Lima and Home

Our last day in Peru came far too quickly.

After a wonderful sleep in (however necessary, having gone to bed somewhere around 5:30am) I missed breakfast served at the hotel. The general plan was to meet the other girls in the lobby around noon and go from there to find lunch and the markets that were supposed to be somewhere near by.

Slowly the group convened and after much deliberation we decided to set out and find something to eat. Justin had mentioned that he and Matt were going to a little place a few blocks from the hotel and if we wanted to join up with them we could. We didn't make any concrete plans but told him maybe we'd run into them.

Our idea was to find something along the water so the group of us went out in search of somewhere to eat with a view. We did our best not to get hit by a car (the only way to cross a street in Lima is to start walking and just stick your hand out in "stop" fashion, with pure hope that the cars stop for you) and started walking down random streets... which led us directly to the restaurant that Justin and co were at. We sat down with the intention of eating there, since we were hungry and just needed food, but soon discovered that the menu was all seafood. Some of the group couldn't do seafood and the rest didn't think it was the best idea for the first meal of the day, so we got up and decided to head towards the sandwich place we'd gone to the day before.

We didn't really know where the sandwich place was but managed to find it anyway. Lunch was just as delicious the second time around, though I had the chicken sandwich (instead of the chicarron) this time.

All of us were in the mood for something low-key to do so we set off in search of the markets. We found them without too much difficulty (they were actually just down the street from our hotel) but were somewhat disappointed to find out they weren't anything like the markets in Cusco- more just shops selling the standard knitted fare that we'd seen everywhere else. However it gave us a chance to stay out of the bit of rain that was starting to fall (and they say it never rains in Lima!).

We window shopped for a while and then decided to just find somewhere to sit down and get a warm beverage. We'd passed a Starbucks on our way to the markets and decided to go back there (free wifi was a definite deciding factor). On the way Rose and I were lucky enough to get some pretty awesome necklaces from a guy on the street for only 10 soles. Maybe my best find of the whole trip.

Warm bevs in hand, we killed at least an hour at Starbucks. While there we asked a security guard where the best place to buy a bottle of Pisco might be - the ones we'd seen were about S/20 for a small bottle. He suggested Metro which was basically just across the square. We started our adventure to find the store, taking the long route around because there actually seemed to be cross walks around the square so we wouldn't die by Peruvian motorists.

Once in the Metro we asked where to find the Pisco and were led into a room filled with bottles floor to ceiling. One whole wall was dedicated to the country's national spirit. Prices ranged from S/24 to about S/60 but most of us opted for the cheap bottle with a picture of Machu Picchu.

Pisco in hand we headed back to the hotel. We had a few hours to kill before meeting Barbara for dinner and most of us just hung around the hotel lobby. I myself curled up in the corner of the couch and had a nap. At 6 Barbara came and took us to a nice place on the square for dinner - she made great suggestions for stuff to eat and I don't think any of us were disappointed. I had a seafood dish that was similar to jumbalaya (one of my fav things).

We couldn't linger too long after dinner since we had a shuttle to the airport booked, so we went to meet everyone at the hotel. Onto the bus we went, taking with us a few other GAP adventure people that were also staying at the hotel. The bus trip was about an hour but it definitely didn't seem that way. Traffic was terrifying as always... I don't think I would EVER be able to drive in Lima!

Since Carolina had checked us all in the day before we didn't need to do anything at the airport except head to the gate. Some of us were going to the west coast of Canada and others to the east, so we parted ways before security. On the way to the gate Justin suggested a beer at one of the bars so I took him up on the offer. By the time we got to the gate we found out that for some unknown reason our flights were delayed by about half an hour. Someone told us that there was a free wifi zone back around gate 17, so a few of us went back down there to kill more time on the internet.

While waiting in line Rose pointed out a guy with a pretty fantastic looking hair do - pure 80s magic. We snickered and commented on the fact that he looked like he belonged in a band from the 80s and so did the guy standing beside him with the long curly blond ponytail. The longer we stood in line staring at the pair the more convinced we were that we were staring at Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.

