Blogs from Lima, Lima, Peru, South America - page 103

Yes, I have been listening to the Rolling Stones, hence the title. So, after our sandboarding adventure, one of the girls, Kelli, and I headed up the North Coast for a week (we had a week off from classes). We first went to the city of Trujillo, which is a pretty and quaint city. Around Trujillo are the centuries old ruins of Chan Chan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chan_Chan) and the Temples of the Sun and the Moon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaca_de_la_Luna and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaca_del_Sol). Both we were awesome to see; Chan Chan is SO huge and vast, it's hard to take it all in. After two days in Trujillo, we hopped on an overnight bus to Mancora, Peru's best known beach paradise. Now, you may be wondering why I have included websites and no pictures. It is because while I was asleep on ... read more

Flight to Lima Our flight from Quito to Lima was delayed an hour, but this was no great hardship as several people we got chatting to in the airport had been stranded there all day, poor souls. Jase decided to treat himself to a massage while waiting to board the plane, and instantly regretted it because the lady pummelled him to death and he had a sore neck for hours after. It was a nice, easy short flight and passport control and baggage collection was a breeze for once. Our driver soon arrived and whisked us off in Lima, to our hotel. Whenever you arrive in a city at night, you get a bad impression of the place. With its narrow streets and barred doorways, Lima seemed like the scary South American city we had dreaded. ... read more

PERU!! Made it over the border with no dramas. As we said in the last posting, the coastal border between Peru and Ecuador has the reputation for being the worst in South America when coming from Peru. So in theory the other direction is supposed to be O.K. However a Kiwi guy we met in Mexico get ripped off about $35US through dodgy taxis and fake money when it should only have cost him a $3 bus fare. So; being super vigilant and using a local international bus service we got over the border and into Mancora Peru for the grand total of $3... sweet. The ride to Mancora from the border was the most interesting part; a combis or otherwise known as a collectivo. Simply a van that does a set route and picks up ... read more

We weren't suppossed to end up in Lima, but because we didn't get on our flight....we decided to make the best of it by spending a day in Lima. We stayed in the Miraflores area and we were pleasantly surprised at the beautiful views of the Cliffs and the ocean. Watching the the Paragliders sail off the cliffs high above us was really exciting to see........until we decided to try it ourselves!! ... read more

Here we are at our next stop in South America - Lima, Peru!! Following our brief flight from Quito to Lima, we decided to head out for the remainder of the day to see the sights of Lima prior to meeting the group with whom we will spend the next three weeks touring Peru - from the bountiful life of the Ballestas Islands, the mysteries of the Nazca lines, the ancient city of Cusco, the rigours of the Inca trail, the ephereal beauty of Machu Picchu and the jungle of the Amazon. After checking into our hotel (at which point we realized we´d been spoilt in Quito), we headed out to the ancient, pre-Incan ruins of Huaca Pucllana. This mud-brick pyramid dating from at least the 4th Century was constructed by one of the regional civilizations ... read more