Blogs from Lima, Lima, Lima, Peru, South America - page 33

Thursday 13th December: On Tuesday evening I went out for a bite to eat in Aguas Calientes and found that the village was saturated with restaurants all vieing for business. After looking at a few menus I chose a place which could have easily seated 80 plus but there were only two other couples in there. All the other restaurants also have few people in them, probably because it´s the low season. Incidentally, I gave a miss to the stuffed guinea pig on the menu (apparently a delicacy out here) - otherwise the food was good. I made an early start yesterday morning to catch the 5:30 bus to Machu Picchu; 'arrived just after six in a full bus. The entrance procedure took a few minutes (entrance fee £25). I went directly to Wayne Picchu - ... read more

Flight to Lima We travelled from Puno to Juliaca on a coach transfer that was waiting around for some Americans for ages, so much we worried we would miss our flight! We need not have worried as our flight was delayed and we hung around the tiny airport watching mini-sandstorms skitter across the runway. To our horror the French family from hell (from the train) turned up and acknowleding us, sat right opposite us in the departure lounge. The mum was still as miserable as ever but the kids amused us by knocking each other's heads with an empty water bottle. Eventually our flight arrived and we boarded and headed off for Lima. It was still very windy and the plane tussled with the air on take-off. We touched down in Arequipa to collect more passengers ... 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

From Huanchaco we travelled to Lima, an eight hour driving day, stopping off at 2 pre inca sites - Sechin (a 10km square complex built between 1700-1300BC) and Paramonga (a fortress built out of mud bricks overlooking the pacific). We arrived in Lima to be greeted by a grey mist or fog that drifts in from the sea and hangs over the city. It took a good hour to reach to centre through mile after mile of shantytowns - this is a result of the displacement of refugees after the earthquakes in the past few years. They are people still living in tents by the roadside which is a bit of a sobering sight. We stayed in Lima´s old town which is famous for the balconies on the colonial buildings - there is a strong moorish ... read more

Loving Lima and Peru and everything that´s going on in general for this trip right now. New excellent guide, refreshing small group of 7 with no whining people, and very cool cultural stuff happening. Feeling super excited about the next three weeks and best adventures yet to come. Since I wrote I´ve had a massive cultural injection and found my dancing groove, let alone some good Afro-Peruvian music. Perfect blend of drumming African beats and salsa soul, have bought plenty of CDS to share for some loungeroom dancing on my return :) A few days ago we set off for some amazing Moche or pre-Inca Sun and Moon temples. It´s really incredible to stand on a pyramid, look at the chosen place of a civilisation at the base of a protective mountain and imagine how they ... read more