Blogs from Peru, South America
May 30th 2012
This will be a short one. I am bartending in Mancora again. It is completely amazing. Basically, we all work 3 or 4 five hour shifts a week, and for that we get free accomadation, free breakfast, free lunch, and 40% off our drinks and any other food. Working does not feel like working. Most of us are behind the bar when we're not working, just helping out for fun. The days I don't work I feel quite lost, honestly. I mean, where else do you have a job you're encouraged to drink? Or a place where you can meet, chat with, and befriend every single person? I meet new people every night who are from different countries, but more so, different walks of life - but we all have this commonality! You can call it ... read more
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
May 29th 2012
Helloooo!!! We are currently in Cusco and it is really cool! Last time i wrote we were in Lima - this was a good city but not much to do and everything we seemed to do when we went was closed. One eve we went for a city tour and the taxi man charged us so much!! We met Sara´s friend from uni who is studying in Lima and we went out for food and a few drinks! I tried the local food which is cerviche - this is raw fish covered in lime its pretty rank! then we went to a bar with live music and the guy was so good! We have the local drink as well pisco sour and this has raw egg in it!! Is actually quite nice! We left the next ... read more
May 29th 2012
Before commencing this trip, my plan was to use local transport in order to gain the real Peruvian experience.....however as all you guys out there know too well, every woman has the right to change her mind up until the very last minute! So I am no exception to that rule... After taking safety records into account and the advise of the hostel staff I opted for the higher end of bus travel....Cruz del sur to be precise. Reclining leather seats, toilet on board (however only no 1's allowed) and food provided, tv with films and not forgetting the fleece blanket (an absolute must for the chilly air conditioning)...and pillow. After the Air France flights this truly felt like first class!!!! So my original plans were to get the bus from Lima to Cusco and on ... 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
May 27th 2012
So much to update! Loving Peru, we started our time off in Lima met our new group who we will be sharing the next 2 weeks together with. Mixed bunch, few annoying Australians and mostly couples so as usual we are the fly in the ointment. Spent 3 amazing days in the amazon rainforest. So humid and is adeptly named as rained a lot! We caught little motorised canoes up the river to see parrots and crocodiles. We did a night trek through the forest and saw tarantulas bigger than my hand, I didn't sleep well that night! We slept in little bungalows with no electricity so had to do everything by candlelight, including checking our room thoroughly for any spiders..... The local drink here is pisco sour, it's made with egg white, lime and I ... 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
"Here at the Point, we only drink on days that end in y." -Cyril
Published: May 25th 2012South America » Peru » Piura » MáncoraMay 25th 2012
Nothing in this blog can be held against me. I packed up my tent and bags and went to sit on the side of the highway to wait for a collectivo van to roll up. It only took about 15 minutes before one arrived. I hopped in, and an hour and a half later... I was grinning beyond belief, in Mancora again. This is my 4th time here. The plan (hardeeharhar) was to stay in a different hostel where I could cook for myself. I'd be on the other side of Mancora and have to walk here every time I wanted to see friends. That was short lived. First I went to the store to grab some gin and 7up. I was standing there when two peruvians came up to me and started saying, "Amiga de ... read more
Tu changes d'idée comme tu changes le couleur de tes cheuveux! - Alex
Published: May 23rd 2012South America » Peru » Tumbes » TumbesMay 23rd 2012
Where did we last leave off? Ah yes, I was waiting for Caesar to come grab me for a glass of wine. The past 3 days have been fascinating. So, finally knowing where I was headed, feeling still not completely at ease, but knowing the answers I seek lie on the path I'm headed down (whatever that may be), I had some wine with Caesar and continued chatting away about philosophy and life. A lovely last night in a beautiful place I hadn't yet enjoyed a second of. The next morning I woke up, renewed and ready to move on. Caesar was also leaving Vilcabamba that day, so he said he would give me a ride to Loja. As I was waiting for Caesar, I was looking at some jewelry at the front made by a ... read more
May 22nd 2012
21.5.2012 Got back to Cusco last around 10.00pm, was so wrecked didn’t even have a shower straight to bed up 6.30 to be on the road by 7.15a.m. A lot of small groups all congregated at bus station to get double decker bus to Puno. With a few stops along the way at more Inca ruins and of course a church, then lunch in in Sicuani, climbing all the way to 4335 metres, now feeling a bit headachy again and a bit of a heavy chest, we arrived in Puno around 5.30p.m. Pretty town on the edge of Lake Titicaca, which we will be exploring tomorrow. Lake Titicaca we are told is the highest navigable lake in the world, where the Uros people live. Looking forward to that. Elder took us to his mates restaurant ... read more
