Arriving in Lima, Peru
Trip Start
Dec 29, 2008
1
7
77
Trip End
Mar 22, 2009
Lima,
Peru
Friday, January 2, 2009
In Lima we got off the plane and onto a bus to get to the terminal. Customs was a breeze, but then the wait for our bags was really long. As I was coming out of the airport I met a british girl whose boyfriend had got a cab to pick her up. They were heading to the same part of town as I was, so I grabbed a ride with them.
The drive into the city was past many dirty, worn-down parts of the city. A low fog was hanging around, particularly near the sea, which didn't help the city's apperance.
The cab ride was cheap, only USD8.50 between us (it can cost up to $35). I jumped out at their hotel and thought I'd walk to mine as the streets seemed pretty close. Unfortunately I was going from one end of one street to the opposite end of the other. It was good practise for the Inca trail though!
I thought I'd arrived at the hotel around 1.30pm (check-in was 1pm), but I hadn't changed my clock yet so it was actually 11.30am. They let me in though. It was quite luxurios compared to where I've been staying, with a TV and private bathroom. The room was twin share with another person from my tour, and I soon met my roomie, Nicole from Brisbane. We headed into Miraflores central to change money and buy food. We found an amazing supermarket which had an excellent deli, bakery, vegetables... within it. I found some delicious olives stuffed with almonds andsome really good cheese.
By this stage I was ready to pass out, so went back to the hostel for a rest. 4pm the whole group for the Intrepid 'Homeland of the Incas' had our first meeting where we met each other and our guide Bobby, who is from Cuzco and has done the Inca trail over 400 times.
Three of the other girls from the tour group and I wandered into Miraflores centre after the meeting to have a drink. We found a gelataria (ice cream palour) and had some delicious icecreams. We found some nice pubs down the road and grabbed a beer. The centre of Miraflores felt very safe at night, witth many security guards patrolling the streets. However it was also very touristy and the prices seemed very high. We jumped in the taxi for another crazy taxi ride back to the hotel for bed.
Tomorrow our tour starts for real with a walking tour of Lima at 9am, and we leave the city after lunch.
