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Published: January 9th 2008
My room in the Grand Bolivar
A huge double bed which was v welcome last night when I arrived. Just to demonstrate how short the Peruvian people are in stature, my feet reach the bottom and I´m only 5" 2´!!Hi Everyone,
Can you believe that I´m back in Peru again!! Vicki - thanks for your comment and your e-mails. I was also thinking about our travels two years ago and will be thinking of all my CCS friends as I head back to Ayacucho tomorrow.
I arrived in Lima at 17.25 Peru time - that´s 22.25 GMT, and got a taxi from the airport to take me to the hotel. My first experience of being back here was having to slow for another taxi that was being pushed out of the airport in front of mine!!
The taxi driver introduced himself as Artur - a man in his mid 40s, married with three childen (youngest 2 years old) and with 9 brothers and sisters. That´s what I love about the Peruvian people - so friendly and you quickly get their life story!! They also expect yours in return and I got the usual disbelief at me being single (unmarried) with no ninos!!
The taxi drive was fairly uneventful, although very hairy in typical Peruvian style. We only stalled four times on the 40 minute journey, although I suspect some of that was intentional to save running
En Suite bathroom
Sheer luxury - shower and bath also included and HOT water guaranteed!!! fuel. No near misses this time around, although plenty of tooting and honking and abuse shouted between all the drivers on the road. Great fun!!
I got to my hotel which is the Grand Bolivar around 6.30pm. It´s a five star and is costing me the grand total of 17 pounds per night for bed and breakfast. Totally luxurious in comparison to some of the accomodation on my previous trip - have attached some photos of my en suite room which has a hot shower - yipee!! I even get free internet access included!!
The hotel is not in the touristy Miraflores area of Lima but in Centro Lima on one of the main squares. The area is not particularly touristy and mostly populated by Peruvian folks, which is great and what I prefer. The only drawback is that my room (with balcony) is on a main road, and the noise is incredible (Vicki - made me envious of your custom made ear plugs) as most of the cars are deisel. Driving is also accompanied by an incredible amount of tooting, honking and shouting!! I will try to record it on my video on digital camera to let
Presidential Palace
This is the Presidential Palace - I guess the equivalent in the UK woul be Buckinham Palace. V impressive from the outside. anyone interested hear for thmselves.
I was full of good intentions of going out to explore last night, but lay on the bed for a quick nap that lasted four hours!! When I woke up I decided there was no point in going out and read for a while before hitting the sack. As a result, I was wide awake and raring to explore at 5am this morning!! Needless to say I resisted, did some reading and headed down for brekkie at 9am. It was a fab brekkie of orange juice, toast, sweet breads and I also asked for some coca tea which was great - took me back two years to my first taste!!
I set off to explore Lima at around 10am, and found lots to see!! My first challenge was to buy batteries for my camera (probably the only thing I didn´t check before I left) and then find a cash machine where I could get some Soles. The current exchange rate is 6 soles to the pound - even better than when I was here last. I managed to withdraw 100s from the ATM following the instructions in Spanish - success!!
I found
Security at the Palace
They were pretty scary with v large guns!! the main square with the Presidential Palace and Lima cathedral. The Palace still had its Christmas tree up, and also a Peruvian nativity scene. I have taken some photos and attached them. All the key people in the nativity were included (Mary, Joseph, Jesus, shepherds and wise men), but were all dressed as typical Peruvian peasants. The sheep were also replaced by llamas!! It was lovely, and (I thought) very touching.
I then headed into the Cathedral, and the first thing I found was the grave of Franciso Pizarro, the Spanish Conquistador who invaded (some would use language as strong as raped) Peru and established the city of Lima. The cathedral was fairly typical of many I have seen in Peru - very opulent, with lots of riches and gold. The Lima Cathedral also included lots of religious art, robes of previous bishops and many ornate religious artefacts. It always strikes me that the Churches in Peru are always so wealthy in comparison to the people who live here!!
After the visit to the cathedral, I watched the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace. There were lots of scary policemen there with big guns, and lots
of military. They formed a line with riot shields to keep the crowds back, but my zoom lens worked well and I managed to get some photos.
The guards had a brass band - tuning and timing left a lot to be desired, but it was very, very hot (I have a pink nose to prove that!!) and must have been challenging for them in their uniforms. They changed the guard to the tune of El Condor Pasa - very appropriate for Peru!! Mum - I´m sure that you know it well. The march is very intriguing - they do a slow march which involves a high kick (yes Karen, I was reminded of our antics at the Hogmanay ceilidh), and they have to balance very precariously for a couple of seconds with their legs fully extended (at a 90 degree angle) from their torso!! Girls - reckon we could attempt that for the next GB display as an alternative to maze marching???
After that, lunch was next on the agenda. I avoided all the typical touristy places (they actually have McDonalds and KFC here!!) and headed for a more local place. After patiently explaining to the waiter
Peruvian Nativity
The characters were life sized, and the ´stable´ built inside the gates of the Palace. I had to avoid a policeman with big gun to get these shots!! "Soy vegetariano, no quierro carne por favor" I finally managed to order a fantastic lunch (I was starving!!) of noodles cooked with broccoli, mushrooms, peppers and onions, cooked in (what I hope was) a vegetable sauce, but possibly not. Ah well, sometimes you just have to compromise!! It was delicious anyway and way too much for me to finish. After that I headed back to the hotel as I had a few calls to make.
I managed to confirm my flight to Ayacucho for tomorrow and (best news of all) managed to book a meeting with MIMDES for 14 January (those in the know will understand what I mean by that).
I then had a short siesta (I blame the jet lag) and then headed out to explore another area of Lima. I found a street full of shops selling hospital and dental equipment!! This is fairly typical of Peru - there is a surprise around every corner!! I found a quietish cafe to savour my first Inca Kola of the trip (Vicki, Wendy, Eileen and Maneula they now have Inca Kola Lite!!).
After that I headed back to the hotel and am planning to hit the
Peruvian Nativity
Can you spot the llama in these nativity photos? sack once I´ve finished the blog for today - I´m being picked up at 3am (by Arturo) for Lima airport tomorrow am.
CCS girls - managed to get a great deal on the Plaza Hotel in Ayacucho (twenty pounds b&b per night). Will be strange to be in luxury accomodation in Ayacucho!! I will be toasting you with either a pisco sour, cerveza or chocolate caliente con baileys in the gringo plaza tomorrow night!!
I´m back in Lima on 14 January and 15th. I then meet up with the Vine Trust group for the rest of the trip. We will visit Ica (where I did sandboarding with Vicki last trip) which was the area most affected by the earthquake that hit Peru last year. Ica is in the desert. We are then off to Iquitos in the jungle and on the Amazon river. This will be the most exciting part of the trip for me. From what I´ve seen of Lima, I´m not all that impressed, although coming from the airport in the taxi, I did see evidence of some tin shacks etc which is what I am more used to seeing. I think part of the Vine
Peruvian nativity (again)
Sorry for so many photos of this - I thought it was great!! Trust tour involves a trip to shanty towns on the outskirts of Lima. The part I´m in is way too upmarket for me, but sometimes a girl has to be cautious when travelling on her own - at least until you suss out the place you are in and which areas are definitely dodgy!!
It was interesting being out in the streets today, getting all the usual attention that a gringa generates from the Peruvians. It went from kids who stared, to men who leered. One older gentleman was particularly lovely. I enjoyed a walk with him down the main street and a typical Lesley style ´Spanglish´conversation. I thought I was doing reasonably well in our Spanish classes until I got here. I had forgotten that they talk so fast. My teacher is confident that being ´immersed´ in the language will bring me on leaps and bounds, but I´m not so sure!!
Anyway - ciao for now. Next update will be from Ayacucho. Will close by saying it´s amazing to be back, and I´m just so happy to be here!!
Buenos noches amigos
Lesley x
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PaulG
non-member comment
Back in Peru
Hello Lesley. Great to see you've made it back to Peru. Your photographs of hot and sunny LIMA look good. They are a stark contrast to Glasgow right now which is suffering from severve gales and rain - everyone here in Glasgow probably wishes they were there with you. Give my best wishes to all in Ayacucho and keep up the blog as best you can. Hope you have a great time. PaulG x