Lima Take 2

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Instead of heading into Argentina from Cuzco through Bolivia like most (sane) people I somehow decided that it was better to fly back to Lima, then fly to Santiago, Chile, and then take a bus to Mendoza, Argentina. My research must have lapsed when I was planning my South America adventure.

Still, going back to Lima gave me the chance to meet up with Renee and Corinne, who I had met at the Colca Canyon. Since Renee lives in Lima, she knows the place and took us to Callao, a neighbourhood by the coast, which is not in the Lonely Planet and the few tourists there were all Peruvian. We had ceviche (raw fish and lemon, typical Peruvian food) for lunch, which I thought was quite nice considering I'm not a big fan of sea food, and walked along the sea side. If you are spending some time in Lima, though you really shouldn't since there are better places in Peru but if you are, you really should take a walk around Callao, it's so quiet, tranquil and picturesque that it's hard to believe that it's still Lima. It was really nice to see Renee again, who more than anyone personified the friendliness of the Peruvian people.

My last two days in Peru were of mixed fortunes though. First, in the evening I started to suffer from a bout of food poisoning, possibly from the ceviche because Corinne also suffered the same fate. Then, the next morning I got conned out of 10 soles at a local foreign exchange, it's only just over US$3, but it's still annoying to be conned. And finally, just before I stepped onto the plane for Santiago, I realised that someone had taken US$20 out of my money belt; I have no idea how it had happened, perhaps someone got into my locker at the hostel, or maybe even the security officer at the airport snatched it when he was searching through my belt (I sort of want it to be him because I was wearing the belt at the time and was watching him very closely, it would have been one hell of a magic trick!). I guess it's a reminder that you can't be too careful in Peru, but the missing money and the food poisoning was a small price to pay for the awesome three and a half weeks I'd had in Peru!

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