Lima - 7th Jan 2018
Ginny and Duncan's Big Adventure has lost a key element: Duncan. Having had a lovely Christmas at home with Lucas, Eva and the Sutcliffe family, Ginny took off on her tod, on a 6 week adventure in South America, while Duncan started his new career at The Slow Cyclist. The following posts in this blog are therefore a new chapter, and as I didn't take any laptop with me to Peru and Ecuador, these pages have been posted after the event. That said, they are a realistic reflection on what happened during those 6 weeks as they've been transcribed directly from the old-fashioned-hand-written-diary which I kept during my travels.
I arrived in Lima after a 12 hour flight and slightly alarming taxi ride from the airport to our hotel in Miraflores, a busy, upmarket district of Lima. It was 8am and I couldn't check in until 2pm, leaving the distinct possibility that I'd be roaming the streets of Lima for a few sweaty hours before being able to shower. Thankfully, having been ushered into the breakfast room, within 10 minutes I'd met some of my G Adventures group: Bill and Krystal, a father/daughter combo from Australia, and Sarah-Jane, an Irish accountant who had quit her job in favour of adventure. She and I quickly got chatting and decided to head out to explore the local area. Immediately at the end of the street was a park, full of rollerbladers, shoppers and a street zumba class. It was still early, so I guess this is how Lima folks start their Sundays - not quite as large and crazy as Central Park but not far off! Before we had a chance to join in, the zumba, class was over, so we wandered down the wide avenue towards the ocean cliffs, towering above the local beach. There wasn't much going on at this hour, but on the taxi drive earlier I'd seen surfers, football and basketball, bikers and rollerbladers - reminiscent of life in Santa Monica, LA.
We shopped around the swanky mall, while getting to know each other, until it was time to head back to the hotel and check in. Having dumped my bags in my room, I realised that if I didn't go back outside, I was in danger of falling asleep, so I decided to head off on a walk to Huaca Pucllana, an ancient Huaca tomb and burial site, built on a ceremonial centre dating back to 400AD. 7 hectares of mud brick structures (out of an estimated 81 total hectares) have been excavated. Taking a break in a neighbourhood square on my walk back, I made friends with a local, Jorge, and his border collie, who was the spitting image of our family dog, Daisy. I have a feeling that if I hadn't had to be back at the hotel for our tour briefing at 6pm, I'd have had a truly local dinner!
Back 'home', my room-mate, the very attractive Dee, from London, had arrived. She's at the start of 3.5 months of travels and been in Lima for 4 days already. She, SJ and I popped out for dinner before our group briefing. The park was busy with music, dancing and artists - all Limans hanging out on a warm Sunday night. Even though it's rainy season, it never rains in Lima (last time was in 1998) so the outdoor cafe culture is thriving. We found a little restaurant, serving cerviche... OMG - SO GOOD! I will live on this for the next 3 weeks!
Back at the hotel, we met our guide Dennis who talked us through our 21 day itinerary. Quite a feat for him and for me! It had been a long long day and jetlag had gotten the better of me. I slept like a log. :)
I arrived in Lima after a 12 hour flight and slightly alarming taxi ride from the airport to our hotel in Miraflores, a busy, upmarket district of Lima. It was 8am and I couldn't check in until 2pm, leaving the distinct possibility that I'd be roaming the streets of Lima for a few sweaty hours before being able to shower. Thankfully, having been ushered into the breakfast room, within 10 minutes I'd met some of my G Adventures group: Bill and Krystal, a father/daughter combo from Australia, and Sarah-Jane, an Irish accountant who had quit her job in favour of adventure. She and I quickly got chatting and decided to head out to explore the local area. Immediately at the end of the street was a park, full of rollerbladers, shoppers and a street zumba class. It was still early, so I guess this is how Lima folks start their Sundays - not quite as large and crazy as Central Park but not far off! Before we had a chance to join in, the zumba, class was over, so we wandered down the wide avenue towards the ocean cliffs, towering above the local beach. There wasn't much going on at this hour, but on the taxi drive earlier I'd seen surfers, football and basketball, bikers and rollerbladers - reminiscent of life in Santa Monica, LA.
We shopped around the swanky mall, while getting to know each other, until it was time to head back to the hotel and check in. Having dumped my bags in my room, I realised that if I didn't go back outside, I was in danger of falling asleep, so I decided to head off on a walk to Huaca Pucllana, an ancient Huaca tomb and burial site, built on a ceremonial centre dating back to 400AD. 7 hectares of mud brick structures (out of an estimated 81 total hectares) have been excavated. Taking a break in a neighbourhood square on my walk back, I made friends with a local, Jorge, and his border collie, who was the spitting image of our family dog, Daisy. I have a feeling that if I hadn't had to be back at the hotel for our tour briefing at 6pm, I'd have had a truly local dinner!
Back at the hotel, we met our guide Dennis who talked us through our 21 day itinerary. Quite a feat for him and for me! It had been a long long day and jetlag had gotten the better of me. I slept like a log. :)
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