Guayaquil to Lima

10th April

Alex traveling Royal Class

After getting back from the Galapagos we spent one night in Ecuador and then bought our bus ticket to Lima, Peru. This sounded like a stupid thing to do as it is a very long way to travel by bus. The journey was going to take 24hrs down the Pan-America highway. We were pleasantly surprised however to find that we were traveling Royal Class. This meant nice wide leather lazy boy chairs, DVDs, food, the lot. It was less than half the price of a flight and there was a lot more to see out of the window.

The journey took us through the banana growing region in the south of Ecuador to the boarder with Peru. After jumping off to have our passports stamped we continued down to Lima passing through amazing scenery, dessert to the left and the ocean to the right.

Peruvian Ladies

11th April

We arrived in Lima and found a hostel in the pleasant district of Miraflores, a wealthy area perched on the cliffs that´s become the modern heart of the city. The cool sea breeze was a welcome change from the heat of Ecuador. Back in a big city it was time for some retail therapy, I picked up 2 T-shirt and a pair of knickers for under 2 pounds, and Graham had a blow out on a 7 pound alpaca beanie. We also decided to try the local specialty, ceviche, chunks of raw fish marinated in lime juice and chili, served with a sweet potato and corn, it was delicious.

12th April

Confident with our bus travel experience, we decided to take the night bus from Lima to Cuzco. Although not that far away, the road climbs through the mountains to 3326m so it takes 18hrs. We booked Imperial Class and stood at the bus terminal watching the ultra modern buses come and go. Surely there had to be some mistake then when our 1980s National Express style coach turned up, bringing back bad Alpine ski trip memories for us both. Imperial Class...more like Inferior Class! After a sleepless night daylight brought spectacular views of the green mountains, and an explanation as to why the ride was so bumpy. The roads were hacked out of the mountain side, in places we forged streams and bumped over cleared rock falls.

Taxis in Cuzco

13th April

Finally in Cuzco my stomach took a turn for the worst and I was in bed (or on the bog) for the next couple of days, leaving Graham to track down a bargain trip to Machu Picchu.

The desert between Ecuador and Lima

Welcome to Peru