lima
The final city of the 45 day tour and I was very happy with it. An organised tour is perfect for some people but not really the thing for me. It is easy tourism. It allows one to cover a lot of ground in a short spce of time. In this case, some 8,300 km but to me, it came at a cost. A lack of flexibility as to where to sleep, what to eat, when to do things and how long to stay at each stop. I suppose I like a degree of the unpredictable. I prefer independence to a schedule. Now if the fellow passengers on the tour are not to your liking than you´re stuck with them. I´m not saying that they were a bad lot but I had little in common with them. I was the oldest on the truck but at times I felt I was in the midst of a bunch of people who were making use of their retirement money.
Rarely were they to be found out enjoying themselves, apart from attending the often tedious group meals. Some were more interested in recording the minutae in journals with an obsessive zeal. Some took to writing notes as a tour guide took us around museums. Were we on a field trip? Then add in to this mix, the division of labour. Three cook/work groups of three/four people each who would cook three meals a day, wash up and clean the interior of the truck. Were we on holiday? The main bone of contention here were the lazy swines who went missing at the opportune time. Then there were the tents, the 'free camping' in awful places and the general lack of automony.
I don´t regret it. I achieved my target of seeing Machu Picchu. I saw some great things and had some great experiences. I also had some truly fantastic nights out (thanks to my sole drinking companion, the driver). But with hindsight I would have saved myself quite a bit of money and travelled coast to coast alone as I have been travelling for the past ten months.
So Lima. The one time capital of the viceroy of Spanish South America. A huge bustling place of nearly 8 million people. The hotel was located in the historic centre which is said to be pretty dodgy. I encountered no probelms. Naturally I was to share a room with two other blokes. We had the 'last supper' for three of the group who left the group in Lima. That done it was straight out on the lash with the driver. I did not get back to the hotel until 9am. I had a telephone number too for someone who would be my companion of sorts for the remainder of my time in Peru.
Over the course of the next three weeks or so, I moved location to the more lively area of Miraflores. There, I changed my accomodation three times. The first place had beds that served as an incubator for bed bugs and I took a beating with bites. The second place was too noisey. But the third place was fine. The city itself has some great buildings and it didn´t take to long to see the main attractions. But truthfully, I wasn't to keen on being the tourist for the time being.
I had intended on staying in Lima for a while and just idle by. It was great to have newspapers, lazy lunches and time on my hands. I also took the opportunity to go loco with the mullah! After the austerity of recent weeks I took it upon myself to dine in the finest establishments with said companion, Jacky. Not only is she very niec but she can handle all the lingo matters too. The best restaurant was Rosa Da Nautica. A most pictureseque place. Expensive by Peruvian standards but cheap by the standards back home.
Many people discount Lima as being a bit of waste of time. I was advised on many occasions by 'seasoned' gringo´s that three days would be ample. I really enjoyed the place and the people. And the word Lima has a particular resonance to me. When I was a kid if you asked me the capital city of Peru I would have been able to correctly name it. And this was before I knew no more than a half dozen capitals. The reason for this early knowledge is that I had an electric train set which was manufactured by a company called 'Lima' and not 'Hornby'.
The final target of my Peru hit list was to go north to a place called Trujillo. It just happened that Jacky has family there so it made sense to take her along. It was great to be control of my own travelling destiny again.
Rarely were they to be found out enjoying themselves, apart from attending the often tedious group meals. Some were more interested in recording the minutae in journals with an obsessive zeal. Some took to writing notes as a tour guide took us around museums. Were we on a field trip? Then add in to this mix, the division of labour. Three cook/work groups of three/four people each who would cook three meals a day, wash up and clean the interior of the truck. Were we on holiday? The main bone of contention here were the lazy swines who went missing at the opportune time. Then there were the tents, the 'free camping' in awful places and the general lack of automony.
I don´t regret it. I achieved my target of seeing Machu Picchu. I saw some great things and had some great experiences. I also had some truly fantastic nights out (thanks to my sole drinking companion, the driver). But with hindsight I would have saved myself quite a bit of money and travelled coast to coast alone as I have been travelling for the past ten months.
So Lima. The one time capital of the viceroy of Spanish South America. A huge bustling place of nearly 8 million people. The hotel was located in the historic centre which is said to be pretty dodgy. I encountered no probelms. Naturally I was to share a room with two other blokes. We had the 'last supper' for three of the group who left the group in Lima. That done it was straight out on the lash with the driver. I did not get back to the hotel until 9am. I had a telephone number too for someone who would be my companion of sorts for the remainder of my time in Peru.
Over the course of the next three weeks or so, I moved location to the more lively area of Miraflores. There, I changed my accomodation three times. The first place had beds that served as an incubator for bed bugs and I took a beating with bites. The second place was too noisey. But the third place was fine. The city itself has some great buildings and it didn´t take to long to see the main attractions. But truthfully, I wasn't to keen on being the tourist for the time being.
I had intended on staying in Lima for a while and just idle by. It was great to have newspapers, lazy lunches and time on my hands. I also took the opportunity to go loco with the mullah! After the austerity of recent weeks I took it upon myself to dine in the finest establishments with said companion, Jacky. Not only is she very niec but she can handle all the lingo matters too. The best restaurant was Rosa Da Nautica. A most pictureseque place. Expensive by Peruvian standards but cheap by the standards back home.
Many people discount Lima as being a bit of waste of time. I was advised on many occasions by 'seasoned' gringo´s that three days would be ample. I really enjoyed the place and the people. And the word Lima has a particular resonance to me. When I was a kid if you asked me the capital city of Peru I would have been able to correctly name it. And this was before I knew no more than a half dozen capitals. The reason for this early knowledge is that I had an electric train set which was manufactured by a company called 'Lima' and not 'Hornby'.
The final target of my Peru hit list was to go north to a place called Trujillo. It just happened that Jacky has family there so it made sense to take her along. It was great to be control of my own travelling destiny again.
posted by Ciarán at 5:48 p.m.
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