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Published: December 2nd 2008
Once again, I must begin by apologising for my tardiness in updating this. I have recently been criticised by someone who shall remain anonymous, who says the standard of my scribblings has been going gradually downhill. This will inevitably lead to me trying too hard and producing sub-standard work, but you asked for it Peter (whoops).
I must begin this here missive with a quick comment on my journey between Central and South America. Unfortunately the staff of my airline at San Jose couldnt find my ticket on their system, and despite me insisting they rang their head office or whoever to confirm I had one, they suggested I used a payphone, despite the fact I had no local currency. Customer service at its best there. So I ended up having to buy another ticket for $650 despite having already paid for all my flights. Luckily, staff at Miami, where I had to change for Lima, were a lot more helpful, so hopefully a refund will be forthcoming.
Anyway, enough whinging about airlines, you're not particularly interested in that are you? Let us continue this tale with my first week of adventures in Peru.
Lima
I arrived
in Lima at around 11ish at night, and got a taxi straight to the hostel, where I met Beth, then went to sleep. And so ended that day. Exciting eh?
The following day, I wanted to have an explore around Lima, it seems most people write it off, but I wanted to find out for myself. Beth had already been here a week, so had already been there done that, and probably has the t-shirt by the amount of stuff she´s bought. So I headed out alone into the centre of the city, and I've got to report that I liked what I saw. I don't know why, but the sight of tanks around the Plaza de Armas was quite exciting! I was also in a good mood anyway that day due to bacon butties in the morning, so Lima caught me on a good day. Perhaps if I'd stayed longer my impressions might have changed, but for now, I'd defintely recommend staying a day, if only to see the city centre like I did. But a day was all I did stay there, for Beth was very keen to end her 9 day vigil there.
Pisco &
Lima
Houses on the hillIslas Ballestas
After much contemplation on our next destination, we decided to set our course down the south coast of Peru. Our first stop on this merry adventure was Pisco, the town that was completely devestated by a huge earthquake just last summer. Sadly, despite all the relief efforts, the town is still in a great state of disrepair, and I suspect that it will remain that way for some time. It also felt a bit dangerous, so we only stayed the one night, to visit the Islas de Ballestas the next day. As we walked around the town after the meal, we were accosted by a couple of street performers who spotted gringos on their patch. We were quickly hustled into the middle of the circle watching them while they proceeded presumably to make fun of us. My Spanish is sadly not quite up to the level to know what on earth was going on, so I stood there quite bemused for the most part.
The following morning we awoke early for a boat trip to Las Islas Ballestas, or the "poor mans Galapagos" as its often know. It was a really enjoyable trip, just as we
Paracas
Dolphins saying hello were leaving the harbour three dolphins decided to come for a swim along the boat, then the islands themselves were pretty impressive, with huge colonies of pelicans, penguins, cormorants and other sea birds swooping about, along with more sealions than you can shake a stick at. I didn't actually have a stick with me to test this theory, but I'm sure it holds true. And if it doesn't, it should.
On the return journey we made a brief stop at a point where a huge candelabra has been carved into the cliffs. It's a bit like the Nasca Lines, in that noone really knows what its purpose is, but it sits there and everyone seems impressed by it. I can't say it made much of an impression on me, but you know, different strokes for different folks.
Huaccachina
Our boat trip ended at around 11ish, and straight away we packed up and got a bus down the road to Ica, from where we took a taxi straight to Huaccachina, which was to be our base for the next few days. Huaccachina is an Oasis in the desert, and is a popular getaway for rich Peruvians and gringos.
However, despite being an oasis, the Gallagher brothers were nowhere to be seen.
On the evening of our arrival we went sandboarding up on the dunes. This was good fun, but despite my best efforts, I couldn't remain standing for more than about 5 seconds. I guess it goes in the same category as surfing for me. On later dunes, I gave up and just went down on my belly, which to be fair was a hell of a lot more fun, and I got to the bottom a lot quicker.
The boarding also included a bit of dune buggying, where our driver would take us on a rollercoaster ride over the dunes. This was actually a lot more fun for me than the boarding itself, although I was almost deafened by Beth screaming in my left ear. I knew I should have packed the earplugs. This trip also spelled the beginning of the end for my trusty camera. It seemed to have a disagreement with the amount of sand that it was forced to ingest, and even now 2 weeks later in Cusco, after being professionally cleaned, it isn't very happy. I hope it lasts out the
Islas de Ballestas
Going for a swim. Ignore the hair in the bottom right. trip.
The remainder of our time in Huaccachina was mainly spent relaxing by the pool, enjoying the consistent sunshine. It's a tough life this travelling lark. We met 2 couples from England there, Mike & Ellie and Mark & Chrissie, along with another Mark, an Aussie, and Daniel from Sweden. When we occasionally got active, there were games of football to be played with the locals, although they played to very strange rules, and went on the theory that if our team conceded a goal, then it was definitely a gringo to be blamed. Another enjoyable pastime that we invented was urnball, a complicated game that involved flicking a juggling ball into a plant pot. I mention this only because I was the best at it.
At this juncture I must also mention the phenonemom that is Menu del Dia. It is very common in Peru for restaurants to offer a special 2 course menu, which is dirt cheap. Huaccachina was the first place I really got into them, and since then it has become my favourite eating option. The cheapest we've found so far is a 2 course meal for 2.50 soles, which is about 50p. I
love them, Beth isn't so keen!
Nasca
Sadly, it isn't possible to sit by a swimming pool in the sun forever, so after a couple more days we headed to Nasca with Mike and Ellie. They, along with Beth, wanted to go for the flight over the famous lines. I wasn't keen, so when they went the next morning, I decided to have a bit of a lie in, followed by an all you can eat breakfast! I'm still happy with my choice.
There isn't much else to do in Nasca, so after they got back from their flight, I watched some football with Mike before we all headed to the bus station to book our respective buses out. Beth and I were headed to Arequipa, whereas Mike & Ellie were Cusco bound. On the way back from the bus station, we stopped off at the museum, which had been highly recommended to us. Whilst some of it was very interesting, such as the mummies, and some of the artefacts that had been found around the area, it was a very text centric museum, so quite hard to take everything in. Still worth a visit though I
think.
When we returned to the hostel, Mark & Chrissie had arrived before their bus to Puno, also that night. This called for a menu del dia, and once again, it was very enjoyable! The rest of the evening was whiled away playing cards, before finally at 9:30 is was time to meander down for the bus to Arequipa. And we'll find out what happened in Arequipa next time folks.
Stewart
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