I woke up startled to a 4:30am knock at the door. I wasn’t to catch a taxi to the airport until 5:15am and was planning on sleeping until 4:45, but Gabi’s father wanted me to get up so I could get dressed and have coffee with him. Then he called me a taxi, hugged me again, and sent me on my way.
A $4 cab ride later (I’m still amazed it was only $4) I was at the airport and terribly confused. Where the heck am I supposed to go? I see no check-in counters and no one with suitcases. No one speaks English, and the signs are confusing. So, I decide to wander around and finally found the part where I walk through security. Eventually I figured it out and found the counter to check my bags. They then sent me to pay my $41 airport fee. I couldn’t believe it! I hadn’t spent $41 in the 10 days I have been here… that includes food, travel, and incidentals.
I soon arrived at the Lima airport and easily found the SAS travel man to take me to the hotel. I knocked at the hotel door and woke up Ginger, my high school friend who is traveling with me for this portion of the trip. We grabbed the Lonely Planet Peru book and decided to head into the Miraflores division of Lima for the day.
First off, we headed for lunch (of course, thankfully Ginger loves food as much as I do). This was the BEST meal ever. We had stuffed red peppers (Relleno) and a steak stir fry dish (Lomo Saltado) that was to die for. Peruvian food kicks Ecuador food’s butt. Next, we wandered to Huaca Pucullana, which are ruins in the midst of the city. The ruins were cool, but they are being re-created by the Peruvian government and would have been even better if left in their original state. We learned that the ruins were part of the ceremonial grounds and that they found many bodies, both human and animal, buried within the property.
Next, we perused the street markets for trinkets and spent much time haggling with the local people. Most Peruvians are very nice and speak some English in this section of town. All of the vendors tried to lure us into their stores saying “this price for you miss” and “rare Peruvian objects for you…” Needless to say, we spent the majority of the day in this jungle of treasures and junk.
Once again hungry, we wandered back to the food alley, grabbed some dinner (not nearly as good as the lunch), and headed back to the hotel for a bit of shut eye. Off to the Amazon tomorrow!
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