We weren't lucky enough to get first class on the way home (darn!) but Carolina managed to get us bulkhead seats AND complimentary champange before take off. Before take off "Dee Snider" passed by us, muttered a few words and the voice and face together was enough confirmation for us that it was indeed him.

Because our flight was so late taking off, almost 1am, both Rose and I opted out of dinner and promptly fell asleep. Having the extra leg room was awesome, and even though we weren't in first class any more the blankets they had on the plane were SOO cozy. I almost stone one, I have to admit (and with this cold weather I've been dealing with since returning home I wish I had). I slept soundly the entire flight and only woke up when the flight attendent was right beside me with the breakfast tray.

Our flight being delayed in Lima meant that we missed our connecting flight in New York, but luckily LAN reprotected us on a flight with American Airlines. We ended up having to wait an extra hour or more for the new flight, which caused me to have to change my shuttle that I had booked back to London. I'd only flown via JFK once before (when I flew with Finnair in Aug) but the terminal we left from was the same so it was sorta nice to feel a bit of familiarity despite the disruption in our flights.

Got back to Toronto just after 2pm and had to say goodbye to half the group since they were taking a taxi downtown Toronto. Rose, Heather and I hung around terminal 3 until they had to catch their planes, at which point I went down to wait for the shuttle... all alone after 8 days of being surrounded by people. It felt weird.

Got back to London around 7pm, and a friend picked me up in my car (I'd loaned it to him for the week while I was gone) and took me to home. It had just started to snow, which was quite the shock after it being close to 20 degrees in Lima when we left!!

Overall Peru with GAP and LAN was a fantastic trip that I think will stick out in my mind forever. Experiencing the Peruvian culture, food and country is just something everyone should do in their life time. South America is a facinating place, and there are so many more places on the continent I'd like to get to (Galapagos, Brazil, etc). LAN was a great airline to fly with, the service was amazing and the planes themselves were full of amenities (over 40 movies alone to choose from!). GAP made the whole thing a very "real" experience and we had lots of free time to do what we wanted. Our guide, Barbara, was adorable and I wish we could have brought her back with us to Canada ... and she tells me she would have liked to come along because for some reason she loves the snow!

As with every trip I go on, I met some amazing people that I hope to stay in contact with for years to come - it helps that the women on the trip were all people that work for the same company but I think we became more than collegues over the week long trip - we definitely became friends.

And so ends my accounts of my trip to Peru - I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my stories, and continue to check back on this page from time to time... I don't sit still very long and will be off on another adventure soon.

Next stop: Costa Rica in Feb with Volunteer Abroad (if I can get a big enough group to go) to help save the sea turtles
Thailand in May for the full moon festival
Egypt with some of the TCUTS/ATC ladies from Peru in the fall.... hopefully.

Off to Lima!!

My apologies for not getting my updates out to you all sooner - we've been buried under snow here in London and I just finally got it back to work on Thursday! Not that I'm complaining about the bit of extra holidays I had, but it's kinda nice to get back to a regular routine.

We woke up early one last time in Cuzco and gathered in the lobby of the hotel. After our exhausting last couple days at the homestay and then Machu Picchu, the majority of the group had gone to bed early. We all headed out to the bus one last time and took off...

Completely forgetting Lisa, one of the girls from Toronto!

We made it partway down the street before we realized she was running to catch up, pulled over and let her on. D'oh!! She climbed aboard, we apologized profusely, and off to the airport we went. Carolina worked her magic and got us all seats near the front of the plane where there was more leg room. We checked our luggage, went through security and waited to board.

The flight itself wasn't overy exciting, we enjoyed a small snack and I'm pretty sure half the plane was watching Just for Laughs. We arrived in Lima in one piece, gathered our luggage and went to our shuttle to the hotel while Carolina went to go check us in for our flight back to New York the next evening.

I have to admit, upon arrival in Lima and on the drive to the hotel I wasn't totally sure how I felt about the city. At first glance, that's all it is - a city. Billboards everywhere, chaotic traffic and a lot of poverty. We had a city tour planned for the afternoon, but along the way Barbara gave us some information on the city itself. She showed us the river, the Rimac, for which the city is somewhat named. River is sort of a misnomer though - there was barely any water in the river!

The scenery did improve as we got farther from the airport however. We drove along the coast which is being completely overhauled and made into parkland, and as we approached Mira Flores, the area where our hotel was located, the buildings became more modern and less run down looking.

We arrived at the hotel and went into the lobby - such a nice place!! Hotel Britania was the name and it was gorgeous! We were given our room keys and we all dispersed with the plan to meet back in an hour to go for lunch at a little sandwich place Barbara knew about. Our bags were delivered to our rooms (how's that for service!) and we changed into more summer appropriate clothes since the weather in Lima was warmer and more humid that Cuzco. Watched some TV (the only English show on was Ghost Whisperer... I should have avoided TV all together) and then went back to the lobby, met the group and headed toward La Lucha.

Barbara gave us the run down of what there was to eat, from things like chicken, to pork, to ham etc. I tried the chicharron which was good but I'm glad I didn't ask what it actually was (pork rinds..*shudder*). The place also had AMAZING french fries, which we all ordered or shared with the group.

We couldn't linger too long at La Lucha because we had to meet our guide for our 3h city tour at 2pm. We went back to the hotel, grabbed our stuff from our rooms and got on the bus. Our guide's name was Celes and he had all kinds of interesting things to tell us.

• the population of Lima is about 9 million - 1/3 of the country lives here
• there are 43 districts in Lima
• Mira Flores, where we were staying, is primarily the tourist district
• Love Park, the park overlooking the water, used to be really trashy but they have since revamped it and created the park in memory of those who had committed suicide there. The idea is to "love life"
• The Incas built Huacas (sounds like wakas) where they would scarifice things to the sun gods - women, seafood, etc. 
• When the Spanish arrived in 1530 they didn't fight against the Incas - the civilization was in conflict and the Spanish used this to their advantage and turned the sides against each others.
• Lima doesn't get very much rain - it's often very cloudy however. Therefore the roofs are generally mostly flat. Once, in the 70s it rained for 11 hours and everything flooded. The only houses that were okay were the European style ones that had sloped roofs.
• Pizarro picked the location of the city for a port and wanted to name if the City of Kings - Lima is a result of the mispronuciation of Rimac, the river that runs through the city. 
• Gustaf Eiffel, builder of the Eiffel tower, designed the first metal building in the city - an art gallery
• Public transportation in Lima is terrible - there is minimal organized public transport, a result of the previous president's decision to import old japanese cars and leave people without a lot of jobs. 
• Peru was one of the last Spanish colonies to gain independence, since all the money/resources was located there. It was due to other S. American countries stepping in that they were able to fight the Spanish and gain independence.

Our guide showed us the main square in the city and man was it gorgeous!! Such a difference from the slummy type areas we drove through on our way to the hotel. The buildings were bright yellow and very colonial type architecture - mixture of French and Spanish design. 

We also visited the San Franciscan Monastery, and the catacombs below - really really interesting! Over 25K people were buried there at some point, which is pretty incredible. I was really sad I couldn't take pictures - the library located inside was a sight to see - sky lights and spiral stair cases, rows and rows of books. It was breathtaking!

After the monastery, we went to get on the bus, but before we could get on we were approached by a guard who wanted to tell us a joke - in English. We laughed and then he told us another. Pretty sure someone got the second one on video. 

The tour ended back at the hotel around 5pm, giving us enough time to shower and get ready for our goodbye dinner. Dinner was to be held at Huaca Pucllana, a restaurant that was located beside one of the huacas that existed in the city. We all met in the lobby and walked to the restuarant where we were met by Justin and a couple other people from the GAP office. 

