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Published: October 9th 2008
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A fountain in Park de la Cultura, Lima
Just look at the bright colours, who thought fountains could be so much fun! I arrived in Lima on Saturday 20th September and I couldn´t quite believe that after all the talking, planning and organsing, I was finally in Peru. I took an official taxi to my hostel (which I paid far too much for) just to ensure that I wouldn´t get kidnapped or mugged on my first day. I knew that Lima was a dodgy place especially after hearing a few frightening stories about incidents involving tourists. As we drove to the hostel I got my first look at Lima. Its a very noisy, polluted and busy city made up of lots of run-down and delapidated buildings. You could see the deprivation and poverty immediately. I will never forget the sight of a disabled man who was crawling in the road alongside the cars begging for whatever he could get.
I arrived at my hostel called the Inka Lodge, which was situated in the district of Miraflores, and it suddenly dawned on me that I couldn´t communicate and that the first few weeks would be tough until I learnt enough Spanish to be able to express myself. I felt completely stripped of my personality and it was quite a shock to the system.
Plaza de Armas, Lima
It was tough to get this picture on a moving bus with tourists´heads getting in the way, so inconsiderate... I settled into my shared dorm and checked out the hostel and felt a bit isolated and alone, but the feeling didn´t last for long. The hostel was a great starting point for my travels and within a couple of hours of arriving I was talking to a young american traveller Andy who I will never forget as he was the very first traveller that I spoke with. The shared female dorm that I booked turned out to be a shared mixed dorm which explained the rather masculine-looking oriental girl in the top bunk above me! I got to know a few of the girls staying in my dorm who were travelling alone. Its quite amazing how many women do travel alone and, as I have realised over the last 2 weeks, it does prove to be a bit challenging at times, but is easier than you might think....
On my first day in Lima I explored the area of Miraflores which I found to be a very pleasant and safe place to walk around and easy to navigate which had a fantastic local supermarket called Vivanda. Lima is a crazy transient place where the roads are frenetic and
Dining out in Lima
I´m a seafood fanatic, just check out that platter, all washed down with a Pisco Sour. Shame the waiter can´t take a decent picture. the driving is mad. Pedestrian crossings don´t mean a thing here and you really have to be cautious when you cross the road! That evening we took a night bus tour through Lima and into the city centre. On the way we stopped at Kennedy park where we saw the most amazing coloured fountains with lasers. I´ve never seen fountains like it before! The rest of the tour took us through the modern part of Lima and then into the historic part which was really spectacular with all the buildings lit up. By the end of the tour we were cold and so headed for the nearby Larco Mar, a new development of shops and restaurants on the coast of Lima. It was that night that we sampled our very first Pisco Sour, a traditional Peruvian cockail containing Pisco (a regional brandy), lemon juice, egg whites, syrup and bitters. I got a bit tipsy that eve as I helped finish my friend´s drink and when the taxi droppped us off where we thought our hostel was, we got lost as all the buildings look the same!. As luck would have it a patrol police officer on his bike was in
Nadia on Peru Patrol
I asked the guys if I could take the dog for a walk (without the muzzle) to hunt down some British tourists, but unfortanately the dog had just had a German for lunch the area but sadly, after giving him the address details, he managed to send us in the wrong direction! It became apparent very quickly that Limeño taxi drivers AND police officers do not know the way around their own city!!
On the next day I took a stoll on my own (for the very fist time!) down to the coast, a look around Larco Mar and had a walk through the main streets of Miraflores. I tried some Peruvian doughnut snacks called Piccarones that are served with a honey syrup which I´ve taken a real liking to. That eve, myself and some others from the hostel went out for dinner at a local restuarant that served great seafood (a real speciality in Lima). I love seafood so naturally I went for the seafood platter and followed that with some delicious pancakes. As we were the only ones in the restuarant, we went to the bar to watch the restaraunter make Pisco sours and several were consumed that eve. It has to be said that they were very good and very moreish!
On my final day in Lima we took a quick taxi ride to central Lima just to
Nadia in Plaza San Martin
Don´t you just love all the bright yellow-coloured architecture (I can hardly talk, strolling around an unfamiliar city with a bright purple fleece on!) have a quick walk and look around the central Plaza and take some pictures. The taxi ride to Lima was well dodgy and quite frightening. The car was in a poor condition and rattled and chugged its way through busy traffic, with many close shaves on the way and there was a small tank of some flammable liquid in the back of the car. I did seriously consider whether I would get out of the car alive. To make matters worse, there were no seatbelts in the back of car and nothing to hold onto except my handbag! Fortunately we made it there in one piece and did a quick tour of the central Plaza and took some photos. For the return journey we made sure we selected a more roadworthy vehicle! For lunch that day I tried Ceviche for the first time which is a delicacy in Peru and is essentially a salad of seafood marinated in lemon and seasoned with chilie. After lunch we went to visit some local pre-Inca ruins where I had my photo taken with some llamas which was a bit scary as they got close to my face and I was worried they might spit! In the evening four of us took a cab to the coach station. This was a significant event as I had my first mini conversation in Spanish with the taxi driver only after 4 days!! I had picked up the basics quickly and it felt liberating to be able to communicate a little. We then boarded a luxury coach that would take me on the next leg of my journey, to Cusco, where the amazing lost city of the Incas, Machhu Picchu and the world-renowned Inca Trail, were waiting for us.
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Rob
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Pisco Sours
I dunno, getting drunk on the local brews already. Actually we used to drink Pisco Sours - usually as an aperitif, darling - in Chile when we visited. Sounds like you're really getting into the swing of things out there; I would love to visit Machhu Picchu meself. Oh well, Sarah has got us singing an Aztec hi-brid song at the mo. When we are singing (or in my case, droning) it tonight, we will be thinking of you.