Hola de Peru

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I'm currently in Pisco, a 3 hour bus ride south of Lima. Today I've been travelling with a Swedish guy (also called Adam), and tomorrow we're going on a tour of the Paracas National Reserve and de Islas Belistas, both of which are known for amazing marine & bird life.

I felt pretty shell shocked for my first couple of days in Peru, but I'm slowly adjusting to travelling without the convenience of being with friends and speaking the language. Actually my Spanish is improving all the time. I think in another week or picking the odd bit up and practising what I've learnt, I should be able to get by, maybe throwing in a little Spanglish from time to time. Currently undecided whether to do a Spanish course in Arequipa, which is probably the next big city I'll get to. Certainly Spanish is needed as most people speak very little or no English, and in Bolivia it is even harder as they speak no English and their accents make them difficult to understand even if you know Spanish.

You see very few white tourists around in the cities, but I met a few American, British & european travellers in the hostel in central Lima. I think (and hope!) it will be easy enough to find people to hang around with.

Didn't actually do much in Lima, but I will get another chance to see the sights when I return in 2 months time. I hung around a bit with an American girl who has been travelling alone (but knows the language) and wants to be a photo journalist. When we saw a bunch of protesters surrounded by riot police, she insisted we go and have a look and we ended up right in the middle of them whilst they were chanting away. It was completely non-violent, but quite an experience nontheless. Later on, I was walking alone through one of the scruffy commercial streets and got talking to a Peruvian senorita who spoke very little English. She asked if I was going to Cusco and offered me a place to stay, so we went to a cafe so that she could give me the details. She could hardly speak English and I can hardly speak Spanish, but we somehow managed to chatter away for a few hours enjoying the local beer, and I picked some new language up. It was very surreal. After that I had a very strong craving for the familiar, feeling utterly saturated with new experiences, and found myself reading the BBC news website for an hour, not really taking anything in, just glad for a break.

Anyway, after the sightseeing tomorrow, I'll probably stick with the Swedish Adam as we both want to go to a place an hour down the coast near Ica, where there is a beautiful lagoon in the desert and one can try the sport of sand dune surfing. Then Adam is heading to Cusco and I will probably continue to Arequipa, a long 10 hour, maybe more, bus journey away.

Bye for now. Hope all is well.

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Comments

[dannyboy]

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don't sweat it, you'll meet lots of people for sure... I'm not sure if Bolivia is a definite stop on your itinerary, but I definitely recommend it.