We have been planning a trip around Peru with Dan, Kat's brother for about six months now. We picked him up on Sunday evening from a Lima airport police cell, and, after a small misunderstanding involving some talculm powder. (Only joking,) Dan had finally arrived in Peru.


We all went out for dinner that night where he tested out the obligatory bottle of Inca cola, a sort of nuclear waste coloured sugary drink, its very nice. Kat and I had been concocting a cheeky practical joke to play this evening. The plan was to teach Dan a little Spanish on his first night; (puedo toco tu vago por favor con las ......) so he could have a try at ordering his food in the restaurant. When the waitress arrives he should turn to her and ask: Can I touch your bum please with the ......

After breakfast, first on the hit list was a Lima bus experience, 6km across the city to the main plaza. Lima´s traffic is totally mental. It's out-right war between man and machine with no rules and plenty of casualties. Taxi's accelerate to run you down if you cross the road, when you manage to cross the road, they slow down and beep you trying to get your business. Battered multi-coloured buses swerve up the main roads competing for customers, the glass in the windows is always smashed and a boy hangs out of each door encouraging one and all to get on for the ride of your life, like a circus master. He slaps the bus, one for go, two for stop, which informs the driver when to brake or accelerate.


We made it, alive, to check out the two main plaza's and the presidential palace. Next it was off to the Church of St Francis. We were here to see the catacombs below. Beneath the church is a large portion of the city's population, dismembered and sorted out into neat boxes for ease of storage. For example there was a box for femurs, forearms and skulls had been arranged in an attractive circle. There was even a box of assorted foot bones.


We took a taxi to Barranco, the cool student bar area and then walked along the coast back to Lima for dinner. The next day we checked out the Inca markets, endless sea´s of tack and Inca cola t-shirts. We met up with a couple of ladies from Peru who spoke English and they took us all out for a beer in a secret Lima bar. It was a short but sweet two days in Lima. Lima is the last chance for a real coffee we told Dan and his face went a little pale. Tomorrow we leave for Pisco to check out the poor man Galapagos island, same as the Galapagos islands but only $10 instead of $800.

Cooper Out

Love Dan & Kat