Ignoring my usual theory of booking holidays independently, I used a local travel agent in Peru,Gay Peru Travel in Miraflores, mainly because it is quite complex getting from place to place, and organising coach trips here and there. Up until my arrival I only had an outline itinerary, but I am meeting Jose from GPT and he is going to give me all the papers I need.....
So having arrived in Lima at lunchtime, and getting to my hotel, it seems an afternoon nap would be a good idea, and then go out in the evening.
Well no, not actually...I sleep through the alarm set for 6pm and wake up at 11.30pm to the sound of a car alarm playing in sequence, every police siren known to mankind including two that are popular on the planet Naboo.....
I turn over and go to sleep until 7am the following day, and then I go out exploring in Miraflores which has a couple of local museums, several parks, lots of people, and shops. Surprisingly the outdoor cafes which I am used to are in short supply, but I finally find a couple around the central park and also earmark one for dinner that evening.
Returning to my hotel, (which my travel agent does not recommend because he had a problem with them double booking rooms), I await with bated breath the arrival of my travel agent, Jose, who arrives promptly, half an hour late, with an envelope full of paperwork.
Now I don't know who said that computers were going to create a paperless office/society, whoever it was, was wrong. For a start I have vouchers for no less than 8 hotel bookings, and then there are the tickets for buses, and then the ticket for tours, and then the tickets for entry into various Inca sites, and at this stage I am pleased that I didn't try and do this lot myself! Jose assures me that everything is in order and that I will get picked up at airports and hotels all along the way. A few days later he gives me another piece of paper which he found on the floor of his car, after I had pointed out that I seemed to have a piece missing.
After he has gone I take a closer look at one of the air tickets (internal air travel is almost essential if you are going to fit all this in), and find I have a flight at 7.45am! I'm on holiday for chrissakes....
My tour proper starts on Sunday afternoon, when I change to a different hotel and go on a city tour of Lima, just me, a tour guide, and a driver, for three hours.....The tour guide says you can see Lima in a day or so....Try four or five if you are going to take your time, enjoy the atmosphere, visit museums, art galleries, the fountains in the gardens, and maybe try a bit of nightlife. Nonetheless she gives a good tour with the main areas of the city and around, she also takes me to a cafe which is renowned for its 'chicha', which is a drink made by boiling purple corn and flavoured with herbs and cinnamon. It is actually very pleasant an works well on a dry throat.
The Franciscan monastery gets a full tour including the catacombs which I could really do without. Outside is an armoured car containing a policeman and a lot of tear gas, just in case there is trouble in the main square outside the presidential palace!
Miraflores is important enough that ‘The Rough Guide to Peru’ actually gives it a listing all on its own, and for sure it is a nice place to wander around and there are some good stores that stay open until 10pm every night including Sundays. This is quite useful as far as I am concerned because the piece of duct tape that appeared on my suitcase sometime between checking in at Frankfurt airport and arriving in Lima, is, it seems, holding together a split in the case not just sticking down a loose piece of material as I thought. Prices in Peru are low generally and you can pick up many items here more cheaply than in Europe including cosmetics, designer clothing, and electronics.
As I repack my suitcase ready for the trip to Cusco, I cogitate over whether to take the Rough Guide with me or dump it....Sorry to say the days of the guide book are nearly over. With limits on baggage allowances falling in most places (although long haul you are still allowed 25kgs), can you really afford to pack nearly a kilo of paper, plus the two reading books I have with me as well, I am beginning to think that a Kindle is the way to go. Most places these days have web sites on the web, and the local tourist offices can usually provide you with a map with the main sites of interest.
It’s about time that someone produced a universal charger as well as I am carrying five different ones.
And now, dear reader, you are wondering what that strange picture is at the top.......The Peruvians are great drivers, provided they have a hooter on the vehicle they can go anywhere, it turns out that they have various different ways of hooting depending on the message they want to convey, for instance a taxi will come up behind you while you are walking, not to warn you of anything, but to announce his presence in case you want a cab. Similarly police have a variety of different ways of blowing their whistles depending on whether it is safe for you to cross the road, or not....
The picture at the top shows the possible routes that can be taken at a junction or a set of lights, so it is perfectly permissible to be in the left hand lane and turn right, cutting across all the other traffic on the way.....Imagine sitting in a taxi from the airport and not knowing this and wondering why there seems to be another car deliberately driving into the side of you........This probably explains why a lot of cars seem to have dents in them, I just hope the Greeks never get the same idea......
But now I have to leave Lima for a while, and after an early start, the first of many, I fly to Cusco.
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