Sleep was a wished for thing Mexico to Lima for the most part unfortunately. Leaving us very exhausted; though sadly unable to check in until later in the day.
Leaving customs we were accosted by many taxi drivers asking if we needed a ride. You could request a card in customs with an agreed upon price for your taxi trip to present to a driver outside. A good idea really.
We found a space against the wall (again with the no seats in airports!) to rest and freshen up before finding the shops. On the way a taxi driver told us it was too dangerous for us to walk the short distance from the airport the hostel, so we were resigned to having to catch a ride. We had subway for lunch and Malcolm got a South American SIM card that took a very long time. After falling into a near comatose nap we decided to risk arriving early to check into our hostel. We left the airport and spoke with one of the many people mingling outside and told him our destination. We haggled on price and he took us to his personal car (not an official company) and showed us a brochure of a place nearby he wanted to take us. We said no several times and off we went. It was very hot and humid and soon dropping with sweat. The driver took us to his hostel and again we said no! We have a reservation somewhere else. He then got lost, but thanks to google we were able to correctly direct him and we arrived no problems and he didn't ask for more money. So the trip cost s/20.00. The doors were locked and we had to ring a buzzer and someone opened the door and let us in. We confirmed our booking, but because we were 1-2 hours early he charged us an extra s/4.0 ($1.69au) which we were happy to pay as a bed and shower much better than airport!
The room was very hot and facing the street, but we were feeling like our heads might explode so we showered (an interesting 1 stream torrent) and slept for 1-2 hours.
When we awoke we spoke to one of the proprietors who informed us it was safe to walk about and gave us directions to a nearby supermarket.
The walk was interesting to say the least. At the end of some streets there are big metal gates that can be closed across the street, and a door on the sidewalk. The side walks appear to be polished concrete squares. Most of the little stores on the way to the supermarket look like they are closed as they have gates across the entrances. They are everywhere, even across from our hostel ( which apparently is a good quiet street). What you have to do is bang on the gate and /or call out. The proprietor will get what you want and pass it through the bars. There were a few open places like restaurants. On the way we saw numerous assumed stray animals. Mostly dogs, but a few kittens and cats. They pay very little attention to ppl and ppl give them the same treatment. We do see a cute lab puppy and on the roof opposite the hostel 3 huskies lounge about.
The roads and paths are mostly sealed, but there is plenty of dust and dirt about. Man are by the road digging deep trenches by hand and they are already about shoulder height. We see a few police men standing about on the street. The supermarket is a hub with a few other shops about it and atm's. We buy bread, crackers, avocados, strange yummy passionfruit, bananas, toilet paper, insect repellent and water all for s/29.00 (about $12.50 au). We buzz to get back into our hostel Malcolm has dinner and I fall asleep and don't wake until 2am to angry voices outside. We learn in the morning that a similar thing happened to the new guests: their ride tried to take them to his 'recommended' hostel and then got lost on the way here and was asking for more money.
We eventually fall back to sleep