First thoughts of Lima

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Jesse here,

For the last while in Vancouver I have been yearning for some adventure, some sense of being out of my element. Well, boy have I found it!!

Ashley and I arrived into Lima at about 1245 am three days ago. Flying over the city at night was the beginning of an intimidating first day and a half. The lights of the city covered a huge area of land, much greater than any city I´ve flown over. As soon as we de-planed the first stop was immigration where would find out whether or not our "return" ticket date would be accepted. We knew arriving that technically having a return ticket over 90 days is not good and exceeds the 90 day initial maximum. But the young immigration officer asked us how long we were staying, we replied over 90 days and were granted 180. Much easier than our usual Canada/US crossings! After getting our bags from the conveyor belt we headed to customs where we pressed a button that would determine our fate. Green lights for both! And with that we were off. We felt a lot of relief...until we exited the controlled area and were confronted with about 100 people with signs with names, people selling things, and taxi drivers trying to get a fare. We spotted our names on a piece of cardboard above some gentleman that spoke not a word of english and looked fairly sketchy. Both Ash and I were definitely uneasy when we got into his old run down taxi but we figured that worst case scenario we lose our money. I made sure that he was taking us to the hostal and, according to his word which meant little, he was. After all this, the scariest part was the drive through some very poor and dangerous neighbourhood at 230 in the morning at breakneck speeds and with little regard for basic traffic rules. Here, anything goes on the road. And then alas! We rounded a corner leaving the oceanside and pulled up to our hostal in a nice well-policed area.

The hostal is very centrally located, directly above the main roundabout with loads of shops, restaurants, and a large well-kept park. Our room is extremely basic but inexpensive and safe. There is a bar and a kitchen that serves very good dinner and small snack style lunches. Breakfast here is rolls with margarine and jam and coffee or tea. Lots of nice people from all over the world and a surprising number of South American residents travelling from their respective countries. Our first day we geared up and headed out of the comforts of the hostal to wander about. It is insanely busy here and we definitely stand out big time! The only but significant comfort is the strong police presence and the MacDonalds accross the street! kidding about the Mac D´s. Sort of. The most dangerous aspect of Lima is the traffic. Cars race around, run lights, nearly hit each other, honk their horns, honk them some more, honk them a little more, drivers yell out their windows, and lane markings mean NOTHING what so ever.

I won´t bore you with every detailm just one or two more things. The first was our forray out of our area via small bus. INSANE. 35 cents each got us a ticket on an extemely shaky, packed bus. The buses stop almost anywhere people are wanting to board and they fight for fares so you can imagine the ride. Much like a rollercoaster. Ash looked a little green when we got off. I never felt so nervous beforehand and so empowered after. Getting over the city bus stomach aches has now opened the door to inexpensive and exciting inner-city travel (The long haul busses are much nicer and purchased as one would back home). A testament to the size and dirtiness of the city is the visible dirt that was on Ashley´s face once we got off the bus (she had the window seat). The other is the food. My Spanish is actually ok for figuring things out and basic conversation. And if I´m reading something in Spanish it´s no problem. But with food neither of us has any clue what the different things are. Roll the dice!! And we did and for whatever reason I have has more luck than Ashley. Yesterday we both ordered things on a menu that we could not fully comprehend, and when they arrived I ended up with a tastless soup and an OK stirfry. Ashley ended up with a small whole fish that looked like it had been run over by and bus, then fried. Worst of all it smelled like extremely stinky feet. No kidding. Gross. But overall we have been enjoying the food here which is simple and hearty and cheap. Actually, everything´s cheap except grocery store consumer products like face soap, cosmetics, etc. Oh, and everyday is hot and humid, about 25 to 28 degrees celcius (77 to 82F) plus humidity.

Anyhow, we are headed to Huaraz tomorrow which is about 9000 feet and at the base of some huge mountains. Touching the viod was filmed in the moutains around there. Climbing and mouintaineering mecca. We´ll be staying at the Benkawasi Hostal there for those that wish to know. Then up the coast after that to Trujillo and then up to Ecuador.

Until next time!.


Jesse and Ashley

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[Ash and Jesse]

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