Blogs from Lima, Lima, Peru, South America
May 30th 2012
Well my time in Lima is almost up...just when I was becoming an expert road crosser it is time to say farewell to the traffic, noise & pollution (not sad about the last one!). I took the opportunity of an early rise to go and visit the local park and pick up some supplies for the bus journey. Peruvians do like their plazas and parks. They are always well utilised....lots of school / college kids seem to frequent them either before or maybe even during their classes...I guess there are worse things to be doing other than bunking off! This park had lots of water features that I was truly tempted to soak my feet in....it is another scorcher of a day and my skin is still feeling rather hot after yesterday´s baking! But due to ... read more
Arrived safely in Lima with backpack in toe
Published: May 27th 2012South America » Peru » Lima » Lima » LimaMay 27th 2012
First major milestone met, good start to the trip, despite the delays in both Air France flights. Even though the weather was great in Edinburgh on Saturday morning, there was delays in Paris CDG airport, so we had to wait 30 mins before taking off from Edinburgh, then we made up the time by the time we arrived in Paris only to be faced with a 30 mins for the bus to come and pick us up....and they say the Greeks are laid back & unreliable, the French are just the same! (don´t mean to offend but everyone on the flight going for connections was rather annoyed with the French this morning). I on the other hand had every confidence that I would make the connecting flight even though it was due to depart by the ... read more
Roaming round Lima city centre and Miraflores district
Published: May 28th 2012South America » Peru » Lima » Lima » Lima
May 27th 2012
Well my sleep pattern has returned almost back to normal, had 7.5hrs uninterrupted sleep, which is great....obviously all the walking is doing the trick! My 10 bed dorm had only 4 of us in it last night, so it was less stuffy than the previous night when all 10 beds were occupied. I am getting used to the luke warm water in the showers and remembering to avoid flushing the toilet paper down the loo....progress! Observations 1. Constant traffic noise, the amusing bit is that a number of vehicles have an ambulance / police sounding horn / alarm in a vain attempt to get through the traffic.....not sure how successful that is proving considering how many vehicles have exactly the same sound system! 2. Very few smokers on the streets....which is making walking in the centre ... read more
May 16th 2012
14.5.2012 – 15.5.2012 Well dinner at La Gloria was sensational $60 head with wine but great food. Checked out of our house and over to Embajadores Hotel near the beach, quite a nice hotel. Met the other people on our tour, we are five, 2 melb, 1 Brisbane and 2 Cairns. Had a tour around the downtown today and what a combination of different architecture, just amazing. Did the usual cathedral, which I have to admit was absolutely stunning, and then onto the San Francisco Monastery, with all the catacombs which are on display, loads of bones and skulls, containing around 70,000 human remains, also went to the Museum of Antropology, so interesting. Also there are several sights of pre incas around here in Lima even one in Miraflores. The Peruvian people are so friendly. Had ... read more
May 13th 2012
10.5.2012 Arrived back in Havana at 1.00op.m.. Go go and JJ delivered us to the airport and others on the trip to their city hotels. We had a three hour layover at Havana Airport before our flight on “A Central American Airline, TACA, “, paint peeling off the plane, wasn’t a good look and they were ½ hr late taking off, arrived safely in Lima, after heaps of turbulence, lots of clapping and cheering when we landed in Lima, Peru. We had booked an apartment in Miraflores, through a guy called Rudi, and had been communicating with him for six months, all worked liked a clock work, driver etc etc≥ Rudi lives in France and his mum used to live in the house where we are staying. Just lovely and very safe, as well as normal ... read more
May 10th 2012
Its been a long time since I last did a blog entry, I think I last wrote something in Sucre and since then we´ve done a lot of stuff. So I´m afraid this one won´t be as detailed as normal. To be honest they never are that detailed, most of the time I just end up referring you to Will´s blog because I can´t be bothered to do any more. A lazy approach, perhaps, but seeing as we´re on pay as you go internet (not free hostel internet) I´d rather save a few Soles (Peruvian currency) and buy a load of amazingly delicious bread from the exceedingly luxurious supermarket down the road. Sorry but it´s really good bread. So here goes. Let´s start with Potosi. Whilst in Potosi, we did the one thing that pretty much ... read more
South America. Peru.. and a little bit of Chile.
Published: April 30th 2012South America » Peru » Lima » Lima » Miraflores
April 30th 2012
So arrived in Santiago after a long 13 hour flight for New Zealand, our body clock was all wrong as we had time travlled back in time arriving 4 hours before we left, so it was actually the longest day we had ever lived! Arrived in Santiago with no clue on how to get to the hostel, and this is where the language barrier proved a little difficult as most people didnt speak english and our spanish was by no means good at this point. Finally got onto the right bus, not having much of an idea which stop to get off at, or even where we were going, but thank god Rachel sat next to someone who knew the area well and spoke english. So after we were shown to our lovely hostel (which we ... read more
April 19th 2012
Sunday 1st April - Huaraz to Lima We paid a little extra for an executive bus to Lima and it was well worth it with a comfortable seat and 2 meals served during the 7 hour journey. The scenery driving through the Andes for the coast was dramatic but we hadn't appreciated that the coastal regions from Lima north were simply desolate dirty desert, interspersed with the occasional paddy and maize fields. The poverty in Peru is both widespread and probably the worst we'd seen in Latin America and to be worse than Nicaragua takes some beating. Patrick Symes didn't have many nice things to say about either Peru or Lima and he was spot on. Most of it is disgusting and many people we met were far from endearing and simply interested in what they ... read more
April 14th 2012
Hi everyone, A little upadate from our first couple of days here! we arrived in Lima yestersday and it was crazy! Firstly, travelling with Iberia was interesting in that Tash and i were sat next to two nuns who kept touching their rose beads, which didnt bode well, but then one offered us some mints during the flight so we knew that we would be in good hands should we crash! In addition, they were not forthcoming in the drinks department either - the stewardesses DID NOT want anybody to drink alot and cottoned onto us two early doors... They kept making up excuses as to why we could not have a glass of wine and TSS was annoyed to say the least! So we arrive in Lima and instantly, TSS fears for her life. We ... read more
April 14th 2012
Ok so I'm finaly here! (Sorry mom and dad for not checking in last night.) In all honesty the flight went pretty smooth. I'm certain the fact I was flying business class from ATL - LIM made a huge difference. (Thank you daddy!) So I had a good nap on the way over, which I'm thankfull for, because when I finally arrived at the hotel in the middle of the night, I was greeted by a jackhammer outside the front entrance, that kept going until around 4 am. (It's actually going right now again as I type this.) Needless to say I didn't sleep more then maybe 3 1/2 hours, between the noise and the rock hard bed haha. I'll admit I wasn't feeling too optimistic when I settled in last night, as the neighbourhood also ... read more
