I'm nervous and a little scared by the next phase of our journey, so I was definitely freaking out about Lima. Plus the fact that I was starting to feel like I'd had enough of traveling, I was starting to crave and day dream about having our own place and settling down. Isn't it funny how you always find yourself wanting what you don't have! But I know I'm feeling this way because I'm scared. I'm scared of the unknown, of standing out, of not speaking the language, and of god forbid something happening to one of us. I know these are all rational fears, but they're the things that stop people from traveling in the first place, and they're like little devils on my shoulder at the minute. I've just got to remember that I'm not the first person to travel and I won't be the last, there are thousands of people out there traveling the world and I'm just one of them. I've wanted to travel and especially to South America for a while now, so why am I sabotaging myself! Darren meanwhile is taking it all in his stride, so I'm taking a leaf out of his book and trying to focus on the present and stay positive, it's going to be incredible and all the fears are just going to make it all the more worthwhile, well that's what I'm telling myself!

Arriving in Lima under the cover of darkness didn't do anything to help conceal the dirty and run down state of this city. It feels seriously unloved, grim and harsh. Not the introduction I was hoping for to help me silence my fears! But we couldn't stay hidden in our hostel so we headed out the next day to the park that was just across the road to lie on the grass and enjoy the sunshine. While just chilling here we were introduced to the persistent sales techniques of the locals as we were constantly approached by various people to buy random paraphernalia (it was a sign of things to come!). We also got to see a little boy take a s*** right beside us while another one climbed over the top of us; it was cute and gross all at the same time!

Our first few experiences of Peruvian food I have to say were pretty ugly. We ate where the locals ate and pretty soon came to realise that most dishes consist of rice and a piece of meat that was mostly fat, on the upside it was really cheap. Having hit quite a few misses on the food front we decided to take trip advisors advice and head to a slightly more upmarket restaurant but I don't think luck was on our side. We were craving some fresh seafood and veg but instead we got a plate full of fried seafood and a thing that can only be described as a fish milkshake, we ate it but after that I was craving western food badly! Afterwards we headed back to the hostel were we got drunk on Pisco sours (which believe me doesn't take much as they are super strong) and played pool on a wonky table, it was a fun night.

The next day we set out to find the historical centre which was actually pretty nice and then we explored the convent of St. Domingo which was a really pretty Spanish colonial building with an amazing library. On our way back we discovered a western style shopping centre, not a new discovery I know but to us it was a haven from the chaotic city outside. And in here we found this amazingly tasty Mexican restaurant which definitely served us the nicest food since we'd been in Lima, bad I know, but it was so good!

My Spanish teacher described Lima as a mess and that's exactly what it is. Its noisy, dirty and every single driver of which there are thousands on every street have absolutely no patience, they beep you to get out of the way even when there's a green man, in fact they just beep constantly because I think they must just like the sound of their own horn. I wish I could convey how noisy and chaotic this place is. I hadn't heard great things about Lima before I went and now I definitely know why and guess what, I won't be back!

We made the best of it while we were there but quickly changed our plans to get the hell out of there as soon as we could, which turned out to be a windy 21 hour bus journey to Cusco, where we didn't get much sleep, but it was worth it!

Clare