for a surfing lesson and check out the waves in Peru. Hmmm needless to say, Lou and l were simply the worst surfers out of the 5 of us who went. l´m not even a strong swimmer so getting on the board and paddling out to water more than 2 meters deep was an acheivement! A fun day spent regardless and definately recommended. Gaz, who is an experienced surfer, advises it´s definately a must do when in Peru as it has some of the best waves in the world.

We commense the Inca Trail tour on Saturday, which l am pretty excited about so next posting wont be for a while. Take care, talk to you soon. x

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Photos

Lima, Peru
Lou, Gaz and Nadia

Huacachina, Peru
Chelsea, Nadia, Gaz and Belinda

Huacachina, Peru
At sundown

Ballestes Islands, Peru
Sea Lions