Dinner was, as we'd come to expect, amazing. The night was warm and the views of the huaca were pretty fabulous as well. After dinner we all got in taxis and spent a night on the town, with Matt from GAP as our guide - he seemed to know all the great places to go and showed us a great time as promised!

Got to bed late, as often happens with a night out, but thankfully had a whole day off to do whatever we wanted before our shuttle to the airport at 8pm.

Only one more day left in Lima!! Stay tuned to see how our last day went

Outline of Peru Trip

It's getting close now - only about 4 days til I'm on a plane and heading to some warmer weather!

So that everyone knows where I'm going to be and what I'm going to be doing, here's my itinerary:

November 26 - Depart Canada

Leaving Toronto at 16:35pm - will be spending the entire day at Pearson though - so glad they now have free wireless!

November 27 -  Arrive Cuzco

Arrive in Lima and then transfer to Cuzco. The G.A.P guide will meet us at the airport and then take us to the hotel. Lots of time to unpack and relax before a welcome dinner in the evening.

November 28 - Cuzco

After breakfast, you’ll have the option to either do a horseback riding tour outside of Cuzco to nearby ruins or you can take park in a mountain biking tour if you think horseback riding is too tame. Overnight in Cuzco.

Thinking I might take the horseback riding option, since it's been ages since I got to ride a horse and perhaps I can take some fun pictures that won't result in me wiping out and breaking bones.

November 29 -  Cuzco / Ccaccaccollo

Free morning. Then, at midday, transfer to Ccaccaccollo and meet families. In the afternoon, volunteer at a project in the community.  Overnight homestay.

Don't know the specifics on the homestay but I'm pretty excited about this!

November 30 – Ccaccaccollo / Aguas Calientes

Continue volunteering with the community in the morning. In the afternoon, transfer to Ollantaytambo for the train to Aguas Clientes. If time allows, you can visit Machu Picchu in the afternoon on your own or you can just take in the thermal baths of the areas or even do some shopping in the local market. Overnight in Aguas Calientes. 

Ooo... market shopping... guess where everyone's Christmas presents are coming from this year!

December 1 -  Machu Picchu / Cuzco

Rise early to take advantage of viewing Machu Picchu in the early morning light. This is the best time to view the ‘Lost City of the Incas’. Our local guide will provide a detailed interpretation of the Inca history before the majority of other tourists arrive at midday.  For those looking for a bit more adventure, you can also choose to climb Wayna Picchu, an arduous hour climb that offers a spectacular bird’s eye view of the ancient site.  We’ll head back to Cuzco in the afternoon. Overnight in Cuzco.

Pretty sure "early" is tour-code for 4am. Hiking Wayna Picchu sounds like a good idea, since I really should be able to claim I've done some sort of hiking in Peru!

December 2 – Cuzco

Free day in Cuzco to do as you please.  We can help arrange a whitewater rafting tour if you wish, a city tour, a visit to our community project in Cuzco or maybe you just want to take in a cocoa tea at one of the sidewalk cafes surrounding the Plaza de Armas. Overnight in Cuzco.

So many options! Whitewater rafting would be amazing... but I do love a good cafe!

December 3 – Cuzco / Lima

After breakfast, you’ll transfer back to the airport for your early morning flight to Lima at 0900, arriving in Lima at 1025.    You’ll be met at the airport and shown the sites of Lima by our local guide.  With a population of over 10 million people, Lima is a bustling metropolis that has a lot to offer.  Many people think, “who’d want to stay in Lima?” . There is great shopping, a beautiful coastline, wonderful restaurants, museums and nearby ruins.  We’ll end the evening with a farewell dinner at Huaca Pucllana.  This restaurant is famous in Lima as it overlooks the ruins of the same name and makes for a perfect location for our farewell dinner.

December 4 - Depart Lima/Arrive home

Departing from Lima late at night and arriving back home to Toronto midday.