Central Lima

So the flight from Toronto to New York was short and sweet... we started watching the movie Inception but since the flight was only 2 hours long we just got a taste. Then we had 4.5 hours in the New York JFK where we watched some Big Bang Theory on our net book and had a bite to eat and we were off to Lima, Peru. The flight was overnight 8 hours so we had lots of time to re-watch Inception which was a fantastic movie and it made our dreams all that more interesting. Lan Chile was our airline and if you ever have a chance to fly with them you will not be disappointed... drinks, sleeping eye covers, ear plugs, blanket, pillow and infinite channels of movies, shows, music and the likes are all free. Lots of leg room was a super plus. We arrived in the airport and customs was like we were citizens just returning from a day trip away it was a breeze. We sat in the airport for half an hour and in that time had figured out where to stay, where to buy a SIM card for our cell phone, the current exchange rate and how to get to our hostel. Let’s start with the cab ride... insane... if we go with the theory that rubbing is racing... it was a race through the streets of Lima. Just to sum up the situation here ... cars are beat up more than back home... most cars have bond-o patching holes, there are 400,000 cars in Lima and 300,000 are cabs and they drive like cabbies... fast, pushy and rough. The part of the city between the airport and Lima Central was a mess of broken down buildings and even those were surrounded by walls topped with glass, barbed wire, electric fences and other ramparts. The taxi driver told us not to cross the river as we (tourists) would be stuck up at gun point and robbed. Once we crossed the river things really brightened up... nicely painted buildings, sidewalks and a safer atmosphere. Lima is a beautiful city full of massive Baroque architecture. Baroque style has the French/Spanish type iron, concrete and wood balconies. Lima also has the garage door type shops, and open air cafes and restaurants like Thailand had. There is a shop in every nook and crannie. Since the city has survived two recent massive earthquakes which destroyed some of the city you would not think that there would be much left; however, we are getting our fill of churches and museums, as they are very abundant here. There is rich cultural and religious history. We ended up doing a 4 hour group tour around Lima with an English speaking guide that despite being a lot of money was worth the knowledge, orientation and experience of areas where we might not have wandered. We went to a museum where we learned that there were local people in Peru named the Moche, Nazca, and Wari from 400AC where as the Inca’s did not come until 1450 AC. The tour guide explained that the number one employment is mining, then fishing, then farming and the average salary is $200 American a month or 600 soles. We then went to the Convent San Francisco, which is a huge beautiful church. There we saw the beautiful paintings and visited the catacombs, which are underground graves. They had unearthed all the graves and placed them in cases. So basically you walked through several underground very tiny tunnels (Scott almost lost his head a few times), where there were hundreds of bones on display. Food in Peru is very good. You have your rice and beans (Tacu Tacu), all types of potatoes(fried, French fries, ones that look like dessert as they are mashed in various shapes and colours. Drinks are basically pop (inka cola-mountain dew type stuff), coffee, tea, juice, and pisca sour (a cocktail of grape brandy and lemon lime juice). The most important meal here is lunch and it is huge. You can get lunch and a drink for about $5 a person. We met some Peruvian guys Bob and Leo and had some drinks with them last night. Both were very nice and told us a lot about Peru. We met Bob in the Plaza de Arms which is a city square about 100 times bigger than Goderich square. The buildings around it are the house of the Arch Bishop, the President, the Mayor and two private companies. Bob is a waiter and goes to the square to try to get people to come to the restaurant he works at. When we were having drinks he showed us that he had met Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins in the Plaza de la Arms and got a picture with him. It was very cool. Last thing to talk about is our hostel “Le Espana”. It is an older 5 story mansion. The rooms are basic, bed, bathroom, fan, tv ... but the place is amazing with beautiful church like art and chandeliers and spiral stair cases everywhere. There is tons of pets roaming about, 2 parrots, 3 large turtles, several pigeons, a dog, and a cat. Scott is going to make a video of it “Cribs style”. Thanksto Jason for the idea. Lastly, we are starting to pick up Spanish. Bob, restaurant staff and our handy Spanish guide have all been really helpful. Well that’s it for now. Peru is wonderful and we are still in the city, I’m sure the Inca trail and the smaller towns will be very beautiful.