Cusco to Lima - Flight & Futbol

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Up early and feeling much better I’m pleased to report. We had an 0800 Taca flight to Lima to catch so we carried the backpacks down the stairs from hell for one last time. The cab cost S8 (NZ$4) and we were at the airport before 0600 to check in. I tried my luck - or more correctly my stomachs luck - on some vegetable soup whilst Jo went for the more traditional Peruvian breakfast of chocolate cake.

The flight was only 5 minutes late departing and the Airbus A320 had plenty of legroom, both luxuries on this side of the world. After so much long distance travelling in the last three weeks the hour flight literally flew by and before we knew it we were back at our first point of call in Peru - Lima - again.

I enquired as to the price of a taxi to Miraflores and was told it would be S45 (NZ$23). My explanation that we didn’t want to buy the cab, merely borrow it for half an hour met with deaf ears and even as we approached the information desk the bloke followed us. The information girl was a contradiction in terms and she merely pointed out that S45 was the ¨safe rate¨. Leads as to how much the dangerous rate might be involved leaving the airport and throwing ourselves to the lions. We hadn’t even left the airport carpark when one of the lions approached us with a S35 rate that I managed to reduce to S30 with the cunning use of pen and back of hand.

We were dropped off outside ¨Flying Dog¨ Hostel (don´t ask - I don´t want to know) so we ended up booking for two nights, the first in a double room at S77 (NZ$39) and the second in a twin at S66 (NZ$33). As has become customary recently in Peru, we spent a few hours wandering through the markets and buying nothing before stopping for lunch at Burger King (Peruvian food is not on my good list at the moment). Jo kept up the traditional role though, adding to her Chocolate cake breakfast by completing the remainder of my Lemon Pie.

The bulk of the afternoon was spent at an internet cafe doing the blog and calling home before we printed our voting papers and sorted out how to get them back to New Zealand. Democracy, they say, is not cheap - well certainly not in Peru where they wanted S12 (NZ$6) per page to fax the paperwork back to New Zealand. We decided to post the papers and walked several blocks to the Post Office only to find that they did not sell envelopes. The friendly lady behind the counter pointed out the door so we headed in that direction. Sure enough, on the street corner sat an elderly lady with a small table selling envelopes. Six at S1.50 seemed reasonable and we did our thing for the future of New Zealand by voting National/ACT.

I wasn’t too hungry but Jo was keen for something so she completed the trifecta by ordering a chocolate ice-cream from the ice-cream restaurant below our hostel.

Whist wandering around Parque Kennedy I noticed some soccer on the TV and enquired from a local where the game was being played. When the answer came ¨Lima¨ it hit me that the previous Saturday we watched two live games in a row. At 1905 I found that Universitario de Deportes were playing Juan Aurich at 2000 at a ground called Estadio Monumental. By 1910 we were in full Amazing Race mode and in a cab to the ground. Fortunately for us our driver, who spoke no English, managed to get through to us that we needed tickets and we couldn’t get them from the ground. The 150 metre ride cost us S2 but luckily we were dropped off outside a flash hotel and managed to get the concierge to mark the ticket purchasing location on a map. At 1920 we caught a cab to said location and purchased two tickets at S20 (NZ$10) each. It was straight into another S18 (NZ$9) taxi to Estadio Monumental - quite some distance in heavy traffic, it turned out. On the stroke of eight we were stopped at a police blockade about a kilometre from the ground and I managed to find a gap between the ticket touts that were hanging through the window to do my best confused gringo look to a cop just long enough that he let us through the barricade and straight to the front door of the ground!

Universitario were already 1-0 up by the time we took our seats just five minutes in. At capacity I suspect the ground would hold 25-odd thousand but they would have been lucky to have had 3000 in attendance - 500 of them riot police. Universitario scored midway through the half also to chanting, screaming, yelling and flares around the ground. It may have been a small crowd - but they loved their soccer! Just after the halftime break one of the fans let off a firecracker that sounded like a loud gunshot. Jo rose 3.5 metres from her seat but had time to figure out it was only a firecracker prior to landing. The home team ran out 4-0 winners and we were lucky to find a taxi right outside the ground to take us back for S24 (NZ$12). Unfortunately for us the driver had to turn back, which meant trying to get through the throng of young supporters that had gathered on the street. The first pass went OK but the timing of the second pass coincided with a small clash between riot police and fans. I locked the door and put the window up as the kids surrounded us. Our driver held his nerve and calmly negotiated his way through the traffic.

We arrived back at the hostel about 2230 where we had a beer before typing this up and going to bed at 2340.

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