I arrived late last night at 1030pm Lima time (1230am Buenos Aires time), and after a stomach-wrenching cab ride through downtown Lima .. and discussions with a friendly cab driver in broken English and Spanish .. I arrived to my hotel in Miraflores. There was a lot of construction through downtown Lima and at a few points the cab driver locked my door and my window, when we were stopped at lights with sketchy looking characters. The area I am in now, however, feels safe! This morning after I had some breakfast at the Hostel, I took a map and started wandering. It´s pretty clear this is a haven for tourists (though not in a negative sense!). There are banks and money exchanges everywhere, pharamacies with everything you need - from water purification pills to bug spray - and a nice shopping mall built into the hills and overlooking the ocean.
I will update more tomorrow, as I have done my banking and pharmacy tasks .. and plan to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring. I am also hoping to try some local specialties, such as Ceviche (citrus marinated seafood). I may take a more mild and trusty route today, however, as my stomache has not been friendly with me for the past 24 hours and I am hoping to be ready to go tomorrow for my Intrepid tour. We meet at 2pm at a hostel in Miraflores and from there begins our 11 night endeavour. We will be hitting Lima, Cuzco, Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for 3 nights, Jungle trek in the Amazon, and finish off in Cuzco and finally, Lima again. We will be taking a bus, airplane, and a canoe throughout our journey!
Thanks for keeping up with my blogging. I will likely be uploading pictures and updating somewhere in the middle of our trek, when we return to civilization!
Cheers,
D
I loved Peru! The main attractions are their archaeological patrimony of pre-Columbian cultures and the center of Inca's Empire, their gastronomy, their colonial architecture (has imposing colonial constructions) and their natural resources (a paradise for the ecological tourism). There is something to keep in mind though, because Peru has rich natural resources and many great places to visit, however many of the people live in poor conditions. 36% of the population live under the poverty line. The rich, consisting mostly of a Hispanic elite, live in the cities.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of sad, but reality.
Another trip that really touched me was Buenos Aires. It may be the greatest city ever, but many people live on the streets and there are a lot of Villas Miseria. A travel to Argentina might be nice for some people, but to somebody who has studied society in the recent years is obvious that something is not right.
Anyways, I am glad you enjoyed your trip to Peru as much as I did and it would be great if you can go to Argentina!
Mel