Lima

• Chemoejito's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Lima

Trip Start Oct 20, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Feb 28, 2009 Next
Entry

  Lima, Peru
Saturday, December 20, 2008

Wednesday December 17th
                                          We decided to leave Huarez today and start heading toward Lima. We travel the same tenacious road we took on the way up. As we reached the highest elevation on this road in the town of Conocoche it was bitterly cold. We stop to bundle up and we both fully expect it to start snowing we enjoy our last chance to see the Cordillera Blancas. Then we both notice something very unusual that neither of us has ever seen before, there are 2 rainbows forming two complete circles around the sun. The drive down the mountainside becomes very foggy, having to stop often for construction. Each time we opt to allow the vehicles to pass us at the construction stop point, saving ourselves from not being seen in the fog by vehicles behind us and them driving aggressively and possibly forcing us off the road.
Once at the bottom of the mountain we are forced to unbundle ourselves, it is very hot and we are back in the desert. We arrive at the town of Barranca and stop for the night. Mike notices a welding shop behind the hotel and he decides to go ahead and modify his kickstand, it seems the factory has made it slightly too long and the bike doesn't lean enough to the left when parked. Mike often having too find the exact road angle to park the bike so it doesn't tip over to the right. We disassemble the kickstand and take it to the welding shop after several cuts and tacks Mike feels the shorter kickstand is perfect. We reassemble the Bike and the young gentlemen charges him a whopping 3 dollars. We have started considering and debating our options for our future itinerary and direction. We have several goals in mind and we both decide to sleep on it.

Thursday December 18th
                                       A heavy fog is rolling in off the Pacific Ocean, the sun slowly burning it off. We walk several blocks trying to find breakfast. We find a hole in the wall restaurant and have a healthy breakfast of white rice, day old chicken, bread and coffee tinto.
We made our way through the desert towards Lima, as we approach we are astonished to see a city in the middle of the desert. These shacks are commonly known as the slums off Lima city. People from the country move towards the city in hopes of finding employment and with no luck are forced to live in the middle of the desert with no running water or electricity. As we enter the city the three lane highway traffic crawls ,horns are blaring, street vendors taking every opportunity to try and sell their sunglasses, cell phone chargers, ice cream, and cold drinks right on the major highway. Drivers typically don't have working signals lights and will indicate a lane change by simply placing their left hand out the window. You are then left to guess whether they are going to enter the left lane or right lane. The two of us drive carefully doing everything we can to protect ourselves, but the drivers here are ruthless. On several occasions drivers squeeze us into another lane. We decide the left lane is the safest, the buses stop in the right lane to pick up new passengers and there was basically no movement in the left lane. The center lane is where all the drivers from the right lane swerve aggressively to avoid being behind the buses. After 2 1/2 hours of intense driving we arrive in the downtown core of Miraflores. We find a suitable Hostel and check ourselves in. The city feels like an entirely different country. Everything you need is here, fancy sports cars and Suvs line the streets, boutique shops, designer clothing and posh restaurants are on every corner. During the evening we meet a French-Canadian Couple, Marie and Christian who have just completed an NGO project in Peru building a school. We have a challenging and fun conversation until the wee hours of the morning. I learn that children in Peru cannot go to public school unless they can read and write. I have a difficult time understanding the sense in this. They explained to me that parents can pay too send their children to a private school to learn how to read and write. Once that is accomplished the government will pay for the child's further education. However if the parents cannot afford the private school then the children have no opportunity to learn how to read and write and the poverty cycle begins again. I fall asleep baffled and frustrated at a system that is entirely backwards.

Friday December 19th
                                  An interesting day organizing our trip to Macchu Picchu. We visited several travel agents and went with the one with the lowest price. Due to the high season we had a very difficult time arranging for the 5 of us to get on one flight to Cuzco. After 4 1/2 hours of phone calls, thinking out of the box and careful persuasion success. Going to Machu Picchu is incredibly expensive and like everything involving tourists they charge you an arm and a leg. We meet up with our new friends Marie and Christian who introduce us to two of their friends Brenda and Karine. The hostel has a kitchen and BBQ and we decide for the first time in over 8 weeks to have a home made supper. We ask our new friends if they wish to join us. They are in agreement so we make a grocery list and off the guys go to buy the groceries. Mike works his tremendous chef skills and we cook pork tenderloin over a charcoal BBQ, small potatoes and hearty vegetable dish enjoyed with a couple bottles of  red wine. Great laughs and over our conversations we learn that Christian and Marie just got engaged in Macchu Picchu, a toast is in order and we all agree its our best meal in weeks. Sadly Brenda and Karine must fly home tonight and Christian and Marie tomorrow morning.

Saturday December 20th and Sunday December 21st.
The last two days have been very uneventful, trying to make plans and organize some final details in Lima for our holidays. Elske, Kirsten and Mitchell ( Mikeīs wife and son ) are joining us in Lima on Dec 22nd.
One of the most interesting things I have witnessed in Lima is the Para gliders that take of right on the City coastline. It is only one of two places in the world that allows this type of flying over the city. I was hoping to do it Sunday however it was not a good day for flying because the wind coming off the Pacific Ocean was very weak.
I hope to try again Monday.
I should add that we have traveled apx 12000 kms. Getting to Lima by Christmas was an overwhelming goal when we first set out on this trip.
My calculated guess is we have apx 6000 kmīs left to ride to Ushuaia.
We then have to decide whether to ride too Buenos Aires or Santiago Chile
(apx 3500 km) to ship ourselves and the bikes home. 
One option we are exploring is whether or not it is possible to sell the bikes in Argentina or Chile to save the costs of shipping.
We are already researching freight companies and getting quotes to ship the bikes home.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

City in the desert

Friends From Quebec

Paragliders in Lima

Slideshow Print this entry Share Lima hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry