Peru trip and pics

[SandiF]

Every now and then we get an overwhelming feeling to go away, be alone for a while... Go some place that is new to us... No friends, no family, different people, different language. I needed a break and that was how I was feeling to be away... gone for a while and think some things over, alone. I thought of different places to go... Ghana, Peru, Egypt. Peru was the one place that kept coming back to me... thoughts of seeing Machu Picchu and being a back-pack traveller, bumming it and figuring "what next", once I was there.

My family thought it was crazy. My husband could not ... did not understand the &quot;why&quot; of doing such a trip. I was the only person that knew <span style="font-style: italic">why</span> and it was hard explaining it and the bigger picture, I did *not* want to explain. I did not let my family (parents, sisters) know I was going until the day before leaving. What the heck, they all kept acting like I'm some pickney and I have done enough travelling to know what to do and taking care of myself in a foreign country. Anyway, so ticket was bought, an Insider's Guide to Peru traveller's book, laminated map and I was all set to go. Truthfully, I was nervous about being alone in a foreign country, even though I kept saying &quot;I want to be alone for a while.&quot;

mi soon come with more... feeling tired and yeah, gotta get these pics up.

[Bandana]

Re: Peru trip and pics




SandiF


You went through so much last year I hope this trip was good for you!

Thanks for sharing, your last report had me fascinated!

[SandiF]

Re: Peru trip and pics

Bandanna thanks! Yeah, last year was tough and the anniversary date is coming up...hate to think of it. Reasons for this trip was something a bit more personal, which mi nah get into here. LOL!!

More of trip...

I left home on June 20. Throughout the whole flight I muddled over and over what to do. I had an idea that I wanted to spend one night in Lima, then take train to Cuzco, see Machu Picchu, then head towards Arequipa and Lake Titicacca. I had no hotel pre-booked but had several hostales written down... these were in Miraflores area, which I had no idea what it would be like. Honestly, I was scared and nervous. I started missing my home. My husband. I realised how much absence tend to make the heart grow fonder. The flight landed some time after 11pm Peruvian time (equiv. to US central time). Immigration was a breeze. I was out in the airport arrival lobby and inundated with taxi operators... TOURISTA! A taxi operator with a tour company grabbed me and I was signed up for a ride into Miraflores. It cost me $25 and the most costly taxi ride since leaving NYC. I could not bother protesting, it was close to midnight and mi did tired.

His english was just as bad as my spanish but he got the jist that I had no hotel to stay. So, he took me to Hotale Tourismo Eiffel. It is right in the Miraflores area and a block from the pacific ocean above ground &quot;board&quot; walk. The room was small, crampy but it had a sparkling clean bathroom. Took the room, which was $30/night, thought through my plans for the next day and hit the sack. I was tired and slept the whole night through.

Saturday morning I was in the hotel lobby battling communicating with the reception guy. I need to get to train to take me to Cuzco. Thing is, there are no trains from Lima to Cuzco. He started looking up flights but all flights were booked out. Turned out I was in Peru at a big tourist season ... Inti Raymi and the start of the Inca Winter Solstice. Big celebration. The hotel guy was trying to sell me a package of 4 nights in Cuzco and air fare... would've cost me over 700USD but me balk. I was on a tight budget and nuh have those kind of money to spend. My next choice was to get a bus into Cuzco.

I was out the hotel in a jiffy, grabbed a cab to the bus terminal and another disappointment... all buses were booked out until Monday. I had no choice but to book the Monday bus schedule, which is a 22 hour ride. I was back in Miraflores and decided to spend the day and the next day exploring Lima.

soon come back... laundry.

[BND1999]

Re: Peru trip and pics

i look forward to reading this.

ever since i went to guatemala.. i have been studying spanish on line. so that i can continue with travel in central and south america... peru is one place i will go.. though been doing a lot of research on bolivia and nicaragua.. and ive got to go back to guatemala... so i watch and listen carefully..

i too need to go alone possibly.. life changes. so im eager to see how it went

[mountaingal]

Re: Peru trip and pics

welome back sandi. a friend of the family just came back and had beautiful pictures and stories. peru sounds like quite the place for soul searchers, lol.

looking forward to your pics and narrative.

[ILP]

Re: Peru trip and pics

SandiF welcome back

mi juss ask bout you di oddah day, enoh? mi glad it is just Peru you did go ahn it wasnt di storms why you was gone.

Peru is nice, dont?

mi cyan wait fi see you pictras dem

[Diplomat]

Re: Peru trip and pics

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SandiF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">... all buses were booked out until Monday. I had no choice but to book the Monday bus schedule, which is a <span style="font-weight: bold">22 hour ride</span>. </div></div>
I'm not sure I could handle that one, but looking forward to hearing about it, as well as your trip.

[neutral]

Re: Peru trip and pics

My daughter went to peru during her 4 months trekking around south america,..she had a wonderful time.

Sandif I`m surprised you didnt pre-book an hostel for your first arrival,......you are lucky you met a genuine taxi driver,someone else could have taken you somewhere else when he realised you had no hotel booked.

[MsExced]

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Looking forward to your adventure

[Magician]

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I going love reading this!

Peru has been on my radar as well for some time. Something always comes up and gets in the way. Now I live so far away from it that it would be a mission to get there. I'll just have to wait til my company starts service there.

Come wid more torey an di pikcha dem nuh man!

[DC]

Re: Peru trip and pics

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ms Exced</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Looking forward to your adventure </div></div>

Me too!

[churchgirl]

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(((((Sandif))))you are an inspiration. I love your sense of adventure. I'm very much looking forward to your report.

[SandiF]

Re: Peru trip and pics

Thank you all. Please see the pics here http://friesonline.com/Peru2008 -- I'm too tired to deal with the copy/paste of url's.

I was back in Miraflores. The day was perfect and Peruvians in the area were out walking along the ocean view. The ocean was probably 500ft below the &quot;board walk&quot; and the walk stretched for probably 2 1/2 mls one way. Along the walk there are various parks and the most popular was the &quot;kissing couple&quot; park. Peruvians in Lima are definitely not shy...every corner is a pair cuddling and kissing away. Almost made me felt jealous. LOL! The day was just perfect for people watching and taking in the scenery.



If you look closely, you will see surfers in the ocean.

[SandiF]

Re: Peru trip and pics

Kissing couple park. This was a charming park and it romanticized Peruvians in Lima.



This is cosmopolitan Miraflores. Definitely an upscale area of Peru and the residents here appear to have more Castillian features than the other areas of the country I ventured into.

[SandiF]

Re: Peru trip and pics

Sunday I decided to venture to central Lima. There were a few museums the travel book recommended seeing and all seemed to have a Sunday schedule. I thought of taking a &quot;dollar&quot; van but could not figure out which direction they were heading and communicating was difficult. I tried several taxis and kept requesting a price of 7 Soles (Peruvian dollars) but three taxi's turned me down! One guy brushed me off with his hand as he kept insisting 20 Soles. Eventually I found a taxi for 10 Soles and he spoke some English.

Central Lima was grimy. The taxi driver kept glancing back at me grinning his teeth and I started getting worried. Could not help not worrying and having sordid thoughts. The journey was much longer than I expected. Eventually, he dropped me at the corner of a large park (forgot the name) and a festival/fair was in progress. Good place to be ...lots of people, music, singing, dancing and food. I spent the afternoon walking, observing the festivities and sampling almost every food that was plied out on sale. The Peruvians are excellent cooks and they sure have a variety of food... roasted, fried, stewed, boiled vegetables and various meat kind. Immediately my appetite which I lost months ago came back... I was starving and filling my belly as I walked along.

Here's a charming street artist work on the pavement...


Old monuments and spanish style buildings made central Lima the place for someone more interested in seeing these architectural designs.




Several statues as this were interesting pieces to look at -- Peru's African descent popular are known for their creative dance styles and works in the arts.