Here begins a flashback to January, 2005, the start of my 5-week Peruvian adventure. I came across these emails I sent to friends and family from Peru and thought I'd share them to relive the experience. More to follow. . .
January 7, 2005
Hola! After a couple days in Lima we were reunited with Rob´s backpack around 2am on Thursday morning. What a relief! I´m sure Rob is glad not to have to buy a new wardrobe at Topy Top and to have his stuff back! After spending the morning surfboard shopping in various suburbs of Lima, Rob bought a board to use up at the coast. He didn´t get to try it out in Lima, but we did check out the beaches. There are some pretty swanky suburbs that are quite a contrast to the various cinderblock barrios. It has been interesting seeing the stark differences in wealth even within the same block. We have seen brand new oceanfront townhouses and shacks made out of cardboard and aluminum sheeting. Pretty wild. We have also had some interesting experiences while being driven around the streets of Lima in various taxis. I have learned a lot about traffic rules here. It seems that the lines dividing the road into lanes are mere suggestions which you can choose to ignore if it is more convenient. I have also learned that a 2 lane road is really wide enough for at least 3 cars going their maximum speed. And it appears that honking your horn is a form of communication not unlike a wave or nod; in Lima there is a constant beeping of horns just for the heck of it. But one highlight was definitely going the wrong way on a freeway off-ramp. Luckily, the drivers in Lima seem to expect this, so we entered the freeway unharmed. At times it has been quite exciting... let´s just say I´m glad I´m not behind the wheel... I think I would have a nervous breakdown.
Yesterday afternoon we left Lima for the mountain town of Huaraz. It was definitely the cushiest bus ride Rob or I had ever been on. We were on the 2nd floor of a double-decker bus, so we had a sweet view, and a waitress came around and served us lunch and drinks. If anyone is ever in Peru, I highly recommend the bus company Movil Tours.
Huaraz is a beautiful town. The mountain views are like a mini-Switzerland. It is crazy, though, the town is around 10,000 feet yet it never snows here. Our taxi driver said they don´t get snow until 5,000 meters. Today we walked around the town and went to a couple of markets. We tried to go on a hike but between the barking dogs chasing us and the altitude we decided better of it and headed back into town. Tomorrow we´re either going hiking or to the hot springs, depending on the weather. And then it´s on to Trujillo on the coast.
January 7, 2005
Hola! After a couple days in Lima we were reunited with Rob´s backpack around 2am on Thursday morning. What a relief! I´m sure Rob is glad not to have to buy a new wardrobe at Topy Top and to have his stuff back! After spending the morning surfboard shopping in various suburbs of Lima, Rob bought a board to use up at the coast. He didn´t get to try it out in Lima, but we did check out the beaches. There are some pretty swanky suburbs that are quite a contrast to the various cinderblock barrios. It has been interesting seeing the stark differences in wealth even within the same block. We have seen brand new oceanfront townhouses and shacks made out of cardboard and aluminum sheeting. Pretty wild. We have also had some interesting experiences while being driven around the streets of Lima in various taxis. I have learned a lot about traffic rules here. It seems that the lines dividing the road into lanes are mere suggestions which you can choose to ignore if it is more convenient. I have also learned that a 2 lane road is really wide enough for at least 3 cars going their maximum speed. And it appears that honking your horn is a form of communication not unlike a wave or nod; in Lima there is a constant beeping of horns just for the heck of it. But one highlight was definitely going the wrong way on a freeway off-ramp. Luckily, the drivers in Lima seem to expect this, so we entered the freeway unharmed. At times it has been quite exciting... let´s just say I´m glad I´m not behind the wheel... I think I would have a nervous breakdown.
Yesterday afternoon we left Lima for the mountain town of Huaraz. It was definitely the cushiest bus ride Rob or I had ever been on. We were on the 2nd floor of a double-decker bus, so we had a sweet view, and a waitress came around and served us lunch and drinks. If anyone is ever in Peru, I highly recommend the bus company Movil Tours.
Huaraz is a beautiful town. The mountain views are like a mini-Switzerland. It is crazy, though, the town is around 10,000 feet yet it never snows here. Our taxi driver said they don´t get snow until 5,000 meters. Today we walked around the town and went to a couple of markets. We tried to go on a hike but between the barking dogs chasing us and the altitude we decided better of it and headed back into town. Tomorrow we´re either going hiking or to the hot springs, depending on the weather. And then it´s on to Trujillo on the coast.
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